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Ampeg Preamp Poll

Ampeg Preamp Poll

  • SVPCL

    Votes: 58 41.1%

  • SVT-IIP

    Votes: 33 23.4%

  • SVP-Pro

    Votes: 42 29.8%

  • SVP-BSP

    Votes: 8 5.7%
  • Total voters
    141
#3
I've never played one but I do want to try them. I've always used Tech 21, Peavey or BBE pre's. It's about time I try me some Ampeg. From what I've heard the Pro gets a little more dirty than the CL so hopefully someday I'll get a chance.
 
#4
I think that one of those is the same pre they put in the Ampeg SVT 3 Pro (with a tube preamp.) I can't speak to any individual pre's but I use the 3Pro, and I can say that while I like the flexibility and natural compression it provides (alot!) it took a VT Bass pedal to "get me there" as far as tone goes. There was just something missing going direct to amp.
 
#6
The CL is going to win because there are way more of them, than there are IIP's and because they sound way better than the PRO's. The CL's have less tubes to be microphonic than the PRO's, which often have issues with hum while not being played. The BSP has two channels (one clean and one OD) cuz Billy Sheehan likes to go from clean to dirty extremes without much in between. The best of these preamps is the one they got right in the late '80's. I have nothing to do with this seller, but the info at the end of my post quoted from Jerrold Tiers is worth it's weight in gold and you have the chance to pickup the preamp from the venerable SVT II (non-pro) for $75 less than what the CL or PRO's regularly go for. Here is the link, http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f127/ampeg-svt-iip-867644/ and Cheers!
 
#7
Owned a SVP-Pro, the newer version without the painted blue logo. It's the front end off an SVT-3Pro as mentioned earlier. It had some cutting out issues until I found that an electrolytic cap on the main board was much too close (less than the width of a piece of paper) to one of the leads on the tube mount board. Vibration from playing was causing the top of the cap to short to one of the tube pins which caused a horrible crackling and cutting out. Not good. Pushed the cap over a bit and had no other issues with it for the 6 months I played with it. I have heard of others having issues with cold solder joints as well, also easily repaired by a knowledgeable tech and a hot soldering iron. I ran it thru two different QSC power amps, a RMX1450 and then tried a PLX3002. That was my adventure with rack mounted component gear and decided if I was gonna lug around that much weight I may as well go all tube.

I liked it, it got as close to that Ampeg tone as you could ask, but the EQ had to be used to get any kind of midrange response. The mid knobs didn't have much effect on the tone, a complaint I recieved from the guy who bought it from me. I liked it overall, it just wasn't for me.
 
#8
levis76 said:
The mid knobs didn't have much effect on the tone, a complaint I recieved from the guy who bought it from me.
Click to expand...

This is another common mistake by many users of Ampeg preamps ... In order to tell the difference between the frequencies you are selecting on the 5 way mids knob, you must BOOST the mids past noon to hear a difference. I run my mids at 2:30 and I can easily tell the difference between the first two notches. The first one is 220Hz which I boost when I use my Jazz and the second one is 400Hz which I switch to when I use my P. Cheers.

EDIT: Levis please don't take this as a personal attack at you mate. It was not meant to be such, but just designed to be informative to all. Peace.
 
#10
JimmyM said:
Always been a big fan of the SVPCL because it's an actual SVT preamp. They're all good, but that one especially is good.
Click to expand...

What exactly do you mean by this Jimmy? Do you mean this because the SVT-CL is a head and not a 300 Watt all tube rack mounted amplifier? The SVP-PRO is the preamp in the SVT 2PRO, and the SVT II-P is the preamp in the non master volume SVT II (non-pro) which I got after asking you and finding out it is the closest to the vintage preamps without using hard to find tubes like the 12dw7. What are you trying to get at exactly? Are you saying a CL sounds like your Iron Butterfly '69? Cheers.
 
#11
Wow, now you're confusing me! ;)

The SVPCL is the one that is built to most be like a vintage SVT preamp. But I don't recall saying much about the SVT 2P, so maybe you have me confused with someone else, although it does sound like a winner with that preamp in it.

But none of them sound like the Iron Butterfly because the power tubes and OT are huge parts of that equation. They will, however, sound quite excellent if you take them on their own merits.
 
#13
JimmyM said:
Wow, now you're confusing me! ;)

The SVPCL is the one that is built to most be like a vintage SVT preamp. But I don't recall saying much about the SVT 2P, so maybe you have me confused with someone else, although it does sound like a winner with that preamp in it.

But none of them sound like the Iron Butterfly because the power tubes and OT are huge parts of that equation. They will, however, sound quite excellent if you take them on their own merits.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the confusion, it is probably best to keep a low profile on the one I am looking to get a hold of. :ninja: This is the simplest way to keep all the preamps made by SLM and put into an all-tube 300 Watt SVT straight, from a post by Jerrold Tiers
"The original SLM 500 were the SVT-HD, and are esentially the same as the Magnavox/MTI version.

The next version was the SVT-II, which changed construction methods from the HD (i.e. not hand wired). Preamp is one channel, has graphic.

The SVT2PRO is a derivative of the SVT-II, and is an "SVT plus" with extra gain etc, as requested by endorsers, and rack circuit surge protection package.

The SVTCL is a simplified derivative version of the SVT-II, with fewer tubes."

I don't disagree that all of them are fine amps, and that the Vintage ones have some sort of MOJO that the others lack.

But I know for a fact that I would never confuse you with anyone else, I asked you if I should get a SVT II (non-pro) or an SVT 2Pro, you said that you prefer non master volume SVT's but not by much. So I got the (non-pro) and haven't been disappointed at all. I really wonder what preamp is in the VR ... Anyone know?
 
#15
Oh, I thought you were talking pres. Yeah, you're right, I did say that about the 2 Pro vs Non-Pro HEADS ;)

The VR has a straight up vintage Ampeg pre, albeit with 12ax7's substituting for what the 12DW7's did, but that's cool since they're half 12ax7 half 12au7. So closest to the VR would be the SVPCL IMHO, though Jerrold might have an opinion as well.
 
#17
beans-on-toast said:
Another Ampeg pre-amp to consider, the SBT. It is a transistorized version of the SVT that came out around 1969. Same time as the SVT. It has exactly the same tone circuits. Same design topology, only a transistor where a tube should be. I like the tone.

Click to expand...

That's very interesting, and that model was actually in production from Ampeg? That's pretty crazy. But no tubes at all?
 
#18
So the preamps basicly being from Ampeg heads...
SVPCL - SVT-8 Pro
SVP-Pro - SVT-2 Pro
SVT-IIP - SVT-II

I wonder where that leaves Billy Sheehan's SVP-BSP, on paper it doesn't seem at all to be a preamp direct from a production head, but I wonder which head that preamp would come the closest to.

Thanks for the replies and education everyone!
 
#20
kosmicwizard said:
I don't know that the SVPCL is in the 8 PRO, but I do know it is in the SVT-CL. The SVP-PRO is in the 2, the 3, the 4, and the 6. I don't know what is in the 7 either. Actually the BSP was in the SVT 5 PRO, both got discontinued when he started to endorse Hartke. Cheers.
Click to expand...

Thankyou for the info, I honestly don't know exactly what is in the insides. I was only going by the downloadable PDF manuals on the Ampeg website which basicly I was looking at the knobs on the front and going by what looks to be same layouts. Like how the SVT-8 Pro and the SVP-Pro being the only ones with the 5 way Ultra Low switch. I do need to learn all the technical stuff though, lol.

And wow, that's pretty cool that the BSP was in the 5, I could definately see Billy taking advantage of the features of the SVT-5 Pro. I do wonder why he used the 4-Pro though, I heard somewhere it seems he didn't want an all tube head due to him needing the so called "tighter" sound that is said the hybrids get, I could be wrong about that though. He may have wanted the 4-Pro for the compression feature, but he also had other forms of compression and I am sure probably other forms of distortion in his rack he used along with his head and preamp. I may be wondering too much here, lol. But thankyou for all the information I appreciate it.
 

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