Exactley how loud is a all tube 300 Watt SVT Ampeg into a 8x10 SVT cab?

[TUEP]

I have played them at low volumes at GC, but never really got to crank one. I know my SVT-350 ss is a far cry from the real deal but if I A/B'ed them side by side each with its own 8x10 cab, both at 12 o'clock. What would be the volume difference between the 300 watt all tube and the 350 ss.

I used to mess around with a Mesa 400+ going into two Mesa 15's at my old job, though I didn't care for the mids I remember it would rumble the floor.

So what volume difference would I notice?

[Jim C]

The difference is that one will sound like the ultimate rock bass amp and the other won't!
If a tube SVT into an 8x10 isn't loud enough then the SVT-350 is not going to be the solution IMO. Without getting into the tubes vs. SS debate; I predict that the tube amp will appear louder and will sound more musical when pushed into distortion.

[JimmyM]

you can't go by the knobs. they're not exactly matching across the board. i think jim's answer is a reasonable one.

[megadan]

How loud is a 300W SVT-Cl in an 8x10?

Well, how loud is the bass at your local club? What's the loudest band you've ever heard?

It's hard to say without reference, but it's sort of this loud: You stand in front of it and plug a hot bass into the unpadded input. Then you start turning up the gain until the signal is pretty loud, like a good loud bass signal that you'd like to hear.
Then, you crank up the master! It gets to be about noon and this thing is making some serious noise, like in the 'pushing air' category. Whenever you hit the strings you sort of get a little smile on your face, oh and also, the walls rattle a little bit.
That's when you take those volume knobs and you just goose 'em a little bit more, just a touch higher. Now your tone sounds like a nuclear bomb turning a desert into glass. Everything vibrates when you hit the low E string, like the cab, the walls, the pictures, the floor, and your girlfriend. Sometimes things will come loose and fall down.
The cat will be as far away as he can physically get. By this point, someone should be yelling at you to "turn that thing down!" If not, you can play a little more and then get a little scared and have to go to the bathroom.
That's about how loud it is, roughly.

[Bassman316]

Originally Posted by megadan

How loud is a 300W SVT-Cl in an 8x10?

Well, how loud is the bass at your local club? What's the loudest band you've ever heard?

It's hard to say without reference, but it's sort of this loud: You stand in front of it and plug a hot bass into the unpadded input. Then you start turning up the gain until the signal is pretty loud, like a good loud bass signal that you'd like to hear.
Then, you crank up the master! It gets to be about noon and this thing is making some serious noise, like in the 'pushing air' category. Whenever you hit the strings you sort of get a little smile on your face, oh and also, the walls rattle a little bit.
That's when you take those volume knobs and you just goose 'em a little bit more, just a touch higher. Now your tone sounds like a nuclear bomb turning a desert into glass. Everything vibrates when you hit the low E string, like the cab, the walls, the pictures, the floor, and your girlfriend. Sometimes things will come loose and fall down.
The cat will be as far away as he can physically get. By this point, someone should be yelling at you to "turn that thing down!" If not, you can play a little more and then get a little scared and have to go to the bathroom.
That's about how loud it is, roughly.

[christw]

Even though we don't think of bass amps as hurting yours ears like guitar amps do, this one will. In the loudest band I've ever played with I had to push it to the edge of distortion. Even with earplugs that hurt a bit.

[basslinejam]

After surveying his creation, Cox was actually concerned about potential liability—when your engineers warn of the possible harm their designs could cause, you'd better listen. Ampeg's management did and devised a warning label which read:

"THIS AMP IS CAPABLE OF DELIVERING SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS THAT MAY CAUSE PERMANENT HEARING DAMAGE."

http://www.ampeg.com/history.html

IIRC This warning is on the back of SVT cabinets

[username1]

I would never worry about an svt being loud enough, i would worry more about being able to work it hard enough to hit the sweet spot without overpowering everyone else.

[4001]

Originally Posted by megadan

How loud is a 300W SVT-Cl in an 8x10?

Well, how loud is the bass at your local club? What's the loudest band you've ever heard?

It's hard to say without reference, but it's sort of this loud: You stand in front of it and plug a hot bass into the unpadded input. Then you start turning up the gain until the signal is pretty loud, like a good loud bass signal that you'd like to hear.
Then, you crank up the master! It gets to be about noon and this thing is making some serious noise, like in the 'pushing air' category. Whenever you hit the strings you sort of get a little smile on your face, oh and also, the walls rattle a little bit.
That's when you take those volume knobs and you just goose 'em a little bit more, just a touch higher. Now your tone sounds like a nuclear bomb turning a desert into glass. Everything vibrates when you hit the low E string, like the cab, the walls, the pictures, the floor, and your girlfriend. Sometimes things will come loose and fall down.
The cat will be as far away as he can physically get. By this point, someone should be yelling at you to "turn that thing down!" If not, you can play a little more and then get a little scared and have to go to the bathroom.
That's about how loud it is, roughly.

That was a great read.

[4001]

Originally Posted by username1

I would never worry about an svt being loud enough, i would worry more about being able to work it hard enough to hit the sweet spot without overpowering everyone else.

Eaxctly.

When that amp starts really driving out great sound, you have already killed the first fifty people in front of the stage.

[craig.p]

I've never played or heard the 350. But I can personally vouch for the 300/810 being loud, as in terrifyingly loud. However, and this is important, it's a unique sort of loud. I've played through a ton of different bass amps since '69, which is when I began playing bass, and none of those amps, had they possessed an SVT-class output section, would've sounded anything like an SVT. I didn't stay with the SVT long enough to determine whether this was due more to the head itself or to the cab itself or to how they worked together as a unit. I'll say this much, though: You'll either like the SVT/810 or you won't. It's MUCH more than a simple power upgrade from what you're already used to. It's a different beast altogether. Being nearfield at several Joan Jett and Ramones concerts simply confirmed my own personal experience with one. I don't know if others will agree with this, but the SVT/810 "plays" in a way that tends to assault and dominate everything else that's happening on stage. In terms of frequency slots, it cuts a really wide swath. This can be either an asset or a liability. Again, just my own personal observations.

[lfh]

Based on Ampeg's specs, at 1 m you get nominally:

SPL = 100 + 10 * log10(300) = 100 + 25 = 125 dB

Subtract perhaps 1 dB due to power compression from the above figure.

I'd say that this is about 10 dB louder than most of us ever need from a backline...

[4001]

So, what is just below the SVT/810 that can even come a little bit close.
If nothing comes close, if it weren't a SVT/810 setup, what would you use for a little less power that will still kill but not at a deadly SPL?

Just curious.

[megadan]

Originally Posted by 4001

So, what is just below the SVT/810 that can even come a little bit close.
If nothing comes close, if it weren't a SVT/810 setup, what would you use for a little less power that will still kill but not at a deadly SPL?

Just curious.

An Ampeg V4 and a 2x15.

[johnk_10]

or a YBA-200-2 thru an 8x10.

[lfh]

Actually lots of amps today are capable of output in the 125 - 130 dB range. If the desired sound is that of a tube power amp driven near clipping and transformer saturation, I'd look for smallish amps, like 50 -100 W. Another way to "kill" without hurting people's ears is to push lots of LF. The 2x15 suggestion might be a good idea.

[craig.p]

> An Ampeg V4 and a 2x15.

Bingo.

Especially if the 15s are QUALITY and EFFICIENT. (Not some stock/OEM junk that's been sitting in the cab since 1980, for example.)

[D.M.N.]

Bassman 300 into a 2x15. Painfully loud as well, but it can be a bit cleaner than a SVT.
If you want to push it more, and not be as loud, you can take out the fuse on one of the pairs of tubes. It operates at around 200w now. This is what I'm doing since one of my tubes went bad, and it's STILL stupid loud.

[Alex1984]

Originally Posted by craig.p

> An Ampeg V4 and a 2x15.

Bingo.

Especially if the 15s are QUALITY and EFFICIENT. (Not some stock/OEM junk that's been sitting in the cab since 1980, for example.)

I'd argue against that, a lot of cabs have pretty high quality stock speakers. I love the Mesa RR215.

Originally Posted by johnk_10

or a YBA-200-2 thru an 8x10.

Yep, I can vouch for that rig!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Alex1984

I'd argue against that, a lot of cabs have pretty high quality stock speakers. I love the Mesa RR215.

he meant the ampeg rig, i'm sure. while i wouldn't call cts speakers junky, they're not exactly the best speakers made. now if it came with jbl's or altecs, you're fine.