Ampeg Heritage 810 vs Bergantino NV610

[Alexander]

I've not played the Heritage, but have played the 810e and NV610. I also own an NV412. The thing about the 810 (to me) is that it seems to make everything sound like Ampeg - I find it to color everything. The Berg feels more transparent, to me. BTW - this isn't bad. I actually love the Ampeg tone and find it warmer sounding than the Berg (though not as even and smooth throughout). IME only

 

[Clouz]

somebody loan me the berg and i'll get back to you in a year or so with my conclusion

 

[Session1969]

Me,too. I even promise to take both to the gigs (wait, what am I saying) and swap them out between sets to give my detailed analysis. Every room will be different so they'll make for interesting reports, I promise.

 

[Laurent]

I've not played the Heritage, but have played the 810e and NV610. I also own an NV412. The thing about the 810 (to me) is that it seems to make everything sound like Ampeg - I find it to color everything. The Berg feels more transparent, to me. BTW - this isn't bad. I actually love the Ampeg tone and find it warmer sounding than the Berg (though not as even and smooth throughout). IME only

+1. These are my exact thoughts, having played both cabinets.

I also think that the Berg will cut better in a busy mix, meanwhile the Ampeg sounds better by itself than the Berg.

 

[Tim1]

Just to stir the pot , I have owned the Ampeg 810,Berg NV610 and currently one of the new Fender neo 610s. While if I had the space I would probably favour the Ampeg over the Berg, the new Fender 610 really does acquit itself well on the tens front. For a while I owned both the Fender and Berg 610s together so was able to compare them side by side - at the time I felt the Fender could do the Berg thing pretty well, plus went deeper and higher if I wanted it to (and was much lighter, with a very naturally integrated horn). I sold the Berg 610 and have not regretted it since.
I remain a Bergantino addict - my favourite cab is my Berg NV215, with an NV115 a close second.
Of course all the above is IMHO - different folks etc....

 

[Alexander]

I liked the Fender 610 more than the Berg NV610 also. But I like the Berg NV412 better than both of them,

So, there! ;-)

 

[Tim1]

Never had a chance to play the Berg 412, Alex, so I bow to your greater experience on that. Interesting that we both felt the same way about the Fender.
But the NV215 remains my number one.

 

[Alexander]

The Fender 610 was really impressive. I only played a 100T through it. It was a nice, even cab. Very naturally voiced and vintage sounding - despite the ports, horn and NEO speakers. Would love to try it with the SB, which is a ball to play.

If I could ever score an NV215, I'd jump at it...

 

[tombowlus]

Never had a chance to play the Berg 412, Alex, so I bow to your greater experience on that. Interesting that we both felt the same way about the Fender.
But the NV215 remains my number one.

Have you tried a pair of NV115's yet?

 

[kringle77]

Hey Tom, did you ever do the H810 - Nv610 comparison?

 

[tombowlus]

Hey Tom, did you ever do the H810 - Nv610 comparison?

Gosh, I'm sure I did. I don't have the Heritage SVT-810 anymore, though. I'll have to look for my notes. Off the top of my head, I recall the H810 as being more big/full/warm and the NV610 as being more articulate in the middle to upper mids. Take that with a grain of salt, though...

 

[JimmyM]

Gosh, I'm sure I did. I don't have the Heritage SVT-810 anymore, though. I'll have to look for my notes. Off the top of my head, I recall the H810 as being more big/full/warm and the NV610 as being more articulate in the middle to upper mids. Take that with a grain of salt, though...

That's how they've come off in comparison recordings I've heard, though I still can't say I've had the honor of the NV610 in person. But on recordings, they seem a tad more polite than the H810e. Not by much, though...still in the realm. Wouldn't take an axe to it if it showed up on a backlined gig

 

[Phil 60]

I had a chance to spend some time with a Heritage rig a while back. I'm not sure if we are ever going to run our full article regarding the Heritage head and 810, so here are some of the pics I took. For comparison's sake, that is a 2008 SVT-810e and my '74 SVT next to the Heritage SVT-CL and Heritage SVT-810.
The two cabs definitely sounded different. The Heritage had more low mids going on and was more smooth up top. The 810e had more upper midrange clarity.

Hi Tom, I had a great opportunity to compare a whole bunch of SVTs and 810s a few years back (1990 I think). I turned up at John Henry's rehearsal studio, and they had set up 2 or 3 cabinets and 2 heads for me to choose from for a tour. Some sounded a lot better than others (they were all very well used). Because they varied so much I got them to bring more out of the store room until I had 5 or 6 cabs and at least 4 heads. From this collection, I picked 2 heads and 2 cabs that I thought sounded best - and frankly, the ones I ended up with sounded awesome! The interesting thing though was that they were all the same model in theory, but they varied massively in tone and character.