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Ampeg Heads!

A

ajbuell97

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Apr 13, 2015
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#1
Hey everyone. I've been looking into getting an Ampeg bass head soon. My three options are an Ampeg Heritage SVT-Cl, an Ampeg SVT-CL, and an Ampeg SVT-VR. My local music stores don't have any for me to try out but I have played an Ampeg SVT before. I'm looking for opinions on which one sounds best? I know they weigh a ton and weight is not an issue.
 
#3
I'm happy with any of them, quite honestly. Some prefer the two channels with single volumes, some prefer single channel with master and gain, and some prefer single channel with master and gain and awesome black sparkle grillcloth ;) but while I bought the Heritage, I'm happy with any of them.
 
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#5
Of those three I'd probably take the Heritage over the VR, although I do like a non master volume SVT. Something about the limited Heritage. But I'd gladly take any one of them.

With that said, I've got an SVT II non pro...so I guess it's closest to the VR.
 
#6
Id try to either grab a Vintage one, a heritage or the VR, The II non pro sound great as well. Honestly you cannot go wrong with a SVT. Jimmy M is right, an SVT is an SVT is an SVT. They all sound killer. The CL is my least favorite out of the bunch but by no means is it a bad amp, It still has that great tone.
 
#8
Given the choice of the three, I think that it comes down to either the VR or the Heritage. Both are good. It comes down to your personal taste.

They have some differences. The VR is more closely based on the original design. Has two channels. It has a bit more tonal flexibility. Basically there are some tube changes. I like that the VR has a power tube balance adjustment. This allows you to match two sets of trios together in the power amp.

I like the VR the most. Now a Heritage VR would be ideal. At some point Loud may do one.

Having said that, the CL is the most popular SVT out there. The Heritage circuit boards are built better which is a plus.
 
#10
so I've asked a few questions about ampeg bass heads but the one question I wanted to ask all was... what is the best ampeg bass head model out there today? I heard some are Asian made now but the heritage is " assembled" in usa...so what is the best one on the market for today? thanks in advance :) I hope to one day get a ampeg 810 cab as I will be playing out of a ashdown 610..for now
 
#11
AmericanFenderJazzMan said:
so I've asked a few questions about ampeg bass heads but the one question I wanted to ask all was... what is the best ampeg bass head model out there today? I heard some are Asian made now but the heritage is " assembled" in usa...so what is the best one on the market for today? thanks in advance :) I hope to one day get a ampeg 810 cab as I will be playing out of a ashdown 610..for now
Click to expand...
The three SVT's they offer now are the SVT-CL, SVT-VR, and Heritage SVT-CL. I love them all equally in different ways. The CL is very cool because you can crank the gain and get preamp tube distortion at a low volume if that's your thing, or you can crank the master all the way up and use gain to control volume and it sounds pretty much identical to channel 1 of the VR. IMHO of course. Then there are people who swear by the VR and think it sounds the best. One very cool thing it has is two independent channels, so you can do stuff like clean/dirty blends in the same amp or have two different sounds and switch between them with an AB switch. But to get any distortion out of it, you have to crank it to puke inducing levels or use pedals.

To be totally honest, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the regular CL and Heritage CL that I can tell except the Heritage comes with better tubes that have undergone a 24 hour burn-in, and it's much prettier with that awesome black sparkle grillcloth. But I really have no favorite when it comes to the heads. Some say the VR is clearly the best and they've got a pretty strong opinion about it, but I've got a Heritage and a 69 SVT from the very first batch, and they both sound awesome and I honestly can't tell a difference between them.

Cabs, however...if you ever get an 810e to go with it, I highly recommend the Heritage. The regular one's excellent, but the Heritage is the best cab they've ever made. I rank it right up there with the original flatback cabs of 69-74, which are the standard by which they're all judged.
 
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#12
hey jimi how's it going...had another question for you. I saw someone selling a 2007 American made ampeg svt head. would you still consider for someone to have a ampeg heritage? if so how's the differences in sound between the two? thanks !!!
 
#13
AmericanFenderJazzMan said:
hey jimi how's it going...had another question for you. I saw someone selling a 2007 American made ampeg svt head. would you still consider for someone to have a ampeg heritage? if so how's the differences in sound between the two? thanks !!!
Click to expand...
Honestly, I don't think there's much of a difference between the sound of the regular CL and Heritage. For me, the real difference is in the cabs.
 
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#14
If you haven't seen this. It's a great video with a good recording of the fleet. To me they all sound wonderful

For whatever reason the Magnavox to me sounds soooo juicy.
 
#15
One all-tube Ampeg SVT head is not really any better than another, in my opinion. As long as it's all tube, it's gonna kick serious butt.

The only other option would be to find a vintage one. I had a '77 that was amazing, but it really wasn't all that different sounding than my newer 2-PRO.
 
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#17
yeah I'm on the verge of dropping some serious paper on the whole ampeg heritage rig. I hear so many good things about the heritage cabs. must.....have...it !! soon !! I have a fender rumble 200 watt and ampeg ba 115 the newly built ones they did just for practice and the ampeg amp sounds so much better with my fender American deluxe jazz bass.... then I have my ashdown 610 with an orange ob1 500 for some power but after seeing many ampeg heritage heads and cabs reviews on youtube... I just have to have it now :) what a awesome sound... must....have it !!! LOL
 
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#18
AmericanFenderJazzMan said:
yeah I'm on the verge of dropping some serious paper on the whole ampeg heritage rig. I hear so many good things about the heritage cabs. must.....have...it !! soon !! I have a fender rumble 200 watt and ampeg ba 115 the newly built ones they did just for practice and the ampeg amp sounds so much better with my fender American deluxe jazz bass.... then I have my ashdown 610 with an orange ob1 500 for some power but after seeing many ampeg heritage heads and cabs reviews on youtube... I just have to have it now :) what a awesome sound... must....have it !!! LOL
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LOL! Well not like you're hurting for gear, but it really is fun to have a super duper tube amp rig, even though it's quite costly.

10cc said:
You ain't lying. Found out last night how much of my SVT tone I always loved came from that sealed 810. Never would've guessed.
Click to expand...
I agree that the cab has a lot to do with it, but I can definitely tell the difference between my tube amps and my SS and hybrid amps. It's kind of subtle but it's noticeable.
 
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#19
JimmyM said:
LOL! Well not like you're hurting for gear, but it really is fun to have a super duper tube amp rig, even though it's quite costly.


I agree that the cab has a lot to do with it, but I can definitely tell the difference between my tube amps and my SS and hybrid amps. It's kind of subtle but it's noticeable.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah. I was just using a tubed pre/power amp set up trying to dial in my exact SVT tone (flipping between the two) then after missing a mid that I couldn't nail down, I plugged the pre/power set up into the 810 and presto there it was.
Through the 810 these two at these settings are exactly the same tone and volume
image.jpeg

image.jpeg

Master on Ampeg is at noon
 

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