SVT-3 Vs. SVT-4 Opinions?

[Splatterthrash]

Have an SVT-3, wondering about the 4.
Anyone?

[JimiLL]

Besides SEARCH....lol

IMHO they are underpowered and becoming somewhat antiquated by todays standards.

Keep searching and reading up on amps

[kranahan]

3 has better tone
4 has more head room, versatility

my 2 cents

[RickenBoogie]

The 6Pro has all the tone of the 3, with most of the power of the 4.

[jmattbassplaya]

CL? What?

I like the 4, but personally I think Ampeg has better heads out there.

[rbonner]

I have a whole room fulla SVT-4PRO's barely used for sale. For no other reason than I no longer need six of them.

They only get the reputation of being underpowered because people don't understand Soild State amplifiers need headroom. They drive an 810 speaker cab slightly better than an SVT tube amp and have a boatload of features.

I have been buying up SVP-1600's to replace the 4PRO's as I dont need a preamp in each unit. That leaves me with 6 4PRO's with about 5 hours of testing only on them.

BOB

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by rbonner

I have a whole room fulla SVT-4PRO's barely used for sale. For no other reason than I no longer need six of them.

They only get the reputation of being underpowered because people don't understand Soild State amplifiers need headroom. They drive an 810 speaker cab slightly better than an SVT tube amp and have a boatload of features.

I have been buying up SVP-1600's to replace the 4PRO's as I dont need a preamp in each unit. That leaves me with 6 4PRO's with about 5 hours of testing only on them.

BOB

What you asking for them?

[JimmyM]

people also don't understand the ampeg gain stage. there's a lot of room for extra gain past when the light goes on, and people always mistake it for a clip light, but it should be lit up pretty well and solid. it's got to be nearly solid on all the time before you'll hear distortion. and then it has all the clean volume you can ask out of their wattage.

i like them both and think they sound pretty similar. not my all time favorite but great heads nonetheless.

[waleross]

I ran the 4pro in stereo through (2) 810E cabs on 5 gain and 5 master vol. ....That was a fun test back to one cab now.

[rbonner]

Originally Posted by waleross

I ran the 4pro in stereo through (2) 810E cabs on 5 gain and 5 master vol. ....That was a fun test back to one cab now.

Well here's what I have found and in conversations with Dino at AMPEG we both have agreed. He's even popped in on here and discussed this too. The newer 800 watt cabs need more power than the 4PRO can develop in stereo. It will totally LIGHT UP a pair of 410HLF's though.

I have also run them like that and the system is LOUDER and the cabs respond with the correct WHOMP with the unit hooked up MONO and hitting them with the gas.

With my setup I run the amps at about 2AM or 5/8th crank to 3/4 on the gain and 5/8th on the master to whomp the 810 hard. I like the sound.

When trying to do that with a pair of 810's you cant turn the drive up any more, but the master could turn all the way up. It was obvious that the amp didnt have enough power and also would trip off after a while of playing.

There is the ability to turn off the limiter. The level of DB output is considerable. Also in discussions with Jerrold, when in Stereo the power supplies are working on the same signal peaks loading heavily, but in MONO they are working on each side of the signal so like a push pull amp you have one supply loaded on one side of the signal and the other on the other peak... 2X the ability.

But I would rather have the extra protection of the limiter, and run with the supplies helping each other... With six amps. It just gets so excessively loud.

I've done about every reasonable test with these amps, just ask me the question and I'll tell you no lies.

BOB