Eden WT 550 vs Ampeg SVT 3 Pro

tycobb73 · #1 12-06-2011, 05:18 PM

Can someone compare these 2 for me? I recently got the Eden and don't think its for me. Wondering if Ampeg is.

RickenBoogie · #2 12-06-2011, 05:57 PM

Only you can answer that. Describing bass tones with words is subjective in and of itself. If you're on a personal tone quest, be peprared to spend alot. Otoh, being thankful you have a nice amp is important too. Besides, you didn't mention the cab or cabs you're using, and that has a similar impact on tone.

tekdiver500ft · #3 12-06-2011, 06:20 PM

RickenBoogie is right in that cab means as much as amp, and that words don't really work in describing sound.

Having said that, the Ampeg has tone for days. With five preamp tubes, you really won't get a warmer tone in a hybrid. Just realize that you may have to swap tubes around somewhat to get the tone and/or volume you want from it.

mro · #4 12-06-2011, 06:30 PM

I sold my Ampeg SVT3 proand purchased the Eden WT550. Through the same cabs(SWR) the Eden was much louder. I can control the EQ more than Ampeg. The parametric EQ set flat sounds good.Very reliable,gigged for years,no issues.I just find it a better amp, my $0.02. At the end of the day, it's your ears that tell you what you like.What are your cabs?

tycobb73 · #5 12-06-2011, 06:54 PM

To me the Eden sounds like it has a blanket over it. I play through a Dr Bass 210. I have a 115 at my disposal to put underneath it. I play through my spector with EMGs. I haven't played it through my Warwick with the band yet, just the spector.

tycobb73 · #6 12-06-2011, 07:00 PM

How did you guys eq it for rock?

**B-string** · #7 12-06-2011, 07:05 PM

Maybe you need to try a G-K?

TomB · #8 12-06-2011, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mro

I sold my Ampeg SVT3 proand purchased the Eden WT550. Through the same cabs(SWR) the Eden was much louder. I can control the EQ more than Ampeg. The parametric EQ set flat sounds good.Very reliable,gigged for years,no issues.I just find it a better amp, my $0.02.

+1, My experience & opinion as well. That's not an Ampeg generalization. My own V4B & my experience on stage w/SVT big rigs has been great. But I was unable to make the SVT3 work for my sound after a while trying. My Eden WT 400 has served reliably and sounded great for many years.

nashman · #9 12-06-2011, 07:07 PM

Re: "the Eden sounds like it has a blanket over it" - that's strange - there is something not right there. Mine is very clear and articulate - although I use Eden cabs.

tycobb73 · #10 12-06-2011, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B-string

Maybe you need to try a G-K?

traded the gk for the eden. The eden is closer to what i hear in my head than the gk was. I set the eden's eq with a so that the lows, mids, and highs were all at 1 o clock and with my Warwick in my room I thought i had my sound. But the true test is with the band. The spector played with the band set flat with the amp how I described above sounded ok. It had the mid grind but seemed to have no character in the lows or highs. Maybe I need just a touch of that "suck knob" that everyone talks about that will scoop your sound.

nashman · #11 12-06-2011, 07:43 PM

1:00 on your various eq knobs is quite a bit of boost on a WT550. Eden eq is very powerful - perhaps more so than your GK or Ampeg. Don't use enhance (keep all the way to the left) especially in a band setting - and try just one or two "clicks" of eq on the WT550. Personally I use 1 click boost of bass, 2 clicks boost low mids, everything else flat (at 12:00).

pedulla1 · #12 12-06-2011, 08:16 PM

I had a similar problem. I owned an Eden Navigator pre-amp that sounded killer in my living room - phat, warm, punchy. In a band situation I just got lost in the mix. Setting it close to flat yielded a sound that was too thin for my taste. I got an
Ampeg SVP pre-amp and that worked. I was able to cut through the mix with warmth and punch and my notes had weight. I currently use an Ampeg SVT-7 Pro and it is killer!

Bean639 · #13 12-06-2011, 08:43 PM

Sansamp BDDI with the blend knob @ ~55%. Im not the first to notice a "majical rock tone" with these two blended. I do some pretty crazy EQ'n too. (far from flat) I will say the suck knob floats somewhere between 10 and 1 o'clock. depending on other EQ'n and goals.

I hope this helped some.

IntrepidCellist · #14 12-06-2011, 08:52 PM

I love my WT400. Clear, articulate, and punchy, but warm. The EQ is extremely powerful (don't need to turn the knobs too much to make BIG changes) and the Enhance knob is nice in extremely small doses to add some 'air' up top.

The SVT-3 didn't really do it for me. I like the all-tube SVTs and I got good tones out of an SVT-7pro, but I didn't dig the 3 as much.

tycobb73 · #15 12-06-2011, 08:56 PM

HHMM. Those last 2 comments gave me something to think about.

4Mal · #16 12-06-2011, 10:44 PM

The WT EQ is powerful. You have to work it though. They can sound great but you have to get comfy with the Enhance and the EQ to make it so... WT's aren't amps that reveal themselves all at once.

One Drop · #17 12-07-2011, 12:44 AM

If you don't get the gain set properly on the Edens you aren't getting the tone they are capable of, very particular in this way.

Too low, and it's lifeless and thin, too high, farts out unpleasantly, sounds like the one preamp tube being pushed too heavily. If you back off from there and set the gain to its sweet spot the amp comes alive and can sound really good.

I've heard that two clicks worth of boost on the treble knob is closer to a flat setting; I usually set mine this way, everything else at around noon unless I want to emphasize some J growl by boosting the lower mids a bit.

Since I got a VT Deluxe I just run it with the Eden, with a few settings going from almost completely clean to quite hairy. Sounds great, but I'll still take my SVT to a gig over it if the circumstances permit.

tycobb73 · #18 12-07-2011, 04:16 AM

This is my first tube amp. How do you set the gain properly?

tycobb73 · #19 12-07-2011, 04:20 AM

How close is the VT Eden combo to the SVT? Have any of you tried the VT with other heads? Does it sound different from head to head?

One Drop · #20 12-07-2011, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tycobb73

This is my first tube amp. How do you set the gain properly?

It's not a tube amp, barely even a hybrid. The tube in there warms up the tone very slightly- I disengage it when using the VT in front.

You should check out the Eden manual, it's poorly written but has important info.

Basically, crank the gain until the red light flashes a lot on the lowest notes you play (at the hardest you will be playing them), and then back off so it just intermittently lights on these same hard low notes.

You can also disengage the tube by pulling out the gain knob and setting it the same way, just using the green light instead.

But do look at the manual.