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Ampeg SVT 50th Anniversary Edtition

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#282
sonofmt said:
Excellent advice.
I also have a broughton hp/lp that I think would work as a boost to drive the preamp?
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If it has enough of a boost in it, certainly. But I only have Broughton separates and I'm unfamiliar with how much boost the combination pedal gives you. I just know that it has a variable level control.
 
#294
Wasnex said:
It's not like modern SVTs are made exactly like vintage SVTs.
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They all sound like SVT's. There might be a difference in the designs but they're basically distinctions without a practical difference. Changing V1 in the preamp makes more difference to them tonally than anything else they've ever done. So I stand behind my original comment.
 
#295
JimmyM said:
They all sound like SVT's. There might be a difference in the designs but they're basically distinctions without a practical difference. Changing V1 in the preamp makes more difference to them tonally than anything else they've ever done. So I stand behind my original comment.
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Sort of reminds me of the story about George Washington's hatchet. The one where the handle was replaced several times and it has a new head. Looks the same, chops the same, but let's be real, it's not really George's hatchet ;).
 
#296
Wasnex said:
Sort of reminds me of the story about George Washington's hatchet. The one where the handle was replaced several times and it has a new head. Looks the same, chops the same, but let's be real, it's not really George's hatchet ;).
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You really want modern amps with 6c4's, 12bh7's and 6146b's? I don't.
 
#297
JimmyM said:
You really want modern amps with 6c4's, 12bh7's and 6146b's? I don't.
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That's not the point and I was under the impression we each had 69s running those tube type, plus 12DW7s.

The only tube on your list I consider to be a bit a dog is the 6C4, and I don't think anyone is making this tube today. It's basically half of a 12AU7, so no big deal. There are current production variants of all the other tube types in a 69 SVT. I believe only Shuguang is currently making 6146s, but they are not well reviewed, so it would be short sided to build a new amp that was based on this tube type. There are multiple models of 12DW7 and 12BH7 currently in production made by JJ and New Sensor. Shuguang makes a 12BH7 as well.

I agree the VR is functionally equivalent to an early blueline, but it doesn't really have the same provenance as an original SVT. That distinction will be meaningful to some and irrelevant to others. I suspect at one time it was meaningful to you, or you wouldn't own a 69. But since the two amps sound so similar, you no longer care.

IMHO the signal path of the VR is a bit contrived but it was done for a reason. 12DW7 is basically half a 12AX7 and half a 12AU7. Since there are only a few variants of the 12DW7 on the market, Ampeg decided to use 12AX7s and 12AU7s to recreate the original gain structure. I believe the reason they did this is because 12AX7 and 12AU7 are very common tubes.
 
#298
Wasnex said:
That's not the point and I was under the impression we each had 69s running those tube type, plus 12DW7s.

The only tube on your list I consider to be a bit a dog is the 6C4, and I don't think anyone is making this tube today. It's basically half of a 12AU7, so no big deal. There are current production variants of all the other tube types in a 69 SVT. I believe only Shuguang is currently making 6146s, but they are not well reviewed, so it would be short sided to build a new amp that was based on this tube type. There are multiple models of 12DW7 and 12BH7 currently in production made by JJ and New Sensor. Shuguang makes a 12BH7 as well.

I agree the VR is functionally equivalent to an early blueline, but it doesn't really have the same provenance as an original SVT. That distinction will be meaningful to some and irrelevant to others. I suspect at one time it was meaningful to you, or you wouldn't own a 69. But since the two amps sound so similar, you no longer care.

IMHO the signal path of the VR is a bit contrived but it was done for a reason. 12DW7 is basically half a 12AX7 and half a 12AU7. Since there are only a few variants of the 12DW7 on the market, Ampeg decided to use 12AX7s and 12AU7s to recreate the original gain structure. I believe the reason they did this is because 12AX7 and 12AU7 are very common tubes.
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It's no secret that it's exactly why they did it. But honestly, I don't care much about provenance and really never did. I used my 69 because I had it. Haven't used it since getting the HSVT, though. Or my B-15 for that matter since getting the PF-50T.
 
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#299
JimmyM said:
It's no secret that it's exactly why they did it. But honestly, I don't care much about provenance and really never did. I used my 69 because I had it. Haven't used it since getting the HSVT, though. Or my B-15 for that matter since getting the PF-50T.
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I bought my 69 because I was curious about the 6146 tube. I bought the Skunk to compare. My first SVT was an MTI and I remember it as having a bit looser lows.

Before I bought the 69, I thought about buying a VR to get the new amp smell, but since I work on my own tube amps, I thought vintage would better in the long run. Provenance doesn't mean that much to me either, but disassembly of the modern amps looks like a real pain :cool:. Then again, I do own quite a few classic vintage amps.

Looking back on it, I probably should have just bought a VR, but curiosity go the best of me. Honestly I should have just stuck with my GK 700/112RB instead of massing a collection of 28 awesome amps. The GK is the only amp in my collection I have ever gigged, so the collection is sort of my guilty pleasure, or perhaps a weird mid-life crisis. Crap, I could have bought a Corvette :banghead:. :bag:
 
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