ampeg svt 4 pro Vs. mesa big block 750

[htcbassist89]

Hello

Im new to the forum and i thought this would be the best place
to get a review

I play in a harder rock band
i own a Ampeg 810 cab and im using a Carvin pro bass head that my uncle had given to me

i was wondering what head you guys would prefer out of the
ampeg svt 4 pro or the mesa big block or maybe another

THanks

[Stingray_EB]

I have had the luck of a/b-ing a Mesa BB750 which is my current amp with an Ampeg Svt 3-Pro.

No comparrison. Mesa blows away all that is Ampeg. IMO Mesa is everything Ampeg is plus more. Mesa is louder, cleaner, punchier.

Not as fluffy but just as bassy.

[RickenBoogie]

The Mesa is it, except it runs full, (750 watts) at 2 ohms, so you'd want another 4 ohm cab to make full use of it.

[jaywa]

A BB750 and two Ampeg 810s... that would just kill.

[chaosMK]

I like them both. You'd be fine with either, especially with a Sansamp BDDI in the loop or in front.

[kdogg]

Originally Posted by Stingray_EB

I have had the luck of a/b-ing a Mesa BB750 which is my current amp with an Ampeg Svt 3-Pro.

No comparrison. Mesa blows away all that is Ampeg. IMO Mesa is everything Ampeg is plus more. Mesa is louder, cleaner, punchier.

Not as fluffy but just as bassy.

I think the op was refering to the 4-Pro. I could see where the BB750 would decimate the 3-Pro, but would politely disagree when it comes to the 4-Pro. I prefered the 4-Pro over the BB750 when comparing the two a few years back, and I was using an 810e at the time. I thought the 4-Pro really punched through the 810, and I loved the eq sliders for tuning the rig for various rooms. Also, I felt the 4-Pro had more headroom than the BB750, even considering that the claimed wattage for the ampeg is a bit generous.

Though it doesn't get much love around talkbass, I really appreciated the power and versatility of the ampeg.

Having said all that, I'm currently using an SVT-CL, which for me is the bees knees!

[xshawnxearthx]

4 pro>bb750

mesa makes a good ss head. i'm not big on their tube heads, but their ss heads sound great. i just prefer the ampeg tone.

[DanRJBrasil]

Originally Posted by kdogg

I think the op was refering to the 4-Pro. I could see where the BB750 would decimate the 3-Pro, but would politely disagree when it comes to the 4-Pro. I prefered the 4-Pro over the BB750 when comparing the two a few years back, and I was using an 810e at the time. I thought the 4-Pro really punched through the 810, and I loved the eq sliders for tuning the rig for various rooms. Also, I felt the 4-Pro had more headroom than the BB750, even considering that the claimed wattage for the ampeg is a bit generous.

Though it doesn't get much love around talkbass, I really appreciated the power and versatility of the ampeg.

Having said all that, I'm currently using an SVT-CL, which for me is the bees knees!

+1
people love to bashes ampeg even if the ampeg product is better, if you try it out you will for yourself, svt4 for is much better

[rockstarbassist]

Boogie all the way.

[rbonner]

Originally Posted by jaywa

A BB750 and two Ampeg 810s... that would just kill.

Negative, not enough power. The 810 can take virtually every watt a 4PRO can dish out in mono let alone the lower powered BB750..

You ought to stop over Jay and give it a try...

To adequately power a pair of AMPEG 810's to full steam you would need PA power with at minimum 1200 watts per channel. A pair of BB Titan V-12's would be what a guy would need. an M9 Carbine per cab would be about the minimum I'd consider.

Now that's to full smoke a lot more than a guy would need at the LEGION. My big rig would have scared them at the birdcage...

SEMPER AMPLIO

BOB

[rockstarbassist]

^^

I think it'd do just fine...

I've seen people power 810's and 610's with Walkabouts before and it was plenty of juice.

[DanRJBrasil]

Originally Posted by rbonner

Negative, not enough power. The 810 can take virtually every watt a 4PRO can dish out in mono let alone the lower powered BB750..

You ought to stop over Jay and give it a try...

To adequately power a pair of AMPEG 810's to full steam you would need PA power with at minimum 1200 watts per channel. A pair of BB Titan V-12's would be what a guy would need. an M9 Carbine per cab would be about the minimum I'd consider.

Now that's to full smoke a lot more than a guy would need at the LEGION. My big rig would have scared them at the birdcage...

SEMPER AMPLIO

BOB

+1 a v12 is a monster, that one can compete with the 4 pro

[rockstarbassist]

Originally Posted by DanRJBrasil

+1 a v12 is a monster, that one can compete with the 4 pro

Lol my Titan crushes the 4-Pro...

[KwinS]

Another Titan owner in agreement!


I vote for the BB750 over the Ampeg...IF you can't get a Titan.

[Fealach]

While I liked Mesa's now discontinued tube heads, I haven't been thrilled with their other stuff. The Big Block does not excite me. I was impressed with the Ampeg 4 Pro. If you like the Ampeg sound and want to get as close as you can without power tubes, that's the one to pick. I prefer the 2Pro, but I like tubes.

What don't you like about your Carvin? It's an old amp and not powerful by today's standards, but often in the real world you don't need a ton of power. I've heard good things about the Carvin B1500, nothing like the antique you're using now. Supposed to be good sounding, powerful, and cheap. Personally when I don't use a tube amp I use a Genz Benz; great amps but not the cheapest, a great value though for the money.

[akaTRENT]

If you want clean tone go for the svt4. or the mesa.
if you want more growl look to the the standard svt amps.

Both are great. and from what I have read most people say the ampeg is a muddier darker sound. I would agree and thats what i like so I am pleased with choosing ampeg.

Originally Posted by htcbassist89

Hello

Im new to the forum and i thought this would be the best place
to get a review

I play in a harder rock band
i own a Ampeg 810 cab and im using a Carvin pro bass head that my uncle had given to me

i was wondering what head you guys would prefer out of the
ampeg svt 4 pro or the mesa big block or maybe another

THanks

[brashap]

just thought I'd chime in....

BigBlock 750 W/ 2x12 and 1x15 for the big gigs
Walkabout 15 for the rest of em.
cheers!

[Woofenstein]

Previouse 4Pro owner, current 3Pro owner. I had the pleasure of playing another bassist's BB750 through an SVT-610HLF and it was a really good sound. It had more of a full out tube tone than either the 3Pro or 4Pro are capable of. I'm very happy with my 3Pro, but I plan to replace it with a BB750 as soon as I can. I really liked the tone. The 4Pro, and 3Pro are very different tonally than the BB750 IMO.

[xshawnxearthx]

Originally Posted by rbonner

Negative, not enough power. The 810 can take virtually every watt a 4PRO can dish out in mono let alone the lower powered BB750..

You ought to stop over Jay and give it a try...

To adequately power a pair of AMPEG 810's to full steam you would need PA power with at minimum 1200 watts per channel. A pair of BB Titan V-12's would be what a guy would need. an M9 Carbine per cab would be about the minimum I'd consider.

Now that's to full smoke a lot more than a guy would need at the LEGION. My big rig would have scared them at the birdcage...

SEMPER AMPLIO

BOB

when i ran my 4 pro into an 810e in mono bridged, the 810 couldn't handle all the 4 pro could dish out. i simply could not compete with two full stacks at show volume. had to run it in non bridged.

two weeks later i played a very large venue and was able to run 2 810's and it definitely got the job done.

[rbonner]

Originally Posted by xshawnxearthx

when i ran my 4 pro into an 810e in mono bridged, the 810 couldn't handle all the 4 pro could dish out. i simply could not compete with two full stacks at show volume. had to run it in non bridged.

two weeks later i played a very large venue and was able to run 2 810's and it definitely got the job done.

That's nice. I'm really glad all you guys who have run your amps with two cabs HAD ENOUGH POWER for the duty that day. Most days of the week in average gig sizes I agree too you could get by with it. But that's not what I built for.

If you look at all the touring pros using 4PROs or SVT's and multiple SVT810's they are putting an amp per cab. That's just the way it is. I also discussed this at length with Dino at AMPEG, the only amp they claim to be able to really drive a pair of 810's is the 8PRO. Good luck getting one.

The 4PRO and most of these amps either cannot handle 2 OHMS (the BB can just not enough poop) or you have to run them in stereo to drive 4 ohm cabs. There is a considerable drop in power going from 1200W to 490W at 4 OHMS with the 4PRO (and the BB750 but the 750 is not stereo.)

When driving two cabs I can turn the amp ALL THE WAY UP, I do not feel safe running the thing like that. I am able to have a lot more headroom and slightly more output driving an amp per cab. I also feel the rig sounds better.

Now WILL ONE OF THESE RIGS POWER A PAIR OF CABS? Well yeah DUH... But if you want the THUMP that an AMPEG 810 cab can generate you need to put POWER to the cab. There's more to just loud volume, I'm talking the tone the cab can generate. I'd rather run one cab and hit it good than two and not have enough power to whomp the cabs. This is what I found out the hard way.

$15,000 later I'll put my rig up against anybody's.

I'm heading out now to go visits Jaywa at the Legion, while not my Genre' they are a very very good band. One of their guy's wife just had a kid today and won't be there, this will be interesting. Maybe I should sit in with my Theremin?

BOB