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Ampeg SVT-400t/Power Amp Help

B

biggestriff666

Nov 10, 2009
19
0
#1
I just got an Ampeg SVT-400t. I feel like it's a little underpowered. Right now I'm playing it through an Ampeg SVT-15E. The volume is okay, but I know when the time comes to play out the volume isn't going to cut it.

I plan on eventually moving up to 610 or 810 cab. So I'm guessing I'm probably going to consider getting a power amp.

I've been trying to find reasonably priced ones on eBay. (I'm not trying to get some super ridiculous power amp for $1,000). I've been looking at the Crown Power Base. But, I really don't know much about them or even how to probably hook up a power amp to my head.

I guess having a manual for my discontinued amp would help. But, would anyone be willing to help explain the basics of using a power amp?

Thanks a lot.
 
#4
I had an SVT400T around 1998 or so, and it was a pretty nice rig. If I recall, it had patch points all over the back of it.

You'd take a 1/4" from PreAmp OUT and put it into the Input of your new power amp. You could also take one from Effects SEND and do the same thing. I believe it also had a Line OUT as well using an XLR connector, which you could put into your Power Amp. No shortage of patch points !

Mine was a little heavy, and needed a new cooling fan every couple of years, but it played plenty of shows. It wasn't really considered underpowered in it's day if you bridged it.
 
#5
Thanks. Yeah, I wasn't 100% sure on which line out to use given all the output/input jacks on the back of the amp.

What do you mean by bridging? The only "bridging" I've done was with a Plexi when I used a patch cable to plug two of the input jacks together.
 
#6
That was the first real bass head that I ever had for myself. It could run bridged where all the power could run out from one speaker jack (designated "bridged output") or it could run either stereo or bi-amped. If I remember correctly, that was a banana plug jack, at least for the bridged output, right? There's a switch back there for selecting the mode you want - it might be a push button.

One downside with that head for me was that it needed an 8 ohm load when bridged. That meant that I had to use maybe a solo 8 ohm 4x10 cab, but I couldn't use let's say two 8 ohm cabs together since that would give it only a 4 ohm load. Not too flexible. The other way to run it would have been with a pair of 4 ohm cabs, one for each channel in stereo mode, but at only 200 watts per channel. All in all, that layout was just a bit limited for me and I actually moved on to an SWR SM-400. It ran at around the same power, but it could run at 4 ohm bridged.

For good volume, I'd say to try an 8 ohm 4x10. That head wasn't quite strong enough to really rattle many teeth, but it seemed to be pretty reliable while I had it and the eq worked pretty well, too. You could easily find a decent power amp if you need more grunt and many conventional options won't even weigh as much as that old Ampeg.

I'm pretty sure that I've got my manual for that head around here somewhere. I took one lap through my crap to look for it - so far, no go - but if I do find it, I'll let you know.
 
#8
groove pump said:
I'm pretty sure that I've got my manual for that head around here somewhere. I took one lap through my crap to look for it - so far, no go - but if I do find it, I'll let you know.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for all that info! If you find that manual definitely let me know. That would be extremely helpful.

And I might try getting another 15e to run with the current rig right now. Especially since it's a little more in more price range.
 
#9
I'm hoping to ressurect this thread. Now, some 3+ years later. I want to change my cabinet setup from 2 1x15s, to a 4x10 (8ohms) and and a 1x15 (also 8ohms). So I'm guessing I should plan on running the head in the Mono-Bridge mode where the two cabs are daisy chained?

So I'll run a banana plug from the amp to the 4x10, then run a standard 1/4" speaker cable out of the 4x10 into the 2x15.

If that sounds correct, my question is since the 400t manual says to connect the banana plug into the two red jacks on the back of the amp to run in this way, do I need a banana plug that has both red ends (I'm assuming that's a positive end)?

Thanks for any help.
 
#11
biggestriff666 said:
I'm hoping to ressurect this thread. Now, some 3+ years later. I want to change my cabinet setup from 2 1x15s, to a 4x10 (8ohms) and and a 1x15 (also 8ohms). So I'm guessing I should plan on running the head in the Mono-Bridge mode where the two cabs are daisy chained?

So I'll run a banana plug from the amp to the 4x10, then run a standard 1/4" speaker cable out of the 4x10 into the 2x15.

If that sounds correct, my question is since the 400t manual says to connect the banana plug into the two red jacks on the back of the amp to run in this way, do I need a banana plug that has both red ends (I'm assuming that's a positive end)?

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Any regular banana plug to 1/4" speaker cable will do. I wired my own up. I can't remember the convention but I kept track of the banana plug that connected to the tip so I could make that positive.

BTW

That amp needs an 8 ohm load when bridged.

Your 2 cabs will have 4 ohms total in parallel (which is the way most of those jacks are wired when you connect cabs)

The power section of the SVT 400T is basically 2, 200 watt (into 4 ohms) power amps that you can run full range, bridge into 400 watts into 8 ohms, or biamp with its built in crossover.

With a 4x10 and a 1x15 and both being 8 ohms, I would try them full range in separate power sections, or biamp them. If biamping, I'd try each cab for high or low. And see which combination sounded better.

Lots of folks will say that non identical cabs won't work. Hogwash. They'll work. You may or may not like the sound though. Whether or not you like it is your opinion. Many people like their mixed cab rigs. Many rigs that should sound bad in theory end up sounding ok to some.

Your amp is very flexible and has many tonal options. I'd try out the different combinations at gig volume and see what works for you with the gear you already own.

IMHO , ymmv etc
 
#14
Woh mate they are all talking thru their arses the svt 400t normally is matched with a fridge cabinet containing 4 x 10's a horn and a fifteen--which i happen to own. To drive that you need to bridge the two adjacent connections at the back * * * * ie like the two middle ASTERISKS- use a banana clip -that gives you the whole 400watts. I WAS DRIVING 4X10'S AND A HORN plus a 15 remember.The full bridge is 400 watts at 8ohms not 4 you need to hit the mono button too,
If by some chance you need more power( you shouldnt if you got a pre amp in your bass )
Switch on the graphic equalizer and pull all the frequency sliders to the top
I am here by chance let me know at prem xpitts at xbig xpond xdot xcom ok?
 
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