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Ampeg SVT 7 Pro Club

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Hi Everyone, just joined, and as of this week, am proud owner of a brand new SVT 70 PRO, and PN410HLF and PN115HLF cabs - playing an old Squier Precision and a brand new Revelation 5 string.

However.... playing last night my first gig with the new rig - with a reggae band, it started doing what I now see from various forums, seems commonplace - cutting out then coming back.

I haven't read through all 84 pages of this thread as I'm under pressure to sort this out before our next gig. So apologies if this has already been answered.

I did a lot of research before I bought this rig, so all the reasons I bought it remain - and I don't want to have to replace it.

So I'm wondering whether this happens as an automatic cut-out to protect speakers or output stage, and fi so whether it's a question of gain and output settings? I have a Mesa Boogie Mk2 head, which if you turn the Master output vol beyond about 4, goes totally mental - like a racing car. Is the SVT 7 PRO MAster like this - requiring to be kept back as some of you suggest, to no more than 12 or 1? And could turning it up beyond that cause the cutting out?

I was using only the PN410, so it was outputting into 8 ohms not 4 - which should be OK, but with the Master so high, may have been squeezing it slightly?

I'd only used it previous to the gig at home on low volume. Last night I'd kept the input gain low - from 10 to no more than 1, and the output Master vol between 1 and 3. Compressor was at 12, and I'd experimented with bass boost, and had the bass knob around 12 (I read one of the posts about how upping the bass increases output demand).
 
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Thanks JimmyM. Great minds think alike - when I got back from the gig last night, I wrote emails to the supplier and to Ampeg TS!! I've been messing around with it today; the headphone interrupt is before the output amp, and as the cutting out doesn't happen using headphones, it's clearly the power amp that's faulty. It seems to have to be a quite high sound levels before it happens. But the output doesn't seem to be as loud as I'd have expected from what everyone says.
 
I've heard back from Ampeg TS... They sent me a sheet about gain, overload, clipping, the power requirements of boosting bass frequencies; and the comment that most of these issues are caused by users overloading the amp. Seems to me that a bass amp ought to amplify what its eq stage does to the signal without cutting out.

But this is actually a failure of the main amp. (The cutting out doesn't occur with the headphone interrupt inserted.) It's very disappointing that Ampeg TS don't seem to be acknowledging that there's a problem that ought to be corrected.
 
Hey Hugh, If the sheet they sent you is digital, would you mind sharing it with the group? If not, no worries.
I haven't ran into this issue with mine in the month I've had it. I'm playing mine through a PN410HLF. But my concerns are like yours. I want this amp to work and want to know the guidance that Ampeg TS recommends.
Thanks.
 
I'm sorry ndutyme, but it's not going to help if you have this problem - and maybe you haven't. Mine started the first time I used the amp when playing with our drummer at a small gig - into my PN410HLF like yours.

But in any case, I've attached the file that Ampeg TS sent to me. After all the details I've provided them with about the problem, I think it's condescending (actually I think it's really crap) that this is their response. I know how to set correct gain stages ffs. I'd actually given them the settings I was using - which are exactly as they say they should be in this paper (because that's how it's done...)

Here's a quote: "Think of it like a man standing in a room. His height is our gain, the ceiling is the point at which clipping will happen or max headroom. What we need to do is give him enough room to jump as high as he can while avoiding smashing his head into the ceiling."


My amp has a serious fault, which a lot of others in the forums have also experienced. I'm sending mine back.

I'm now thinking that I'll take the refund and get something else... I'm really annoyed as I spent a long time working out that the SVT7PRO was the right head - plus of course I've got the matching speakers (which are fine).

 

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How many years has this poorly designed amp been cutting out on people for now?
And they're still trying this blame the user crap.
Knobs are there to be turned and no one should have their amp just stop mid gig. Especially if it says pro on it
 
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Just curious. What is the latest revision on the 7 pro? The last I knew it was C00 and that was to have taken care of all the problems. Mine was a C00 and nothing but problems (which ended up being blamed on the headphone jack according to the Ampeg service center).
 
I would recommend staying away from the SVT 7Pro. Yes, the tone is great and it has a lot of horsepower, but the reliability is undoubtedly questionable. Too bad for Ampeg. They could have had a real winner with this amp.

No doubt that other amp manufacturers can also have problems. But when you team Ampeg's unreliable design with poor customer service, it's a real warning to stay away. I've experienced both pitfalls myself.

I guess I fall into the category of being insane, considering the definition of insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. I've owned three SVT 7Pros. I finally got cured and went to a different manufacturer.

Do a search of the customer service offered by companies like Aguilar, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. By the way, I am not an endorsing artist for Aguilar. Just using that company as an example.
 
Ive had mine for four years without a problem. Last Friday it had a melt down right in the middle of a gig. It is still under warranty but now I will have to go through the hassle of sending it out to get fixed. It was a great amp until then.
 

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