SVT-7PRO + Bag End S15-D & S15X-D

[jiminyshiznit]

OK, so I've been playing my '93 Eden Traveler head (upgraded by Eden to a 400w a few years later) through these Bag End cabs for a long time, and have always liked my tone, but play in a way heavier band now and wanted a change.. was almost ready to drop the hammer on the STL900, but the "too boomy with live band" reports led me to choose the SVT-7PRO... that and GC's return policy.

I have the rig set up in my living room, and am just so confused!! I guess I've been rockin' the brightest sound ever for years, and just didn't really get it until I plugged in the Ampeg. At first, I simply hated the 7-PRO, just because right off the bat it sounded so dark with an almost irritating mid-range. Then I plugged the Eden back in and it sounded so bright I couldn't stand it!.. it sounded sooo different after 15min with the 7-PRO than it did for the past 12 years. Then back to the 7-PRO and it starts to sound better.. the Bag Ends have never sounded this punchy, that's for sure! Today I play it again and I'm starting to see the Ampeg light, but am needing some EQ insight.. getting used to the radically different sound is one thing, but I'm also having a tough time figuring out where to land this thing.. I've read everything on here about the 7-PRO, but there's not a lot of info or opinions about EQ settings... can some of you 7-PRO users chime in? Are many people using the Ultra high/low buttons? Are more folks cutting or boosting the mids? So far I'm all over the map with this thing...

One setting I'm liking is no Ultra high/low, bass @ 3:00, mid @ 9:00 on setting 2, treble @ noon. Then I got to liking mids on setting 5, just shy of pegged and some treble rolled off. Then I cut the bass to 9:00 and hit the ultra low, and dug that. Then I went back to the first setting above.. Now I'm just confused, and am not trusting my own ears anymore, especially when I plug my Eden in and hear the unbelievably bright (but with a huge bottom end) sound I've been playing with.

Oh yeah, I'm also toggling between an '86 G&L L-2000 and a turn-o-the-century American Standard P, while testing this thing out... any thoughts or insight would be much appreciated, especially if anyone is using this head with the Bag End 15s. Boy, is my band going to be shocked with how much my sound is about to change! << which I know will be the ultimate test for where the Ampeg needs to be set, but I'd love more insight in the meantime.

[rodl2005]

I supoose it's what u get used to, but I use mine pretty much flat.
Sometimes I engage the ultra low. Check out Ampegs you-tube channel. Dino shows a good few eg's on the 7 pro's eq.
U should be able to get near any sound outta it.

[RickenBoogie]

Boosts off, all other controls at noon, adjust, sparingly, to taste.

[PortableMadness]

With the eq, I'm all over the map as well, but mostly because I'm playing different types of music. That's what I love most about the Pro7, it's extremely versatile.

My favorite setting is bass 12:00, treble 10:00, mid freq on 5 and the mid control about 3:00. Also, the mid freq selector is only noticeable when the mid control is either boosted or cut quite a bit. You won't hear a difference if set flat.

[Jheake]

The settings i love are ultra low engaged bass at noon mid select on 3 and bumped to about 2 treble at 1 pad engaged and gain at 2-3.

[jiminyshiznit]

Thanks for the input.. I'm getting more and more familiar with this thing and have my first rehearsal with it tonight. And, if all goes well, a gig on Thursday. Man, this head is a monster.. I always felt like my Eden / Bag End setup was a full-sounding rig, but started feeling it was under-powered with this band... if the Eden hits like a sledge hammer on the bottom end, the 7-PRO is a freight train! Looking forward to rehearsal, and hope the band mates embrace the radical change in bottom end.

We'll see how things change when I play it in context tonight, but so far I'm liking the position 1 or 2 mids cut a few ticks. At first I liked the opposite.. position 4 or 5 boosted a few ticks. The approach to tone control on the Ampeg is extremely different than the Eden.

[rodl2005]

Goodluck with it. Let us know how you go.

[rummy]

I've got mid cranked to 3:00 with the dial on 3, and everything else at noon. No lo/hi boost. With a P bass or a Stingray, it sounds beastly through a 410, much like the SVT.

[babebambi]

its a nice rig, don't get me wrong

but don't expect it to be a lot louder without adding more speakers
and be careful not to kill the speakers with the new found power

enjoy

[bassgod0dmw]

Nice! I wouldn't mind trying out one of the SVT 7's.

The Streamliner with the BE S15D's KILLS. Add your G&L to the mix and it's even better. I just gigged that setup the other night. They only get boomy or lost if you use a bass heavy cab and EQ it that way. Dial the bass control down a lot (9:00) and it's much better. The BE's are very mid heavy, and I think they work great.

[jiminyshiznit]

Hmmm.. now I'm starting to wonder if that Streamliner was not to be dismissed so easily. I may have to browse the classifieds.. I don't know though.. I'll wait and see how this goes with the band. The reason I was looking at the STM900 was to have something a little different than the Ampeg tone, but I'm finding that the Ampeg / Bag End combo is already a bit different than the typical Ampeg/10s thing. Am I confused again?!?! I know I like the utilitarian look of the 7PRO more than that blue light show on the STL900.. but that's not a big deal (still a deal, though!)

It is louder than the Eden, but mostly it's just way punchier. The Eden would fart-out the Bag Ends, and I always thought that was a limitation of the BEs, but this SVT7-PRO is telling me otherwise. I've dug in real hard, and the speakers seem like they're happy to be pounding it out.. I think delivering too much power to the Bag Ends would also be too loud for me.. I'm nowhere near full output of the 7 with the gain at 2:00, master at 10:30.. that matches the output of the Eden set at 2:00(g) and 12:00(m), which was my usual stage volume, and pretty much tapping out the Eden.. a little room left, but not much. I was EQing the Eden much different, though.. lot of lows that I think I'm going to ditch, now that the bottom end has so much support.

Here's a photo of the setup, just 'cuz

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by jiminyshiznit

Hmmm.. now I'm starting to wonder if that Streamliner was not to be dismissed so easily. I may have to browse the classifieds.

The best bet is to try one out if you can. It really seems to be a love it or hate it type of amp.
At first I really liked it in my house, but then I brought it to band practice and got buried and wasn't too sure about it. I had it paired up with Aggie GS112's, which are bass heavy with a little mid scoop. I really wanted it to work, so I started reading up on the tone primer thread to see what I could do. It's not an amp that you set all the controls at noon and you're good. I was able to tweak it more to my liking, but I ultimately decided that I needed new cabs to really make it happen. I found an awesome deal on the BEs that was too good to pass up.

The Eden would fart-out the Bag Ends, and I always thought that was a limitation of the BEs, but this SVT7-PRO is telling me otherwise. I've dug in real hard, and the speakers seem like they're happy to be pounding it out.. I think delivering too much power to the Bag Ends would also be too loud for me.

I was a little worried about the power ratings on the BEs, but they can really take a lot of power..and they get very loud. I was pleasantly surprised.

NICE! With all that said about the Streamliner, I would be very happy with that setup.

[rummy]

Originally Posted by jiminyshiznit

Hmmm.. now I'm starting to wonder if that Streamliner was not to be dismissed so easily. I may have to browse the classifieds.. I don't know though.. I'll wait and see how this goes with the band. The reason I was looking at the STM900 was to have something a little different than the Ampeg tone, but I'm finding that the Ampeg / Bag End combo is already a bit different than the typical Ampeg/10s thing. Am I confused again?!?! I know I like the utilitarian look of the 7PRO more than that blue light show on the STL900.. but that's not a big deal (still a deal, though!)

It is louder than the Eden, but mostly it's just way punchier. The Eden would fart-out the Bag Ends, and I always thought that was a limitation of the BEs, but this SVT7-PRO is telling me otherwise. I've dug in real hard, and the speakers seem like they're happy to be pounding it out.. I think delivering too much power to the Bag Ends would also be too loud for me.. I'm nowhere near full output of the 7 with the gain at 2:00, master at 10:30.. that matches the output of the Eden set at 2:00(g) and 12:00(m), which was my usual stage volume, and pretty much tapping out the Eden.. a little room left, but not much. I was EQing the Eden much different, though.. lot of lows that I think I'm going to ditch, now that the bottom end has so much support.

Here's a photo of the setup, just 'cuz

Beautiful. I bet it sounds MAD!

[jiminyshiznit]

Well, holy smokes! So many songs had "the tone I've been looking for" tonight, and there was one thing I wasn't expecting.. All of a sudden my fulltone bass drive sounds KILLER through that FX loop... Blended back, I keep the whole tonal foundation intact, with a bit of grind and a little midrange bump. Then, click the Boost button and I get a full-on thick and meaty grind.. Killer tones, and both usable for the first time. So yeah, I think I'm just fine with keeping the 7PRO, and the guys all agree. We'll see how it works out on stage Thursday night, but I have no doubt it's gonna kill... I'll be curious what the sound man says, too.. He always commented on loving the Eden's DI. Oh, and my position 2 midrange cut was still my favorite sound with the band. Super warm, a tad scooped out, but still enough mids to cut. Yes!! ... Blendable FX loop! ... how'd I ever live without one?!

[SBrown]

Nice. Its funny you mention the mid selector at 5/mids cranked/treble rolled off. I was experimenting with that and thought it sounded really good with my p-bass. Other experimental settings- everything flat w/both low and high buttons engaged (slap?). Gain dimed w/compressor dimed (fuzzy). Mids bumped up w/ no compressor(gnarly pick tone). It seems like whatever I try, there is something to like. Then I come back to noon on everything and it just sounds great. The other night I supplied the backline since we were last on the bill, and I heard other bassists playing it flat, and I really liked what I heard out in the room. That was fun.

[JimmyM]

I don't need to be seeing this thread this close to tax season.

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by jiminyshiznit

All of a sudden my fulltone bass drive sounds KILLER through that FX loop

Were you always using it in the FX loop? In the Eden that is...

Awesome that the amp is working great!

[jiminyshiznit]

No, I didn't use the loop on the Eden.. I never really noticed a huge difference, and it was just easier to string the pedals together, after my tuner, so I could mute & tune. Maybe I didn't give that enough of a chance, but the blending knob on the front of the 7PRO is the main thing for me.. even though the Bass Drive sounded awesome, it always killed too much bottom end. So, I stopped using it and started using a Sans Amp, which I don't like nearly as much.. still a good tool, but using it to color sound reminds me of the tones I was trying to get, back when an 800rb pushing aluminum drivers was king.. still cool, but I'm chasing something different now.. playing way different music now. The other thing I'm totally digging is the tone/grit flop... I had a brighter, midrangier tone with the Eden, then I'd hit the Sans for grind, but got a scooped out tone along with it.. more teeth, but back in the mix. Now, the Ampeg has a lovely, thick, barely scooped tone, and when I kick in the Fulltone, I get one of two levels of grind.. both have a little bump in the mid, which helps cut a little more, without getting a ton louder. So many things are already better, and I'm barely into this thing... honestly, I was rootin' for "meh, good, but not enough better to justify the expense.. I'll take it back"... now I've got to figure out what to sell! I'm sure I could try out and love the Streamliner, but this head just plopped itself right into place so easily, I feel like I have to give it the gig.

Oh, and one more stupid little tidbit that seals the deal for a slightly OCD-type person like me.. the feet on the 7PRO fit perfectly, and I mean PERFECTLY (OCD-approved, even) inside the inside four corners of the Bag End... so, no slip in any direction (literally none!). Meant to friggin' be, dang it!

[jiminyshiznit]

another question for 7PRO users.. how are y'all transporting this thing? For the Eden, I used a very small SKB briefcase-type case, probably used mostly for small mixers. It was a super slick way to keep that thing safe, without having to go with rack ears.. I refuse to have a head that sticks out on the sides of the BEs! I suppose I'll look for a similar, slightly larger case, but I'd love to hear what's working for everyone else.

[RickC]

I'm using a World Tour Strong Side Gig Bag 3, which I found out about in another thread on TB. Perfect fit, cheap and effective.

World Tour Strong Side Gig Bag 3 at WorldTourProducts.com

/rick