Ampeg SVT-II appreciation thread

[jmpiwonka]

that's not a switch i would make anytime soon. but a single 12 would never be loud enough for what i do right now.
also, my svtII has been very reliable so i'm not getting rid of it until i really can't use it at all.

 

[JimmyM]

I've got serious GAS to sell my SVTII NP and Berg610 for an Aguilar TH500 and some 1x12....HELP ME

NEVER sell a tube amp before you get a micro and get to spend some time with it. I almost did that when I first became enamored of micros 7 years ago, and I'm sooooo glad I didn't.

 

[Loki182]

Thanks Jimmie. I have decided not to pursue the TH. After further research, I'll keep my svt and save for a db 751.

Those aggie guys complain about the db75x weight...@ 40lbs it's half the svt.

 

[Timm Grimm]

What tubes are y'all currently running? I'm specifically interested in anyone with feedback about the Tung-Sol RI. Or... any glowing suggestions for something else. Thanks for any input.

 

[jmpiwonka]

i've got tung sol 6550 reissues but they are from 3 yrs ago. no problems with them, bought from TCTubes, sounds pretty nice might have a little less headroom than other tubes.
i've had the amp in a few times to reset bias and balance, one time it was sounding kinda weak because of the preamp tube in v1, swapped it out with something different and it made the amp sound stronger.
i play a passive pbass, and the amp likes a strong signal at the input.

fyi from what i've read, beans and toast has explained it many times, different batches of tubes will be different so while my tung sol's have been great they might not be as good now...or they might be better...

when i retube it i'm going to use the JJ Tesla 6550's i think.

 

[Spector_Ray]

I'm running JJ KT88's in mine. It gives me more headroom and a little cleaner tone at higher volumes.

 

[jmcorn]

I just used mine tonight at a block party with a berg AE212. This has to be one of the best sounding amps ever made!!!

 

[wolfkeller]

I gna have to sell my 2 non pro. I'll end up getting a classic used but I want to add a graphic eq to make it more like my 2. Any advise/suggestions on this?

 

[haystack55]

I used the onboard EQ on my SVT-II for years but ended up quitting on it when I tried out an off the shelf Boss GEB-7. I'm not about the technical reasons behind it... just seem to like the tone I get from it better. I use it as a midrange-boost for a few songs.

 

[JimmyM]

I gna have to sell my 2 non pro. I'll end up getting a classic used but I want to add a graphic eq to make it more like my 2. Any advise/suggestions on this?

Ya, don't bother I find the CL has plenty of tonal options without it.

 

[Unfinely Tuned]

I just picked up a clean SVT II NP in a 4 space SKB rack and am currently awaiting my LDS 115 Faital cab to pair with it. I got it from the second owner and so far played it through the sellers 2 Bag End 15's and it sounded great. Right now I played quickly through my 2 Bergantino HD112s just to see how it sounded and set flat at low volumes, it was great. The 12 ' s are the only cabs I have at the moment, the wait for my Low Down Sound cab is painful lol. I'll post pictures when I have the rig set up. So far it's a great head, and way more weight in the rack than I expected.​

 

[svtb15]

i played my old svt2 NP though bag ends for a while... it was a good match up!

 

[husky123]

Bringing this back up....just picked one up from Music Go Round (online) in Ohio. Don't know what you it is yet but from the pics looked pretty dang clean so I snagged it. We shall see but looking forward to it.

 

[Unfinely Tuned]

I've had this beauty for a few weeks and waited until I got my new cab from Don at Low Down Sound to post some pics! She is a beast and sounds phenomenal through the Faital Pro 400. I may pick up an old SWR Goliath 410 cab locally and see how the II sounds through it.

 

[husky123]

I got my new to me SVT 2 today. Umm, wow, yeah, oooof, holy cow. It's amazing. Sounds incredibly similar to my '73 SVT. I never knew how much I needed one until I played one.

BTW - my 5 "digit" in the serial number is "B"….does that make this an '89 or '90?

 

[JimmyM]

89, Husky.

 

[husky123]

89, Husky.

Ahhh, good year….I was 19 years old and doin' it. Thanks Jimmy.

 

[Unfinely Tuned]

As far as I know, mine is an '89 also. I like this head so much that I also own a V4B and may contemplate selling it. I'm torn between the two and really like the vibe of the V4B, but I have seen here that the 2 and its transformers are pretty rare and seem to be as close to a blue line SVT and I really like it.

Last year, I missed out on an SVT black line at a local Sam Ash and was bummed. My tone journey has been tough, I always wanted an SVT, so this is a keeper. I used to own a GB Streamliner 900 and always used the "angry svt" setting and now have the real thing and I sit thinking that I should have searched for this head all along. I still have my reservations about the all out power and thump if you will of the Class D stuff, I still cannot match the tone of a classic SVT big rig setup.

A 412 is on my GAS list for the SVT.

 

[haystack55]

just picked up a couple of older Mesa TL-606 cabs to pair up with my SVT-II... really digging the grind...

 

[Unfinely Tuned]

Wow that rig must sound beastly. I missed out on the same cabs a year or two ago and always wanted to hear them through my old Ampeg V4B. I liked the size of the cabs also, relatively small compared to other offerings from that time period.