Ampeg SVT Classic or SVT 7 Pro

Murph_Orpheus · #1 09-19-2011, 09:57 AM

I know this may be a no brainer to a lot of people on here (especially JimmyM!) but I have an opportunity to get one of these amps soon. The 7 Pro will be €750 brand new or I could get the Classic for €800 2nd hand which is 3 years old but never been gigged and hasn't got a mark on it. I know one of the biggest differences is weight but that doesn't really bother me ( I have that rare thing where my bandmates don't mind helping to carry stuff!

) So....what would you do!?

**Freddels** · #2 09-19-2011, 09:58 AM

If you don't mind the weight, all tubes is the best. I think the 7 Pro is the next best thing.

rummy · #3 09-19-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddels

If you don't mind the weight, all tubes is the best. I think the 7 Pro is the next best thing.

If the weight doesn't bother you, go tubes!

atticpenny · #4 09-19-2011, 11:31 AM

I agree that if weight is not a consideration, and weight is the ONLY consideration for you then go with all-tube. However, weight is not the only consideration for a lot of people. Maintenance costs are a consideration as well. Keep in mind that all-tube means more costly maintenance. Replacing the tubes on a Classic is not cheap (there are a lot of them), and from my experience, is very necessary if you use the amp a lot (you will probably replace the power tubes more often than the preamp tubes, so the classic will cost you a bit more over the life of the amp than the 7-PRO).

gnjpowell · #5 09-19-2011, 11:48 AM

Reliability may also be an issue. Can you afford a spare tube SVT? Seen many a tube SVT fail totally or have other problems when setting up for various shows - BTDT. Yes, they do sound AWESOME when they work correctly!

tekdiver500ft · #6 09-19-2011, 11:56 AM

Atticpenny is absolutely right, especially if you are picky about your tone. A good friend of mine just put $1,200 worth of tubes in his Classic. And frankly, $1,200 here, $1,200 there, and pretty soon, you're talking about real money. The 7Pro will be far less expensive over the life of the amp, and is lighter and more reliable. The Classic is as loud and sounds better...

You pays your money and you makes your choice. Personally, I'd go for the 7Pro, but I'm cheap.

**Freddels** · #7 09-19-2011, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

Atticpenny is absolutely right, especially if you are picky about your tone. A good friend of mine just put $1,200 worth of tubes in his Classic. And frankly, $1,200 here, $1,200 there, and pretty soon, you're talking about real money. The 7Pro will be far less expensive over the life of the amp, and is lighter and more reliable. The Classic is as loud and sounds better...

You pays your money and you makes your choice. Personally, I'd go for the 7Pro, but I'm cheap.

$1200 in tubes??

brndn123 · #8 09-19-2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

Atticpenny is absolutely right, especially if you are picky about your tone. A good friend of mine just put $1,200 worth of tubes in his Classic. And frankly, $1,200 here, $1,200 there, and pretty soon, you're talking about real money. The 7Pro will be far less expensive over the life of the amp, and is lighter and more reliable. The Classic is as loud and sounds better...

You pays your money and you makes your choice. Personally, I'd go for the 7Pro, but I'm cheap.

Wow, where do you shop for your tubes? Personally, if you take care of your amp and don't do anything stupid, you will be just fine. Remember, the SVT is basically the industry standard for bass players and the whole "retubing" thing hasn't effected that in the least. The big issue is if you mind lugging the beast around. That is why most guys go to the 7 Pro but tone wise, any all-tube SVT is pretty tough to beat...unless you own a Bassman 300 pro that is

JimmyM · #9 09-19-2011, 12:24 PM

I have seen no evidence that tube heads are more expensive to operate on the whole than SS amps. So you have to buy tubes occasionally...big deal...I've had SS amps in the shop as well. Take care of your gear and it takes care of you.

rummy · #10 09-19-2011, 12:52 PM

Yup. I've owned numerous Marshall and Boogie guitar heads. None of them ever needed maintenance. Matter of fact, the only times I changed tubes was when I wanted to experiment with different sounds.

atticpenny · #11 09-19-2011, 01:03 PM

I'm usually not one to debate about these sort of things with folks on TB, as I respect all of your opinions a great deal. However, I think it is a little disingenuous to disregard tube replacement as simply not a big deal, and it might not be entirely fair to someone with limited income. Some people (as my post originally stated) might have those costs as a serious consideration. As for being in the shop and taking care of one's gear, to me that is just obvious. Maintaining power tubes (when the amp is used frequently) is a critical part of taking care of one's gear. One does not have to do that same process to take good care of a solid state power amp. Having an amp in the shop due to malfunction is not the same thing as maintaining a tube amp properly. I don't really know of a reason to send solid state power amps into a shop for regular maintenance, although there may be. I just have not ever had to. Solid state amps have been rather maintenance-free for me over the years.
Also, just because the cost of retubing hasn't had an impact on tube amps being the industry standard doesn't have any bearing on the original post. The OP asked what we would do when choosing between those two amps.
Personally, I would take maintenance costs into consideration. Perhaps the OP might take that into consideration as well, perhaps not. Some people don't want to have to spend extra money on maintenance, and it is my experience that tube amps require regular maintenance if they are used frequently. I hope this post doesn't sound snotty or anything. I certainly don't intend it to, but I do feel that tube replacement is a legit consideration when choosing between tube and solid state power amplifiers (for some people, of course). Cheers!

RickenBoogie · #12 09-19-2011, 01:09 PM

Though that's not entirely untrue, I think what Jimmy and others are saying is, tube life can be a loooong time. You don't have to put a tube amp in the shop frequently at all. In fact, I've seen all tube amps run trouble free for years- without need of replacing any tubes. ANY amp can break down, and all tube amps are no more likely to need repair than non tube amps.

Mastermold · #13 09-19-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freddels

$1200 in tubes??

What tubes are these? I've never had to replace any tubes in my SVT and never priced them but that dollar number is nearly the price of the whole amp! What's a new set of SVT tubes actually run?

jmpiwonka · #14 09-19-2011, 02:27 PM

paid $180 for a matched sextet of tungsol tubes for my svtII

paid another $170 for the labor, but it was more than just rebias/rebalance...checked to make sure all the updates were done as well as figure out why it was intermittently not passing a signal (dirty jacks in the back)

amp is dead quiet, sounds awesome and i don't figure the thing will need any work for years

i think you can get a sextet of 6550 tubes for as little as $150

tekdiver500ft · #15 09-19-2011, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brndn123

Wow, where do you shop for your tubes?

I don't - I use a SS Ampeg (really considering a 7Pro, though). As I said, this is a friend of mine, and he is quite particular. I didn't even recognize the brand name of the tubes he was using, but he swears by them, and if one in a set dies, he replaces all of them. Yes, he's obsessive, but the point was that tube replacement can get pricey. I didn't mean to intimate that it always is, though.

TheNightLife · #16 09-19-2011, 02:57 PM

Why have something that tries to mimic the real thing when you can have the real thing? Lol as long as weight is no problem. I own an svtcl and I use it regularly with no issues. I get the amp checked up once a year and its fine. I may by an svt7 for a backup amp just in case though

babebambi · #17 09-19-2011, 03:04 PM

you can change the sound of the CL quite a bit with different tubes

you can't do much to change the sound of the 7Pro (besides the EQ)
there's only one pre tub in there

as an aside, my 2pro is the quietest of all my amps
the 2pro is my only tuber, all other being hybrids

lfbassguy · #18 09-19-2011, 03:20 PM

a friend of mine plays for bugs henderson and does a lot of side gigs, so he's playing a lot. he has a fender pro 300 and has to replace the tubes once a year. cost for him is $750. i don't know how that would compare to an svt though.

my thoughts are go with the tube svt if you don't mind in the future maybe having to retube. depending on how much you play. if it is a bother, i think you will be happy with the 7 pro.

i had the same question for me just come up a few weeks ago. i went with the 7 pro because, i did not want the thought of having to retube. i have a family, and extra expenses like that are just not in my budget. i wish it was though.

Buster Brown · #19 09-19-2011, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atticpenny

I agree that if weight is not a consideration, and weight is the ONLY consideration for you then go with all-tube. However, weight is not the only consideration for a lot of people. Maintenance costs are a consideration as well. Keep in mind that all-tube means more costly maintenance. Replacing the tubes on a Classic is not cheap (there are a lot of them), and from my experience, is very necessary if you use the amp a lot (you will probably replace the power tubes more often than the preamp tubes, so the classic will cost you a bit more over the life of the amp than the 7-PRO).

I could not agree with you more here!

I LOVE tube amps!! However, they do come with the "built in" cost of maintaing tubes. It IS a costly venture if you have to retube, for sure. However, I have rarely had to switch out ALL tubes at the same time (Thank God!).

Unfortunately, I have talked to several guys who didn't take the cost of tubes into account when purchasing and it sort of "slaps them in the face" when it occurs....

As to the 7Pro VS the CL (for example). All things being equal, the SVT CL will cost quite a bit more over the life of the amp. If there are never issues with either amp (with the exception of tubes) you will pay a good deal more to own the CL. That's a fact.

However, I can't help but believe that purchasing a tube amp (as opposed to a class D) will ensure that you have an amp that will still be kicking 40 years from now.....

brndn123 · #20 09-19-2011, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lfbassguy

a friend of mine plays for bugs henderson and does a lot of side gigs, so he's playing a lot. he has a fender pro 300 and has to replace the tubes once a year. cost for him is $750.

I've never spent that much retubing my 300 pro. I use GrooveTubes and bias the amp at home. No need to change out the preamp tubes unless they burn out or start sounding weak.