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Ampeg SVT III NON-pro, info & opinions?
- Thread starter OldSchool50
- Start date
It could be the bass/strings.. I was playing my svt iii through a 410he on one channel and a svt210av on the other. I played my j bass and had less than desirable results, switched to my pj bass and it was inherently better sounding. Both basses were passive going through an eden wtdi preamp, and a rane dc24 dual band compression.
Did you mention that the muddy sound follows to another cab? Did you try eliminating the head all together and play through a different amp and cab to see if it follows? Could be string or pickup height effecting your sound on certain strings. I had to adjust pups when I had same issue on the G
Love mine, it had the EQ tips broken before I got it but nothing a toothpick can't handle, set it and leave it. I might experiment with Jimmy's idea of not using the active. It sure sounds nice with those 15's and a set of EMG GRZ PJs in the JP-90 with Whirlwinds OC Bass limit/compressor pedal. Very very pleased with it and have no plans on changing anything other than experimenting with some 10s or a Fearful enclosure someday
Thanks for the input. Just spotted the update. I've tried a host of combinations and it all traces to the Ampeg head. DIfferent speakers (10s, 12ss, 15sand basses make no difference, One cabinet or two, 4 ohm or 8. All pretty much the same.
I've ordered a fresh set of preamp tubes after someone suggested it. I'll report if that makes a difference.
I've ordered a fresh set of preamp tubes after someone suggested it. I'll report if that makes a difference.
I would be surprised if a new set of tubes fixed the muddiness. I have this amp also and really love the tone. Can you post a photo of your amp with the settings you are using?
So right you are. I just swapped the tubes for some identical, new JJ 12ax7 and it made nodifferent. I can tone town most of the the muddiness but theres a loss of low end also. Here's photos of my seemingly best settings.
The only button pushed in is the Ultra HIgh, top right. The EQ is not engaged, even though I show you the EG setting in 2nd photo. MOst knobs are at the noon position, the frequency knob in the center.
I'm running an Ampeg svt 2x10 Classic cab (so it's at 200 watts), and playing both Fender Jazz and Precision. I've tried adding a Markbass 115 neo cab (8 ohm) to run it at 4 ohm, but the combination was awful. Together, the cabinets sounded pretty muddy and poor overall. The Markbass alone wasn't so good either. I attribute the apparent mismatch in the two cabs. AMpeg alone sounded better than other combinations. ( unplugged to shot it, so the lights not on.)
Thanks for reaching out. THe amp sounds pretty good through about 70 percent of the fretboard. ON the E String, there's mud from open E to around the 6th fret.
The only button pushed in is the Ultra HIgh, top right. The EQ is not engaged, even though I show you the EG setting in 2nd photo. MOst knobs are at the noon position, the frequency knob in the center.
I'm running an Ampeg svt 2x10 Classic cab (so it's at 200 watts), and playing both Fender Jazz and Precision. I've tried adding a Markbass 115 neo cab (8 ohm) to run it at 4 ohm, but the combination was awful. Together, the cabinets sounded pretty muddy and poor overall. The Markbass alone wasn't so good either. I attribute the apparent mismatch in the two cabs. AMpeg alone sounded better than other combinations. ( unplugged to shot it, so the lights not on.)
Thanks for reaching out. THe amp sounds pretty good through about 70 percent of the fretboard. ON the E String, there's mud from open E to around the 6th fret.
Ok, I was able to do some experiments this morning. I have a J and a P, both passive, but the the J growls so much and is so clear at your settings, I didn't bother. But with the P I was able to replicate the "muddyiness" fairly well using your settings. I am using a 1x15 cab.
Try the following settings. Turn off all 4 of the buttons so no EQ needed. The frequency knob only works if the midrange is anywhere but noon so keep that in mind when you're trying things out. You'll notice that my midrange is jacked up pretty high to 4 o'clock and the freq is at 2. This really grinds so I bumped the bass up to 1 o'clock and the treble back down to 11 to compensate.
Regarding the midrange control, you will find that moving from 4 back down to 3 makes a very noticeable difference, more so than 12 to 1 so keep that in mind when fine tuning your sound. Even 4 to 3:30 is audibly quite different. Start at 4 and make very small moves either way from there.
This gets me really close to the vintage SVT sound so hopefully it will work for you. Try it out and report back. Also, tell me where your tone controls are set on your basses.
Try the following settings. Turn off all 4 of the buttons so no EQ needed. The frequency knob only works if the midrange is anywhere but noon so keep that in mind when you're trying things out. You'll notice that my midrange is jacked up pretty high to 4 o'clock and the freq is at 2. This really grinds so I bumped the bass up to 1 o'clock and the treble back down to 11 to compensate.
Regarding the midrange control, you will find that moving from 4 back down to 3 makes a very noticeable difference, more so than 12 to 1 so keep that in mind when fine tuning your sound. Even 4 to 3:30 is audibly quite different. Start at 4 and make very small moves either way from there.
This gets me really close to the vintage SVT sound so hopefully it will work for you. Try it out and report back. Also, tell me where your tone controls are set on your basses.
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Thanks much for taking the time to do this. I'll get a chance to work with it tonight. This clears up some things for me. I'll post a report
At first I thought the above settings by neckdive had solved my problem but no such luck. I experimented with the exact settings and some variations with a pbass, sat at medium volume and a range of tones. THe muddiness was far less with more tone, but it took a loss of bottom out of the sound, leaving the higher registers tinny. I moved over to setting of 3 on the Frequency knob (As suggested by Jimmy M) and it got some of that low end back, without a bump in muddiness. I'm going to keep working on it.
One possibly odd things: The muddiness on the E, as well as a lack of clarity on the G in higher registers, seemed to me to get worse the longer the amp was on. May just be imagining it, but things sounded cleaner to me after I just turned the amp on.
I have no idea if that's possible or whether this might be a useful hint as to something wrong internally . HOping it rings a bell with someone.
Meanwhile, Illl stick with it and try a few different cabs.
More later.
One possibly odd things: The muddiness on the E, as well as a lack of clarity on the G in higher registers, seemed to me to get worse the longer the amp was on. May just be imagining it, but things sounded cleaner to me after I just turned the amp on.
I have no idea if that's possible or whether this might be a useful hint as to something wrong internally . HOping it rings a bell with someone.
Meanwhile, Illl stick with it and try a few different cabs.
More later.
While I've never owned an SVT-III, I did own an SVT-IIP preamp combined with an Ampeg AP3550 power amp, which essentially was the two separate components that equaled the SVT-III. This rig powered a pre-Classic Series 810E cabinet with excellent results, but it could never quite replace my old Magnavox SVT head.
My method of setting the controls on all things Ampeg also includes JimmyM's suggested 800Hz boost, along with never engaging the Ultra Low switch. You can use the Ultra Hi without messing things up, but that UL switch is a pure tone suck in a band setting, IMO. It induces mud, with no cut in the mix. I can't tell if you have it pressed in by the pics, but if so, try it with it out for a bit.
Best of luck!
My method of setting the controls on all things Ampeg also includes JimmyM's suggested 800Hz boost, along with never engaging the Ultra Low switch. You can use the Ultra Hi without messing things up, but that UL switch is a pure tone suck in a band setting, IMO. It induces mud, with no cut in the mix. I can't tell if you have it pressed in by the pics, but if so, try it with it out for a bit.
Best of luck!
Thanks meatwad/
My best tone so far was with the frequency at 3 (800hz) with the Ultra Hi on and the Ultra low off. I get the same muddiness as you describe. BUt now I think "muddiness" is the wrong way to describe the tone on the low E (G-F range). Even though the volume isn't high, it kind of breaks up on those notes, and some of the highs on G string. I'll keep expermenting.
My best tone so far was with the frequency at 3 (800hz) with the Ultra Hi on and the Ultra low off. I get the same muddiness as you describe. BUt now I think "muddiness" is the wrong way to describe the tone on the low E (G-F range). Even though the volume isn't high, it kind of breaks up on those notes, and some of the highs on G string. I'll keep expermenting.
Just happened on your thread. I worked at an authorized shop a "long" time ago and was not a big fan of these as we saw more than a few. My old memory hits on the use of some questionable coupling caps. Out of warranty we would replace them all in the tube pre. If replacing tubes one at a time doesn't cure it, this could be a possibility.
Thanks B-string. Is there a reason to replace tubes one at a time? THe set of JJ's that were in it when I bought it we nearly new, but I replaced the whole set with a new set of the same tube. DIdn't notice a big improvement. Maybe I should have tried brand but the JJS came highly recommended for this preamp.
I'll d try replacing one at a time if that might tell me something. Otherwise, I will try taking it in and having the coupling caps checked and replaced if necessary. I don't expect it's that expensive.
I'll d try replacing one at a time if that might tell me something. Otherwise, I will try taking it in and having the coupling caps checked and replaced if necessary. I don't expect it's that expensive.
Sorry didn't see you had replaced the whole set already. There is a trick that sometimes works to help find the stage causing the trouble. Sub in a 12AU7 one at a time in the sockets that use a 12AX7. If you get a notable improvement the trouble is before that position. Replacing the coupling caps are not that costly, but should be done by an experienced tech as they are on the high voltage branch.
Well, it was a pre-purchase check, fairly quick, what he may have called a bench test. I'm not so tech savvy but I know he checked some outputs and some soundwaves on a scan, but whether he was able to check the caps and other circuitry (if it would should up on his tests), I couldn;'t say. I did complain early on to him about the problem but he said it was probably in the settings and in fact the sound did improve after some experimenting with the settings. It's as good now as it's been but still with the problems I tried to describe.
If I take it back to him, is there a particular test or procedure I should ask him to check?
If I take it back to him, is there a particular test or procedure I should ask him to check?
This would not be a defect that is easily found with standard bench tests. Symptom driven diagnostics for most shops beyond the standard tests.
Thanks Again B-string. I'm taking it in for more detailed diagnotics that I hope will get to the bottom of this and show my what it can do. I think there may be a volume issue as well, because for 200/350 watts, this doesn't seem to have much power, even with high quality Ampeg or Markbass cabs.
That could well be another symptom of leaky blocking caps. When they "leak" (electrically) they don't block all the DC voltage from the previous stage, this changes the available gain in the next stage. You lose gain (volume), low end and high end. They are there to only pass the AC voltage (your signal) to the next stage (hence the name "blocking cap").
