Ampeg dissatisfaction

[drlndrve]

If you get your amp checked out, there is nothing wrong with it and you still don't like the tone then go to your local music store and find what you like best. You can ask people all day but they don't have your ears. I love my SVT-CL + 8x10 but that doesn't mean you will.

You mentioned John Mayer and ever live gig I have seen the player (mostly Pino) was using an SVT-VR and 8x10.

Really good advice--I gave my SVT 3 every opportunity I could--and read every post here on TB--to make adjustments. In the end though I realized that MY ears didn't like that particular head. So I sold it (resale value is great BTW) and kept the Ampeg cab. My new amp (different brand) just works better for me and I felt better about myself because sometimes you feel guilty when you don't just love Ampeg....

 

[rico bass]

I think the svtpro is one of their best sounding amps my beef with Ampeg moved oversees and the price went up ,thats corporate greed ,wont by any new ampegs.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Do you have any friends who also play bass and would let you borrow a different head to run through your 810? That might help you determine whether it's the cab or the head... or both... or neither. A friend of mine plays bass through an Ampeg 610 cab. He uses either an Eden or GK head and claims he never liked the sound of Ampeg heads through his Ampeg cabinet. Keep in mind, this is entirely subjective as I've heard plenty of Ampeg rigs that sounded just fine to my ears. Good luck.

 

[Caleb Mills]

Have you used this setup on a gig? If you have been used to small combo amps then the difference is huge to suddenly get these speakers up near your ears. I'd be surprised if that low end wasn't there but you are now hearing lots more mid and highs. If you cannot get something usable in a gig setting then I'd suggest something in the signal chain is faulty.

Yeah, I have, man. Played out with it in several venues from theaters to small clubs, and it gets played every Sunday morning at my church. But, you're right, it could be that I'm getting more of the mids and highs. Although, I didn't JUST switch over, so I'd say I'm pretty well past that "transition" phase.

 

[Caleb Mills]

I'd put your head up for sale and when it sells, take the cash and put it towards an SVT CL. That 810 was designed to do 1 thing......deliver the boomy goodness that only an Ampeg all tube head can give you.

Don't take my word or anyone else's for it either. Call around and see who has an 810 and a SVT CL, VR and got give her a test drive.

One other thing, when I switched to SVT gear, I also ended up switching strings. Thomastik jazz strings do amazing things through my rigs. The clear lows, punch, boom and all around tone those strings brought into my life was a game changer.

I'll try a set of those, then, for sure. Thing is, I'm not sure what an SVT-3 Pro would even go for. Most used go fro around 500 to 600 from what I've seen, but I'd hate to sell someone something to someone that could be and probably is in disrepair.

 

[Caleb Mills]

Do you have any friends who also play bass and would let you borrow a different head to run through your 810? That might help you determine whether it's the cab or the head... or both... or neither. A friend of mine plays bass through an Ampeg 610 cab. He uses either an Eden or GK head and claims he never liked the sound of Ampeg heads through his Ampeg cabinet. Keep in mind, this is entirely subjective as I've heard plenty of Ampeg rigs that sounded just fine to my ears. Good luck.

Right, yeah. But no, I'm the only bassist I know in my area that would have decent gear. No joke.

 

[Caleb Mills]

Really good advice--I gave my SVT 3 every opportunity I could--and read every post here on TB--to make adjustments. In the end though I realized that MY ears didn't like that particular head. So I sold it (resale value is great BTW) and kept the Ampeg cab. My new amp (different brand) just works better for me and I felt better about myself because sometimes you feel guilty when you don't just love Ampeg....

EXACTLY man! About how much did you get out of your SVT-3? I totally agree that it's almost like if you dislike Ampeg then YOU are the one doing something wrong. Not that anyone in this thread has implied that, but I definitely find myself asking what's wrong with me because there's certainly no way that Ampeg stack doesn't sound good.

 

[AdamR]

I think your issue is your looking for ported cab low end rumble from a sealed cab. Not gonna happen.

 

[Caleb Mills]

I think your issue is your looking for ported cab low end rumble from a sealed cab. Not gonna happen.

A couple people have suggested that I should look in to a ported Portaflex410 cab to satisfy my needs. Any other suggestions on quality ported cabs for a reasonable price? Reasonable in my case is less that $1000.

 

[Caleb Mills]

Would a PF500/800 into a ported Portaflex 410hlf do the trick? Either that or I need to go to a music store and plug the ole SVT-3 Pro into some 4x10, 1x15, 2x12 cabs and just seen if any of them make my pants vibrate...

 

[SteveC]

I love my SVT-CL + 8x10 but that doesn't mean you will.

You mentioned John Mayer and ever live gig I have seen the player (mostly Pino) was using an SVT-VR and 8x10.

Have to trust your ears. Advice is great, but in the end it's you.

Also, one has to be careful about believing what you see. Lots of different stage rigs out there. Hard to tell sometimes what DI is being used, and many times that's the tone you are hearing, not the stage rig.

 

[Caleb Mills]

Have to trust your ears. Advice is great, but in the end it's you.

Also, one has to be careful about believing what you see. Lots of different stage rigs out there. Hard to tell sometimes what DI is being used, and many times that's the tone you are hearing, not the stage rig.

Looks like what I'm going to have to do it take the head in to a tech and make sure everything is as it should be. If not, I'll have them fix it, then see if I like it better. If that doesn't work, I'll test polarity on the speakers and make sure they're good. If that still doesn't work, I'll take the head to a GC or something and test it on several different types of cabs and see if I like any of them better. If all else fails, I can sell the newly repaired SVT-3 Pro and use that cash toward a new head of my liking. Word?

 

[MoeTown1986]

Being an owner of an SVT-3 Pro, I'm going to say it's NOT your head assuming it's biased correctly. I have one and love it. Gig with it every weekend. And yes, I have played all tube SVT's. Still love my 3. There are two ways to make the amp sound good that I have found. Turn the master to 10, set your tube gain knob to your tastes (mine is noon) then use your gain as a volume control. The other is setting your gain high enough to get that red "peak" LED blinking a lot, setting your tube gain to taste, and using the master to control your volume. These amps do NOT lack power, low end, or volume. You just gotta know how to bring it out.

 

[Caleb Mills]

Being an owner of an SVT-3 Pro, I'm going to say it's NOT your head assuming it's biased correctly. I have one and love it. Gig with it every weekend. And yes, I have played all tube SVT's. Still love my 3. There are two ways to make the amp sound good that I have found. Turn the master to 10, set your tube gain knob to your tastes (mine is noon) then use your gain as a volume control. The other is setting your gain high enough to get that red "peak" LED blinking a lot, setting your tube gain to taste, and using the master to control your volume. These amps do NOT lack power, low end, or volume. You just gotta know how to bring it out.

I will definitely try ALL of those things, man. If that doesn't work I'll take it to see if it needs anything rebiased or retubed. I've seen several dues suggest maxing out either gain or master and using the converse to control volume. I'm definitely going to give that a try before putting any money into the rig.

 

[jason the fox]

I have a 3-Pro. was may main amp for a while after I got it. Never had any volume or power issues. Normally played it through an SVT 410he. But I think that's the thing - you really have to give it the juice, and it comes alive. But as has been said, if you're not a fan of Ampeg tone through a sealed cab, there will still be something you're looking for.

 

[Caleb Mills]

I have a 3-Pro. was may main amp for a while after I got it. Never had any volume or power issues. Normally played it through an SVT 410he. But I think that's the thing - you really have to give it the juice, and it comes alive. But as has been said, if you're not a fan of Ampeg tone through a sealed cab, there will still be something you're looking for.

True. That's what I'm seeing. I'm not ultra-picky when it comes to tones like maybe some other players are. I have a feeling that if I do some minor things that I can get her to shine, even through the sealed cab. I'll have to go through a process of elimination based on everyone's suggestions and see what works.

 

[pbassnut]

I think MoeTown1986 is onto something here with his master set high on 10 / gain set low scheme as I think it sounds better when you don't push the gain hard. You really have to give it some juice to get the "Full Monte" out of an SVT3 Pro. A lot of folks complain that Ampeg's claim that it puts out 450 watts is an overly liberal assessment (and it may very well be to some degree), but part of that is that the internal preamp section doesn't push the power section as hard as it can go. I have found that when I patch an external preamp into the POWERAMP IN jack, I can get considerably more juice out of the amp. My Trace Elliot V-Type preamp patched this way seems to yield particularly good results and the SVT3 Pro really screams this way. I think the amp is most optimal when amplifying an active bass with a wide frequency response and a hot output. I've also had good luck putting my Barber Linden EQ pedal between my passive Fenders and the input section of my SVT3 Pro which is essentially like having an active EQ circuit - just not onboard the bass. You can also give the power section of the SVT3 Pro more juice by bumping up the level slider on the graphic EQ section.

 

[Caleb Mills]

I think MoeTown1986 is onto something here with his master set high on 10 / gain set low scheme as I think it sounds better when you don't push the gain hard. You really have to give it some juice to get the "Full Monte" out of an SVT3 Pro. A lot of folks complain that Ampeg's claim that it puts out 450 watts is an overly liberal assessment (and it may very well be to some degree), but part of that is that the internal preamp section doesn't push the power section as hard as it can go. I have found that when I patch an external preamp into the POWERAMP IN jack, I can get considerably more juice out of the amp. My Trace Elliot V-Type preamp patched this way seems to yield particularly good results and the SVT3 Pro really screams this way. I think the amp is most optimal when amplifying an active bass with a wide frequency response and a hot output. I've also had good luck putting my Barber Linden EQ pedal between my passive Fenders and the input section of my SVT3 Pro which is essentially like having an active EQ circuit - just not onboard the bass. You can also give the power section of the SVT3 Pro more juice by bumping up the level slider on the graphic EQ section.

Yeah, I'm seeing a lot about maxing out either master volume or gain. I'm definitely going to give both a try and see what works.

 

[spaz21387]

Get an all tube ampeg and you will love it! Im so happy with my new v4b

 

[MoeTown1986]

I think MoeTown1986 is onto something here with his master set high on 10 / gain set low scheme as I think it sounds better when you don't push the gain hard. You really have to give it some juice to get the "Full Monte" out of an SVT3 Pro. A lot of folks complain that Ampeg's claim that it puts out 450 watts is an overly liberal assessment (and it may very well be to some degree), but part of that is that the internal preamp section doesn't push the power section as hard as it can go. I have found that when I patch an external preamp into the POWERAMP IN jack, I can get considerably more juice out of the amp. My Trace Elliot V-Type preamp patched this way seems to yield particularly good results and the SVT3 Pro really screams this way. I think the amp is most optimal when amplifying an active bass with a wide frequency response and a hot output. I've also had good luck putting my Barber Linden EQ pedal between my passive Fenders and the input section of my SVT3 Pro which is essentially like having an active EQ circuit - just not onboard the bass. You can also give the power section of the SVT3 Pro more juice by bumping up the level slider on the graphic EQ section.

Another thing I do with good results is cut the 32hz in the graphic EQ completely. I think that seems to free up some power to push the 80hz-160hz area. Gets a lot more "growl" that way. Or maybe its just easier on your speakers since they aren't trying to reproduce that "sub" frequency as much. I'm not really to sure of the science of how that stuff works. I simply know it sounds good to my ears.