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2,000w Ampeg SVT 810?? Failure/Autolux content

bovine mind

bovine mind

Jun 17, 2008
928
6
San Francisco
#1
Just came across a somewhat improbable claim while searching for info on Eugene Goreshter's bass rig of the band Autolux. if you are familiar with their recordings or seen them live you know he's capable of massive tone and interesting use of effects. I've also read he currently uses the bass cab of the guitarist in the band, Greg Edwards, who originally played bass in Autolux and switched to guitar later on.

can anyone support or refute his claim of an Ampeg 2,000w SVT 810 that was in production at one time?

July 1997 Bass Player Magazine interview with Greg Edwards:

Edwards, Andrews, and second guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen all have custom effects systems built by Bob Bradshaw. Greg's system features an Ampeg SVT head, which powers an unusual Ampeg cabinet. "My SVT cabinet is sort of an anomaly. It's got Eden David speakers in it and it has a 2,000-watt handling
capacity. I think it was only made for one year. It's incredible sounding. I recently had to use a regular SVT cab for a show, and it didn't even come close."
 
#2
The SVT810HPC ULTRA used 6 -200 W cast frame 10" and two coaxial 10" 200 W cast frame with 1" built in tweeties.

They rated that cab at 1500W RMS - 3000 W peak power handling.

Anybody could build a 2000W cab, just put 250W 10" drivers in it.
 
#3
hey man, cool to see someone else besides myself is really into what autolux has been doing for a while. they used to be my fav band and i have seen them a ton of times, starting with silverlake lounge in 2000 when they came out with that 'demonstration' cd that they spray painted and hand crafted individually..
i have met both of those guys a few times and have asked a lot of gear related questions.. that is definitely greg's cab from failure days and for a while, it used to have the failure stencil on the grill.. it is the rare 2000w version, but Eugene uses an old ampeg rackmount svt II i believe + a lot of random pedals controlled by the bradshaw rig. they make and tailor their own pedals etc.

one of the coolest bass tones ever is on the intro to the song 'frogs' from failure's magnified record. i asked greg how he got that tone once and he told me: wal bass + svt classic + rat pro co distortion..
 
#4
rbonner said:
The SVT810HPC ULTRA used 6 -200 W cast frame 10" and two coaxial 10" 200 W cast frame with 1" built in tweeties.

They rated that cab at 1500W RMS - 3000 W peak power handling.

Anybody could build a 2000W cab, just put 250W 10" drivers in it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob, glad to know the model name.

I've witnessed this thing first hand, almost had the wind knocked out of me standing 30 feet away, of course the house PA had a lot of to with it as well i'm sure.

at some point i'd love to put 250w drivers in my 810E. what drivers would you suggest under a modest budget?
 
#5
nperry77 said:
hey man, cool to see someone else besides myself is really into what autolux has been doing for a while. they used to be my fav band and i have seen them a ton of times, starting with silverlake lounge in 2000 when they came out with that 'demonstration' cd that they spray painted and hand crafted individually..
i have met both of those guys a few times and have asked a lot of gear related questions.. that is definitely greg's cab from failure days and for a while, it used to have the failure stencil on the grill.. it is the rare 2000w version, but Eugene uses an old ampeg rackmount svt II i believe + a lot of random pedals controlled by the bradshaw rig. they make and tailor their own pedals etc.

one of the coolest bass tones ever is on the intro to the song 'frogs' from failure's magnified record. i asked greg how he got that tone once and he told me: wal bass + svt classic + rat pro co distortion..
Click to expand...


Awesome, thanks for chiming in.

I believe his amp is an SVT-4PRO. I saw them a few months ago at the Great American Music Hall here in SF and could barely make out the amp, but it appeared to be it.

I'd really like to know what fuzz he uses, but that illusive rack drawer isn't going to reveal it's secrets anytime soon i'm sure.

do you know if they build their own effects or is there someone in LA that helps them out?

hope their next album comes out eventually.
 
#7
I saw Autolux at the Glass House (Pomona, CA) about a 2 years ago, and was mesmerized by Eugene's fuzzed bass tone - so beautifully warm and smooth. I wish I had some clue how get even close to that sound, but so far I have been unsuccessful.

I'm itching badly for their next album.

In other news...Carla could totally kick Meg White's @$$!!!
 
#8
EricF said:
I saw Autolux at the Glass House (Pomona, CA) about a 2 years ago, and was mesmerized by Eugene's fuzzed bass tone - so beautifully warm and smooth. I wish I had some clue how get even close to that sound, but so far I have been unsuccessful.

I'm itching badly for their next album.

In other news...Carla could totally kick Meg White's @$$!!!
Click to expand...

that fuzz...seriously. I imagine that cab made a difference, but the tone was so lush, steady, like the gain just poured out of the speakers in a perfect cone. i have a feeling he might be running some heavy compression/limiting in his rig.
 
#13
if it's gregs' old gear it the 810 is loaded with david edens. all 8. it was only produced for a year i think. the head is an ampeg svt 2. it's an older model before they became pros. which sound way better in my opinion..for distortion he used a pro co rat for grit, a green big muff for most of his chordal huge parts, and an old maestro fuzz for a warmer tone. what it has evolved into since is anyones guess.
 
#17
bovine mind said:
Thanks Bob, glad to know the model name.

I've witnessed this thing first hand, almost had the wind knocked out of me standing 30 feet away, of course the house PA had a lot of to with it as well i'm sure.

at some point i'd love to put 250w drivers in my 810E. what drivers would you suggest under a modest budget?
Click to expand...
Leaving the speakers that are in it. 250w drivers are overkill if you ask me, and they're not cheap.
 
#18
JimmyM said:
Leaving the speakers that are in it. 250w drivers are overkill if you ask me, and they're not cheap.
Click to expand...
+1. Besides, the driver thermal rating doesn't indicate how much power it can actually use before farting out. The current Ampeg SVT driver can take as much power before farting out as most 250w rated drivers will anyway.
 
#19
if you want to order any of those HPC drivers, just call Loud ;) and ask for 86-507-08 (the 6 regular) and 86-507-28 (the 2 co-ax). You'll also need two 86-506-08 horn drivers for the co-ax....

My bet is they've never heard of them, but you never know.

Bill is right. The whole concept of really high power 10" speakers is great.... IF you intend to use them for lower mids in a big system...... Otherwise, a 10" can only move so much air, unless you horn-couple it, and the amount of air moved determines the power at any frequency.

At lows, the useful power rating drops pretty far, regardless of "thermal" rating (i.e. what it can take power-wise without burning up). And, are you buying a "heater" or a speaker?
 

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