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Ampeg SVT-VR USA vs Korea

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oinkbanana

Oct 20, 2011
291
4
#1
I've had an SVT-VR made in Korea for close to a year now, LOVE IT! sounds and looks totally sexy with the matching 810AV
This week I had the chance to buy another SVT-VR, this one Made in the USA, and a 2nd 810 cab (the black cab though)

so, I'm up for doing some A/Bing, trying different things to answer some questions you guys might have. I'd definitely keeping both amps.

Here's what I have with dates (using the ampeg dating guide)
SVT-VR Made in Korea LOUD (2008 October)
SVT 810 Made in USA SLM Black Cab (2006 August)
SVT-VR Made in USA (2006 May)
SVT 810AV Made in USA SLM Silver Cab (2005 Januay)

obligatory pics:
lm68ih.png


SVT-VR Made in Korea back (2008 October)
7uTrg.png


SVT-VR Made in USA back (2006 May)
2gic1.png


SVT 810AV front (2005 Januay)
zc4a3h.png


SVT 810AV back panel (Silver cab)
uBotd.png



SVT 810 front (2006 August)
AoyoIh.png


SVT 810 back panel (black cab)
wUN4J.png


everything bunched together
zjjvEh.png



I did some quick tests today
VR head (made in USA) > 810 black cab sounded brighter and had more upper mids then the VR head (made in Korea) > 810 Silver cab.
switching the head cab combination gave me different results
VR head (made in Korea) > 810 black cab sounded brighter and had more upper mids then the VR head (made in USA) > 810 Silver cab.
Off hand both heads sounded REALLY similar, I don't think I could tell them apart. But the two cabs were noticeably different. maybe it's because the Silver 810 is in a road case? anything change from 2005 to 2006?
I'm up for doing more tests.
opening things up to look inside.
shoot me some ideas. I like knowing about the gear that I have.



Normally my setup is a Baritone guitar into the Orange OTR120 > PPC412 & the Ampge SVTVR > 810. I like it loud, and I like to move air. now i've got a pair of both. but I'm good to keep this bass focused. I've got a Rick 4001, and can easily switch between both amps using a Radial Bigshot ABY.
 
#2
Wish I had more time to answer you thoroughly. 2006 was the year Ampeg finally switched from OSB to real plywood under SLM. There was also a cone change at Eminence starting in 2000 that I thought lasted until LOUD moved production overseas in 2007 that resulted in some dark sounding cabs from between 2000 and 2005. However, a 2006 cab I recently played sounded a LOT better than the cabs I've played from between 2000 and 2005. In any event, I don't think you're hearing things, as your results seem to mirror my experiences.
 
#3
Do the inferior sounding 810 cabs (still a great sounding cab) correspond to the availability of the higher end (higher priced) PR-810H & 810HPC?
Anyone know what kind of construction the PR-810H & 810HPC had? @ +200bls each, were they 13-ply Baltic birch wood?
 
#4
The only thing I know about them is that the 810hpc originally came with Eden speakers that weighed considerably more than than the Eminences in the regular 810e back then, and the 810hpc's were made at a time when 810e's sounded good IMHO. Wish I knew more about those other cabs, but I never see them on rental gigs and the Ampeg book goes only up to 98 and doesn't mention OSB at all, unfortunately. But considering it was a history book about Ampeg commissioned by SLM, I'm not surprised.
 
#5
JimmyM said:
and the 810hpc's were made at a time when 810e's sounded good IMHO.
Click to expand...
:eyebrow: I thought i was onto something here.
come 2005 these higher priced cabs were discontinued, and Ampeg got their regular 810 to sound good again. looks like a pattern to me. maybe the Pro and higher priced cabs were priced too high and the competition was just stealing their market share for the regular 810 (due to its dark sound that people might not have liked???)
in this post you seemed to have agreed with me
I'm gonna open up my two cabs to see what kind of material each is made of. I assume the 2005 is OSB and 2006 is plywood.

when did the OSB (the inferior darker sounding cabs) enter production? I assume 2005 is when they finished.


810HPC was announced this, no idea when it was discontinued.

then again, the 2002 catalog has the 810HP in it already (is the 810HPC and 810HP the same cab?).
The PR810H is in the Link Removed, but not the 2004 catalog, any idea when they were introduced?


is there a database of Ampeg catalogs anywhere on the web? they'd be really useful. or a release and end of production timetable of products.
 
#6
The next SVT I own (and there will be another) will be USA manufactured, either pre-Loud or Heritage. Just figured if I was only going to own one it was going to be made in the USA and played into a USA made cab. That's what happens to ya if you weren't born in the States....you obsess :hiding: :o
 
#7
2006 was the changeover year for OSB to plywood. Don't know exactly when that year, but that's the year. But they used OSB pretty much the whole time during the 90's till 2005, and it wasn't until 2000 that they got dark sounding. I don't know of any catalog compendium that encompasses the whole 64 years on the web, but there should be one IMHO.
 
#10
That's the only serial number on the amp. The Korean one's stickers look correct. Normally they are very difficult to peel off, they stick like crazy. It looks like someone picked at them or possibly removed them and put them back.
 
#11
either way one's made in USA, the other in Korea. I'm not gonna fuss too much on Korea year, but I have no reason to doubt it's a 2008, it's hardly something worth faking.
fqiQR.png



So the 2005 is made of MDF
SFYOf.png

FJsfo.png


the 2006 is made of OSB
QybKR.png

YIstY.png



the external dimensions of the cab are the same
but the MDF is 3/4" board, and the OSB was 5/8 board which means that the grills are NOT the same size (difference of 1/4")
eKh7e.png

they also use different metal corners on the cab too accordingly
ZIzxj.png



I've got pictures of speakers and cones too, if that's of interest.

I know this thread was supposed to be about the heads, but the heads sound seriously the same. I'm still surprised how varied the cabs sound.
 
#15
oinkbanana said:
I don't think they're ever going to go back to plywood.
Click to expand...
They've been plywood since 2006. Now the changeover could have happened in the middle of the year or something, I don't know the exact date, but plywood started back again sometime in 2006 according to every source on Ampeg knowledge I've talked to. And all the imported Classic cabs are made with baltic birch plywood and the less expensive cabs aren't made with baltic birch but they're made with genuine plywood. Even my little Micro VR cabs are made with plywood.
 
#17
my 2006 cab 6th digit is an 8 = August.

do they consider OSB (Aspenite) plywood? Or are they actually using Plywood (glued thin sheets of wood veneer)? In marketing speak it could be compared to the MDF (particle board)
The front baffle on both cabs I have is obviously plywood.
 
#18
They are using glued thin sheets of wood veneer, not OSB, not MDF, no boogerwood of any kind. And yes, the baffles were always plywood, and I don't think they were ever OSB or MDF.
 
#19
I should add, though, that with a little EQ, those dark sounding cabs can be quite usable and can sound quite good, although I'd still rather have a brighter one. And even though they were made that way, I still see a heck of a lot of old ones still in use, so take care of your gear and it will take care of you.
 

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