200 Watt SVT? How to do it?

[sanfordandsonny]

The Peavey 412txf and 412tvx cabs made me ditch my 810. Even though I actively seek out a pair of mark III bass heads alot of the peavey stuff from the 70s 80s sounds "ok" but you miss the hi highs and the low lows.
But my feeling on modern Ampeg is it's still using potentiometers that were spec for CRATE and I get creeped out. If the vb2 makes me as happy as their vtm120s then I will jump for joy.

 

[sanfordandsonny]

So the vb2 has el34s?
Well it could be Lemmy or it could be wonky I'll have to wait and see.

 

[LowB-ing]

So the vb2 has el34s?
Well it could be Lemmy or it could be wonky I'll have to wait and see.

So does the Sadowsky SA200, one of the most sought after bass amps ever

 

[fu22ba55]

So does the Sadowsky SA200, one of the most sought after bass amps ever

Meh. I'd take the Reeves over the SA200 any day.

To my (limited) knowledge, the Sadowsky SA200 shares a lot of design with the Aguilar DB359. (It's my understanding that the same tech designed the SA200 before he left Sadwosky and started Aguilar. Someone should correct me if I'm wrong.)

The Aggie DB359 is a great amp. I have one. Super clean for a tube amp. My problem is it's too clean, so I imagine the SA200 sounds the same. I don't see Lemmy ripping in to an SA200 anytime soon.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Does anyone have gut shots inside a VB-2? Part of the reason I'm steering clear of the AD200B is that I hear the tubes are soldered into their sockets. Not a good style. I wonder what the construction quality is on these puppies.

No they are not. It would simply make no sense. The tube SOCKETS are soldered into the PC board.

Paul

 

[fu22ba55]

The tube SOCKETS are soldered into the PC board.

This is what I was thinking. My bad. It's my understanding that soldering the sockets directly into the PCB is a bad idea (as opposed to hand wiring.)

 

[johnk_10]

i prefer all of the tube sockets to be mounted seperately and hand-wired, although V4's, V4b's and vintage SVT's only had their output tube sockets done that way, and those amps can last almost forever.

IMO, the biggest problem with pcb output tube sockets, besides them being soldered directly to the pcb (not as rugged), is if you have a shorted output tube, blowing a screen grid reistor can burn a hole right thru the circuit board, burn open other traces, or can leave carbon charring across multiple pcb traces.

 

[ghostsontheroad]

Thanks for taking the time to describe the vb-2 in terms of the ampeg tone being in it.
The explanation of
"buy this", "I own this", "I like this" or "you need to buy this amp I just googled" doesn't often do enough
But now I want to seek out one and give it a try. Peavey

Wow...It's kind of hard to do a review on something that arrived yesterday. There are a few reviews on this thing at harmony central. Before throwing money at a custom amp builder, the peavey VB-2 is worth a try. It gets very dirty(Like a v4bh) I know what sound the OP is talking about because I went through the same ordeal for 6 months trying to track down a louder v4BH. Everyone who has ever owned a v4BH knows the sound...

 

[fu22ba55]

wow...pretentious much? It's kind of hard to do a review on something that arrived yesterday.

Ouch.

I think Sonny meant he liked and appreciated your comments on the Peavey.

 

[BassmanPaul]

This is what I was thinking. My bad. It's my understanding that soldering the sockets directly into the PCB is a bad idea (as opposed to hand wiring.)

I couldn't improve on John's post so I'll not try. He said it all.

Paul

 

[JimmyM]

Ouch.

I think Sonny meant he liked and appreciated your comments on the Peavey.

are you sure that's sonny and not sanford?



anyway, i think ghost got that. didn't sound like he was offended to me.

there used to be this dude on here named psycho bass guy. very knowledgeable and a huge ampeg fan. he said the vb-2 was the closest thing to ampeg he ever heard in a tube amp that wasn't ampeg.

 

[KramerBassFan]

What ever happened to PBG?

 

[sanfordandsonny]

I am saying you were clear and helpful with your info.
Often people only want to say x is better than y
"I own (z-amp) and its the best"
Where everyone reading has different needs and opinions about best.
What would be "best" is if my whole band would use their fullstacks so I could just blast 300w but alas two guys have another band named OAK where they use like 8-10 sunn heads and gaggles of cabs
So they get a little burned on huffing extra ammo

The reason it simply says : Peavey as a closer
is I was woken up my the cat throwing up on our bed. After cleaning it I posted a reply then the baby awoke and after diapering and a bottle I saw that the puppy had pooped black death in the living room so my morning was
Puke, post, poop, poop.
I am wearing my peavey belt buckle right now.
I think their builds are superior to st Louis music in many regards I have Hartley Peavey's autobiography etc etc

The selectable mids plus resonance looks promising on the v2b and the overdrive pre reminds me of the sunn/fender 300t.

From what I understand the downfall of the bad era of hiwatts was due to power tubes heating up and causing the pcb to flex and bend causing lifted traces aplenty.

 

[fu22ba55]

Puke, post, poop, poop.

Even better than my existing sanfordandsonny sig.

 

[LowB-ing]

Meh. I'd take the Reeves over the SA200 any day.

To my (limited) knowledge, the Sadowsky SA200 shares a lot of design with the Aguilar DB359. (It's my understanding that the same tech designed the SA200 before he left Sadwosky and started Aguilar. Someone should correct me if I'm wrong.)

You are indeed wrong

1) Aguilar started out about 10 years before Sadowsky introduced the SA200

2) The SA200 was co-designed by Koch, and yes the Koch company was established years before this happened.

3) What point are you trying to make? That EL34s are suspect in Bass amps, because you consider the SA200 is an inferior amp?

 

[poor_gear_whore]

You are indeed wrong

1) Aguilar started out about 10 years before Sadowsky introduced the SA200

2) The SA200 was co-designed by Koch, and yes the Koch company was established years before this happened.

3) What point are you trying to make? That EL34s are suspect in Bass amps, because you consider the SA200 is an inferior amp?

I think the point he is trying to make is that if the SA200 is tonally near the Aguilar then he wont consider it as an option. He stated in earlier post the it was to clean for his taste, not that it was inferior.

 

[fu22ba55]

You are indeed wrong

Happens all the time! I appreciate the clarification.

1) Aguilar started out about 10 years before Sadowsky introduced the SA200

2) The SA200 was co-designed by Koch, and yes the Koch company was established years before this happened.

You're right... here's the Aguilar history, no mention of Koch:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Why do I think there's a connection? I remember reading something once that connected Aguilar and Sadowsky. Did Alex Aguilar ever work at Sadowsky? On their preamps perhaps? They were both steeped in the NYC session-player scene of the time, and I remember reading somewhere that they crossed paths.

3) What point are you trying to make? That EL34s are suspect in Bass amps, because you consider the SA200 is an inferior amp?

Nope. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the SA200 is a very "hi-fi" sounding amp. (So I've read.) Many people have compared it to the DB359, mentioned them in the same sentence. Maybe it's just a Talkbass.com feedback loop, or maybe it's BS.

If the SA200 sounds anything like the DB359, (which others have said), then it's not what I'm looking for, and arguably, not what Lemmy is looking for either. I could be wrong. I can't speak for Lemmy.

 

[coreyfyfe]

Why do I think there's a connection? I remember reading something once that connected Aguilar and Sadowsky. Did Alex Aguilar ever work at Sadowsky? On their preamps perhaps? They were both steeped in the NYC session-player scene of the time, and I remember reading somewhere that they crossed paths.

Maybe you were thinking of Eden? The Eden 300 watt tube amp was made by Koch in china and sold under a variety of other brand names.

 

[KramerBassFan]

Happens all the time! I appreciate the clarification.



You're right... here's the Aguilar history, no mention of Koch:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Why do I think there's a connection? I remember reading something once that connected Aguilar and Sadowsky. Did Alex Aguilar ever work at Sadowsky? On their preamps perhaps? They were both steeped in the NYC session-player scene of the time, and I remember reading somewhere that they crossed paths.



Nope. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the SA200 is a very "hi-fi" sounding amp. (So I've read.) Many people have compared it to the DB359, mentioned them in the same sentence. Maybe it's just a Talkbass.com feedback loop, or maybe it's BS.

If the SA200 sounds anything like the DB359, (which others have said), then it's not what I'm looking for, and arguably, not what Lemmy is looking for either. I could be wrong. I can't speak for Lemmy.

OH!

Have you looked into Marshalls?

A Major would probably do what you want... or a Superbass or two. I sure love mine.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1971-Ma...ultDomain_0&hash=item2a0a0df59e#ht_500wt_1154

And NO, its NOT MINE!!

 

[JimmyM]

alex aguilar designed the original sadowsky preamp and used to have a shop next to sadowsky.