Rig reinvention help...please?

tonymcbony · #1 11-24-2011, 02:54 PM

Alrighty, here's my current rig:

Amp is an Ampeg SVT-CL
Cabs are Ashdown ABM1x15 and ABM2x10

I play a 2008 P-Bass through it with Chromes or a Pedulla Rapture 4 J2 (Jazz bass on steroids).

I'm happy with my basses so no problems there.

The tone that I like is punchy with a nice little bit grind, and quite a bit of growl. I enjoy the Ampeg PF350 tone because of this. I play rock, alternative, post rock and prog rock styles.

The amp and cabs aren't quite doing it for me. There is far too much flabby, boomy loose end. It feels a bit spongy to play and I can't get the mid voicing that I like. If I turn down the bass, the tone becomes too brittle, turning it up has too much boomy bass. I know the spongy feel comes from the tubes and I can accept that because they have a bit of magic they give to the tone. Truth be told though, I wouldn't miss the weight of the SVT!

I've figure that I'm happiest 4x10s. They're heavy bastards but sound the best to me whilst not being too big to move.

What am I actually looking for? Aguilar? GK? Mesa?
If I sold the lot I'd probably be able to get about US$2300ish.

The crap thing is that I can't try most of this gear out before purchase in NZ.

So yeah, it can be solid state, tube, or hybrid in terms of amp, and anything punchy and preferably light for 4x10, suggestions to point me in the right direction will be greatly appreciated!

**B-string** · #2 11-24-2011, 03:07 PM

The first thing I would do is have your amp serviced by a good tech. 2 fold: 1) You may just have some weak tubes or a bias problem. 2) If you sell it anyway you can tell the buyer the amp just got a clean bill of health.

If you still need a change my suggestion is a G-K Fusion 550 and a G-K NEO410 cab.

RickenBoogie · #3 11-24-2011, 04:49 PM

+1 a good "going over" is a great idea.

GrowlerBox · #4 11-24-2011, 05:09 PM

FWIW, I think you'd regret getting rid of that SVT-CL. The cabs, maybe not so much ...

Get thee with your Pedulla and your SVT down to the Rockshop (they still open down there?) and plug 'em into everything they've got.

I seem to recall an Ampeg 610 on TradeMe in recent times, too. Might be just what you need.

lomo · #5 11-24-2011, 05:34 PM

What's available near you? Haul your (freshly tuned) head around and try a gaggle of 410s.

Alex1984 · #6 11-24-2011, 05:55 PM

Also, you can try a VT Bass through the front of your SVT-CL. Doubt it's the head's fault. My SVT's all sound very tight and punchy. With Mesa, the tone would sound a bit more refined, but also held back in the lower mids. Traynors might be closer to what you're looking for.

JimmyM · #7 11-24-2011, 06:09 PM

Ya, living in NZ, I'd be really hesitant to give up on a CL right away. Honestly, I don't mean this as a slam on Ashdown cabs, but the ABM's aren't exactly their best cabs.

walterw · #8 11-24-2011, 06:20 PM

and does it even need to be said?

lose the mismatch, and get matching cabs.

tonymcbony · #9 11-24-2011, 08:22 PM

Ok, so given that I acknowledge that the mixed drivers thing really didn't work for me, that the Ashdown cabs really only suit Ashdown heads (I used to have an ABM500), what reasonable 4x10s can be suggested?

Last thing I want is the scooped, rumbling 410HLF, lack of mids and floppy low-end is the exact opposite of my flavour.

**jmattbassplaya** · #10 11-24-2011, 08:25 PM

How about a Genz Benz NeoX212T? They sound amazing with Ampeg heads.

tonymcbony · #11 11-24-2011, 11:09 PM

That could be a cool option, if they do 4ohm.

I'm just starting to feel I'm sloshing too much money around trying to make the SVT work for me. I know that in order to make it work I'd need to get a sealed 4x10 that was 500w and 4ohm or get a 6x10 like the Bergantino. I really get annoyed that a cheap little PF350 sounds more like I want than the SVT itself!

Ben Clarke · #12 11-24-2011, 11:27 PM

I'd be looking into building a cab if the market was that tough here.

JimmyM · #13 11-25-2011, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonymcbony

That could be a cool option, if they do 4ohm.

I'm just starting to feel I'm sloshing too much money around trying to make the SVT work for me. I know that in order to make it work I'd need to get a sealed 4x10 that was 500w and 4ohm or get a 6x10 like the Bergantino. I really get annoyed that a cheap little PF350 sounds more like I want than the SVT itself!

I take it you weren't crazy about those settings I use, eh?

Well if you feel that strongly about it, then get the PF350, but selling an SVT is a pretty drastic step, especially when you live in Christchurch and it'll be expensive to get another one if you hange your mind.

tonymcbony · #14 11-25-2011, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I take it you weren't crazy about those settings I use, eh?

Well if you feel that strongly about it, then get the PF350, but selling an SVT is a pretty drastic step, especially when you live in Christchurch and it'll be expensive to get another one if you hange your mind.

Haha, no those settings were great! Actually did get me a LOT closer to what I was wanting. Just couldn't get the low mid punch I wanted to get without the flab and to be honest the PF350 doesn't quite either through those cabs. I already own the PF350 so there's no problem there, but there is a definite something about tube tone that'd I miss.

I agree with your reasoning, I'd rather do what I can to make it work for me before I give up on it because it should sound pretty special. This was the first SVT I'd seen for sale in NZ for years too so I grabbed it. I think my cab choice is what's tripping me up here, the porting just makes it flabby.

Rockin Mike · #15 11-25-2011, 12:49 AM

Get an Ampeg cab to go under the SVT-CL.
PN-410HLF

Don't lose the Ampeg head until you've tried it with a cab that was designed for it.

SVTs can get plenty all punchy.

Alex1984 · #16 11-25-2011, 12:49 AM

You could try the NV610 or a pair of SVT 210 AV cabs. But yeah, again, I've tried JimmyM's suggestion of running a VT bass in front of an SVT and it really highlights what the SVT can offer without coloring the tone in a negative way, still has the nice all-tube SVT goodness in spades.

Alex1984 · #17 11-25-2011, 12:52 AM

I'm still more of a fan of sealed 810s, and a pair of 410HE could be good too. Like the OP, I'm not too crazy about the 410 HLF cabs either.

Rockin Mike · #18 11-25-2011, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonymcbony

Ok, so given that I acknowledge that the mixed drivers thing really didn't work for me, that the Ashdown cabs really only suit Ashdown heads (I used to have an ABM500), what reasonable 4x10s can be suggested?

Last thing I want is the scooped, rumbling 410HLF, lack of mids and floppy low-end is the exact opposite of my flavour.

You mean the SVT-410HLF or the PN-410HLF?

I would expect the neo speakers in the PN to have tight low end and much punchier mids than the SVT-410HLF.

Jimmy is that right?

JimmyM · #19 11-25-2011, 01:15 AM

Wouldn't know, bro...never played any of the PN cabs.

BogeyBass · #20 11-25-2011, 01:22 AM

I sold my SVT-CL years ago. Mainly because i was running 2 8x10 cabinets.

Running the 2ohm tap all the time, murdered tubes very quickly and i started to have problems with the board, mainly the sockets.

Bought a Sunn 300 and had the same problem with it, killing tubes when running the 2 ohm tap all the time. I would say the 2ohm tap sounded slightly better on the Sunn/ 300 bassman pro.
But it sounded less spongy when i just ran the 4ohm tap with one cabinet.

Whats the point of all this jibber jabbuh......the best sound you can get out of the SVT is to run a sealed cabinet on the 4ohm tap.

And most likely the tubes need to be replaced in your classic, and at that point , would , should make you very happy.

Your biggest problem is your speakers, and a new 4x10 would sound way better than the mismatched ashdowns. But in the end i dont think a 4x10 is going to get you where you need to be volume wise.

A 6x10 is a good suggestion, but i dont see the point. might as well go with the full enchilada at that point.

Then again a 8x10 sounds 2 heavy for you. At that point the suggestion of 2x12 makes more sense. But its going to have to be 2 2x12 stacked vertical. Might as well use the tiny solid state. since i dont think any commercial 2x12 are 24" wide and none are 26" so a normal 26" SVT or the smaller 24" CL looks rather goofy on a vertical stack.

so to cut this mumble jumble to a end....Just get a freakin all matching Ampeg rig. 8x10 cabinet and Retubed classic running on the 4 ohm tap. 2ohm taps get spongy.