• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Ampeg 810 - give me the logistics scoop please

ultra60

ultra60

Supporting Member
Sep 16, 2010
1,567
1,955
Herndon/Chantilly Va.
#1
I've got an SVT head... I've got (2) 115 cabs, and a 410HLF. The HLF is a beast to handle. So much that it remains at the practice spot. The 115's are easy, and will be the cabs I pair with the SVT for gigs.

But I've got the itch to get an 810. Call me stupid, lol.... I am not young. But the band I've joined... it's like 1979 all over for me.

So I need the real scoop on the 810. Can it be managed by 1 person? Using the handle, can it be pulled up a set of stairs? How about getting down stairs, or loading into an SUV?

I can't always count on having help. So I must proceed with caution. I'm very curious if the 810 will outrank the 2x15's.

Thanks for your input.
 
#2
You can move an 810 on your own if you dont care about the tolex on the cab, and the stairs you are dragging it up and down.

Per the 810 out ranking a 215, that depends on the cabs in question.

I have two 215's. Both will surpass an 810e, both are a lot lighter too. That said, there are 215's that wont. It depends on the specific cabs.
 
#3
I love and prefer a single big cab solution over two mid sized cabs but I always have help moving my cabs so I don't usually have any issues.

I find the Ampeg 810's very tough to move around compared to some of the other big cabs on the market due to only having the towel bar on the back and no side/bottom handles.

I'd you're worried about having to move this cab by yourself often I would keep your current setup. You might have to make two trips but good luck pulling that cab up a narrow staircase by yourself!
 
#4
They are heavy. I can get mine up stairs by myself but its not easy. I wouldnt try going down stairs by myself. They have skid rails on the back so you can slide them down a stair case without destroying the tolox buy it will pull you down the flight of stairs with it if you try it alone.
 
#6
i can move my 810 around just fine by myself, stairs or too bad though i wouldn't want to have to navigate many of them on my own.
also, my 810 is noticeably lighter than my bandmate's 810. mine is older and plywood while his is particle board or something...

i had a mesa 215 roadready and my 810 is louder...
 
#8
I have found that when you move them by yourself, you trash any wall you touch as well as hardwood stairs.
When I had one, I could load it into a van by myself but not into a pickup or car alone.
 
#10
beans-on-toast said:
Here are some tips on transporting an 810 from Ampeg. When you need help, get someone to lend a hand. An 810, because of its length, is easier to manipulate than a 410.

Click to expand...


This is exactly how I load my 810. I don't have an ampeg, I have a carvin and it is MUCH lighter. I have used ampeg 810s in the past and I would hate trying to go up/down stairs on my own.
 
#14
I'm almost 60 yrs old, and I am in very good physical condition. I have always tried to be independent, and have moved a lot of large, and heavy items by myself, (large machinery, a Hammond organ, etc), but I would be reluctant to move my 810e up, or down a flight of stairs by myself. If you need to do so on a regular basis, you will soon find out who your real friends are.

For your safety, and the safety of the cabinet, and the walls, paint, and such, don't try to haul one up, or down stairs alone.
 
#15
Thanks everybody for the input. Very helpful. I may pick up an 810, and sell the 410HLF. I'll leave the 810 at practice. If the band mates want me to use it live, I'll ask for help moving it.

I feel like I've got a fever... and the only prescription is an 810.
 
#17
Going up a few steps with an 8 10 can be done by levering it on your knee to help lift it. More than a few steps can be done but it wears you out pretty quickly. Going down steps requires strength to give it a soft landing on each step , otherwise you risk damaging the wheels or punching them through the cab. I lost my cab once going down about 7 wooden steps. The cab survived just fine but it pretty much destroyed the bottom two steps.Loading into a van or PU truck can be done pretty easily as shown in the vid in Beans on Toast's post. I highly suggest anyone with an 8 10 check it out. All that being said , I have a 2 10 , a 2 15 , a 4 10 and an 8 10. The 8 10 ALWAYS goes to the gigs with me. Damn the stairs..... 8 10's ahead. I don't know if it was John Wayne or Clark Gable that said that........ what???That's not what either one of them said??? Never mind.
 
#18
I routinely move huge Acoustic cabinets that are similar sizes to an Ampeg 'fridge. Once you get the hang of it, it's not that tough as long as you aren't in a hurry. Some are harder than others, but it's a personal geometry issue. I'm another in the camp that would rather move an 810 than a 410.

Friends or not, the rest of the band isn't around when I haul this suff up and down basement and porch steps. And, the singer and drummer are both small women who would disappear under one of these if it got loose, so I don't ask them. The guitarist has his hands full usually, so I just move my equipment myself. It's actually easier most of the time.
 
#20
I just got a Heritage SVT and the long term plan is to get a matching 810. My bandmates will help me with it on that end, but at home I have a short (6-7) basement stairs to get it up and down. I could ask my wife, but given that she is pretty opposed to the 810 altogether, I can't play that card very often.

I"m wondering if anyone has tried building some kind of skids or rails so you can roll it down without doing it step by step. They'd have to be removable though since I couldn't leave them in place. Is this a crazy idea?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back