SVT 4 Pro advice

[A Simple Plan]

Hey all...my first Post!!!

I just bought an SVT 4 Pro and 2 SVT410HLF's...now I know from reading these forums you all advise to run bridged...my question: is there any issue running 2 ohms...and how much power are we talking about? I see that it says 1200 watts into 4 ohms.

Second question: can anyone give me some SVT 4 Pro settings that they like

Thanks and all of your info has helped me greatly!!!

[waleross]

It runs as a 2 OHM head, no issues. It is a stereo head and its loud !!! Here is the link for the Ampeg manuel and settings .......http://www.ampeg.com/pdf/SVT4PRO.pdf
I have one its my fav......

[Murph_Orpheus]

The 4 Pro only runs at 4ohms bridged so you'll have to run the 2 410HLF's in stereo mode. Whether you wanna run each power amp at 4 ohms or run one power amp at 2ohms in stereo mode is up to you

[A Simple Plan]

Thanks for the link and info...much appreciated

Happy Thumpin'

[Son of Bovril]

confirmed, you CANNOT run it at 2ohms bridged. I believe running it at 4ohms per side will probably give you more watts per cab than running it at 2ohms on one side but thats upto you.

I have tried this combination (running it stereo) once at a show with Blindside and was horribly underwhelmed. Those cabs can get a very nice sound but are power hogs IMO and the SVT4 in stereo just didn't give me enough volume.

I personally prefer the SVT4 bridged into a single 810 for tonal bliss and high volume.

Try running the SVT4 bridged into one of those cabs and see if that is enough for you, IMO it will sound better. Not sure what your volume requirements are but one of those cabs should have more than enough low end

[Gearhead17]

Originally Posted by Son of Bovril

confirmed, you CANNOT run it at 2ohms bridged. I believe running it at 4ohms per side will probably give you more watts per cab than running it at 2ohms on one side but thats upto you.

I have tried this combination (running it stereo) once at a show with Blindside and was horribly underwhelmed. Those cabs can get a very nice sound but are power hogs IMO and the SVT4 in stereo just didn't give me enough volume.

I personally prefer the SVT4 bridged into a single 810 for tonal bliss and high volume.

Try running the SVT4 bridged into one of those cabs and see if that is enough for you, IMO it will sound better. Not sure what your volume requirements are but one of those cabs should have more than enough low end

One 410hlf bridged is not going to sound better than the 410hlf running in stereo. It's only a 500 watt cab that can bottom out quickly. I used to have two with my 4 PRO.....

SVT 4 PRO and an 810 sound great because the setup is not pushing so much below 80hz. You do not need mountains of low end to hear yourself.

Not trying to be a jerk here, I used to own two of the cabs and two 4 PROs, so I feel I know what I am talking about

The key to the 4 PRO is setting the gain knob so nearly every note is making the red peak light flash and not touching the buttons (Ultra Low High, Bright). Put all of the knobs at noon and leave the EQ sliders at 0 or off for right now. Do not boost anything below 80hz on this head! The cabs and head put out A LOT OF LOW END AT NORMAL SETTINGS. Instead, focus on learning what every knob on the head does by playing your bass and turning the knob at the same time. This way, you will understand how frequencies work, and will know how to tweak your head to get the sound you want. No such thing as a "tone setting" I can give you that will sound good with your gear and the room you are in. Too many variables!

Try decreasing frequencies first before boosting the ones you like. Do not do low volume tone tweaking - when you turn it up, it will most likely sound terrible. Turn it up semi-loud or right at the volume you will be playing at; then tweak the knobs. You will be surprised at how a little turn will go a long way.

Good luck

[gordabega]

that's some awesome advice bro.

i just got my 4 PRO a few weeks ago, and thanks to me living in an apartment, i have not had a lot of time to play with it. hence, the one and only day i HAVE gotten to play with it, i had issues.

of course, i wanted to boost everything, and i also used the Bass Driver pedal and a 3630. well, i may not need to use either one after reading this. i am running into an 410 XLT cab, and was getting low volumes, farting speakers and cutting out every so often.

aside from the possibility of overheating the head, i probably overloaded the snot out of the preamp too. i'll be using the -15dB pad from now on. i'll have to wait until next saturday to find out.

thanks so much for the help!

[JimmyM]

you were overboosting lows and probably overloading the 4 pro's preamp as well by overboosting your pedals. unity gain is your friend...look it up. then you won't need to bother with the -15db pad, which sucks the life out of amps as far as i'm concerned. just because the knobs turn that far doesn't make it a good idea try to get a good sound without the bddi and 3630, then add them slowly and don't try to boost your levels past what you're getting without them.

[gordabega]

thanks Jimmy. since this is my first bass amp, i'm a little lost. i know it has compression, but i asked another bass playing friend of mine and he runs an outboard comp and said it might be a good idea, especially the 3630 since it has a gate. i do like the tone i get from the DI, but i guess without spending a lot of time with the head, i should really start from scratch.

i hope next saturday is going to be a great day. it sucks when half of practice time is being spent jacking around with yor amp instead of making the thing thump.

[JimmyM]

well the 3630 isn't my favorite compressor in the world, but it's better than the comp in the amp itself (not a fan of onboard comps in amps).