Ampeg Iso-Vent love?

sleeping buddha · #1 12-06-2007, 07:00 PM

Who else has one of these beast's? I got mine about a year ago and I'm lovin' it. Of course they weigh a ton and a half, but thats why it's my church rig that I don't move unless ABSOLUTLEY nessecary. So...give it some love y'all.

greenboy · #2 12-06-2007, 07:18 PM

Photos!

Ampeg did some other relatively innovative things besides the original SVT and B15 stuff, cool things not many people ever gave them credit for.

i_got_a_mohawk · #3 12-06-2007, 07:20 PM

What one is the Iso-Vent?

Is that the downward firing 2x15 folded horn + 2x10 front loaded cab?

Fealach · #4 12-06-2007, 07:36 PM

I believe that's the one you mean.

There were a few different flavors - one of mine had front ports, the other was rear ported. They're pretty hard to find, but have a resale value of about $ 0.35, at least around here. I lost too much money when I had to sell them, but 2 of these cabinets is overkill for the living room. Very good cabs though.

thehurlatron · #5 12-06-2007, 07:41 PM

My friend had one some years back. It was a 210 front firing with two 15's isobaric mounted on the bottom. (push/pull)
This pic is not mine, just an example of what one is.

coolrunner989 · #6 12-06-2007, 07:43 PM

There is one of these at a local shop for 350, im curious enough to go try it out sometime...

I bet they sound huge.

greenboy · #7 12-06-2007, 07:46 PM

Yep, clamshell isobaric, not folded horn. Isobaric designs can get twice as many drivers in half the space without sacrificing low frequency extension or further emphasizing a response hump.

Uses a quasi/boundary loading for the [sub]woofer section, like my Ampeg Extreme:

sleeping buddha · #8 12-06-2007, 08:08 PM

I paid $300 for mine..so I guess $350 isn't bad. Try to talk them down. Just be sure your back can handle it!

The research I did said that they made about 357 Iso-Vents if memory serves. I don't know how true that is tho.

I couldn't imagine running 2 of these things. You could break loose fault lines with something like that!

i_got_a_mohawk · #9 12-06-2007, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenboy

Yep, clamshell isobaric, not folded horn. Isobaric designs can get twice as many drivers in half the space without sacrificing low frequency extension or further emphasizing a response hump.

Uses a quasi/boundary loading for the [sub]woofer section, like my Ampeg Extreme:

My bad for getting the terminology wrong, but thats the one i was thinking of. Looks like a beast of a cab!

Jerrold Tiers · #10 12-06-2007, 08:50 PM

There was another one, a little 2-15 back-to-back cab. Small, but takes nearly any amount of power you can throw at it. Won't fart at any power level that doesn't burn it up.

Back woofer is rolled out at higher frequencies. Forgot the model number for that one.... it was about 15 years ago.

We tried lots of things, some were saluted, some kept sleeping. I expect to see some of the more obscure ones again someday, touted as a new idea.............

jad · #11 12-06-2007, 09:24 PM

I don't know if I would call it LOVE, but I do have one. The model is SVT50DL. I bought it not too long after they were introduced, back in the early to mid 90's. It is small enough to fit in any hatchback, yet it still weighs 125 lbs - how does Ampeg do it

? It's 4 ohms full range or 8 per 'side' when biamped, and 600 watts RMS. I've never had the gear to take advantage of the biamp feature so I've only heard it full range. Not a lot of low mid punch, but lots of easy to hear higher mids. It definitely provides lots of rumble to the point where a high pass filter might be helpful. The sales brochure says "bass frequency response down to 28Hz." Of course it also says that "the 3/4 inch void-free plywood enables durable lightweight transport." PM me if you would like a .pdf of the page from that year's catalog.

mike_v_s · #12 12-06-2007, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerrold Tiers

There was another one, a little 2-15 back-to-back cab. Small, but takes nearly any amount of power you can throw at it. Won't fart at any power level that doesn't burn it up.

Back woofer is rolled out at higher frequencies. Forgot the model number for that one.... it was about 15 years ago.

LDS was selling one of those a few months back. It was an "airhead" with a 4 space rack.

Mike

mikeyswood · #13 12-06-2007, 10:34 PM

I'll give the Isovent some love! What a great response this thing has!

I just don't give this cab any love when stairs are involved

rodl2005 · #14 12-06-2007, 11:08 PM

ISOBARIC????? aint that a meterological term? Can someone Please give me a brief description on the way these are set up & work. I can see the 15" in the bottom cab area, but is there another 15" in there? set up???? Intriguing. Thanks again for the info Jerrold.

**SoComSurfing** · #15 12-06-2007, 11:16 PM

I played in the house band at a club that provided one of these for the back line. When the club was closing down, the owner offered me the cab as payment for one last gig. Stupidly, I turned him down because I just didn't have room for the thing. I wish I knew where it was now; I'd love give it another spin now that my tastes are more developed.

greenboy · #16 12-07-2007, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thehurlatron

My friend had one some years back. It was a 210 front firing with two 15's isobaric mounted on the bottom. (push/pull) {...}

I wonder if those 10" drivers are the same model as mine, or spiritual predecessors. Mine are designed to handle midbass and above so they can best be put into small vented or sealed boxes or crossed over above 100 Hz or higher. This allows them to be more sensitive (what people around here usually call efficient).

Actually each one of them is louder than TWO Deltalites or similar, which is the load found in so may bass cabs these days. So TWO of them, above 100 Hz, is louder than a DeltaliteII-equipped 410. Then you put a beastly subwoofer section below, which a highly powered isobaric situation can provide when fed with tons of watts, and you've got a monster!

Ironically, now that you can get neo drivers like the Em Kappalite 3015LF that are very light and make lots of low end and handle more power than a lot of drivers in use for bass cabs previously, the trend is well away from having mass bass directly on stage, because PA can usually handle it. But rigs like the Ampegs shown above are great for unsupported and outdoor-stage situations. Great for ERB too!

greenboy · #17 12-07-2007, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerrold Tiers

There was another one, a little 2-15 back-to-back cab. Small, but takes nearly any amount of power you can throw at it. Won't fart at any power level that doesn't burn it up. Back woofer is rolled out at higher frequencies. Forgot the model number for that one.... it was about 15 years ago.

Yeah, I think that one has even been in a thread here in the past year. And I've seen them in pawnshops, both versions. At the time I wasn't a bass player and wondered what they were about. Would be cool to reload them with neos and biamp them with 1000 watts or more going to the lows!

Quote:

We tried lots of things, some were saluted, some kept sleeping. I expect to see some of the more obscure ones again someday, touted as a new idea.............

As is so often the case. Peavey seems to have a track record for that too ; } - in fact they often pull models before they can gain momentum.

Jerrold Tiers · #18 12-07-2007, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

LDS was selling one of those a few months back. It was an "airhead" with a 4 space rack.

Mike

I don't think that model was ever made with the rack space.

KayCee · #19 12-07-2007, 06:34 AM

I used to run two of them side-by-side, powered with a 950 watt power amp. It was loud!!!

It was a steady gig (3-nights a week for 4 years), with the band smashed on the stage so tight that the crash cymbal was a foot from my head.

I would put in the ear plugs before even walking into the club, and they didn't come out until I got home!

asad137 · #20 12-07-2007, 08:02 AM

I have an IsoVent back at my parents house -- it was my first "real" bass cab. Lots of low end from the 15's, not much from the 10's -- definitely designed to run biamped. The piezo tweeter sucks. Heavy -- about 130 lbs IIRC, but not too big so it's not so bad to schlep (has casters too). I'm probably going to sell it.

Asad