Ampeg SVT VR vs 50th Anniversary SVT

[Skullheadrac]

Just curious if there's anyone out there that sold their SVT VR for the 50th Anniversary SVT.
Is there anyone here that could compare the two from experience? Does anyone own both? Is it worth going through the hassle for the anniversary model?
Please opine!

 

[Son of Wobble]

Sub'd for the pictures

 

[coreyfyfe]

For the extra attention to detail of the heritage/50th anniversary, if you planned to buy new and can spare the extra expense, I would get the 50th over a new VR. There’s one on reverb from a dealer slightly discounted. I’ve been watching the sale but have less than zero need for the amp given I both have a vintage SVT and have other tube amps I can’t currently gig with.

Not a VR, but they compare the features of the 50th anniversary model with a vintage amp here

 

[Wasnex]

Just curious if there's anyone out there that sold their SVT VR for the 50th Anniversary SVT.
Is there anyone here that could compare the two from experience? Does anyone own both? Is it worth going through the hassle for the anniversary model?
Please opine!

Never seen one but I have been following along. My impression of what stands out:

1. Functionally the VR and 50th AV are pretty much identical except for the voicing of channel 2. I actually like the original voicing of channel 2 quite a bit, so I am not sure if this is a good thing.

2. The 50th AV is a heritage model assembled in the US. This is supposed to mean higher quality and better attention to detail. A special run of 6550 tubes were sourced for this amp. They look like Sovteks or Svetlanas, but they have special Ampeg silkscreens.

3. There are little nuanced cosmetic changes that make the amp stand out as well. Take a close up look at the control panels and you should see what I am talking about. AFAIK the 50th AV panel graphics are etched, and the VR graphics are silk screened.

Perhaps there are more differences?

I own two vintage SVTs...I see no need to be a 50th AV. I would feel the same if I owned a VR. But I respect if you feel otherwise.

FYI, I bought two SVTs to have one that runs 6550s and another that runs the original 6146 tubes.

 

[Skullheadrac]

Never seen one but I have been following along. My impression of what stands out:

1. Functionally the VR and 50th AV are pretty much identical except for the voicing of channel 2. I actually like the original voicing of channel 2 quite a bit, so I am not sure if this is a good thing.

2. The 50th AV is a heritage model assembled in the US. This is supposed to mean higher quality and better attention to detail. A special run of 6550 tubes were sourced for this amp. They look like Sovteks or Svetlanas, but they have special Ampeg silkscreens.

3. There are little nuanced cosmetic changes that make the amp stand out as well. Take a close up look at the control panels and you should see what I am talking about. AFAIK the 50th AV panel graphics are etched, and the VR graphics are silk screened.

Perhaps there are more differences?

I own two vintage SVTs...I see no need to be a 50th AV. I would feel the same if I owned a VR. But I respect if you feel otherwise.

FYI, I bought two SVTs to have one that runs 6550s and another that runs the original 6146 tubes.

Wish i could play them side by side and compare myself lol.
Let's hope the stock market sky rockets so i can have the disposable cash to find out

 

[Bent77]

Someone said post pictures

SVT VR non heritage

With that out of the way, thought I’d address a few things mentioned above.

Does in fact have Sovtek 6550s
Does have the silk screened letters
Nov 2019 mfr date
Does sound pretty awesome, even on channel 2

 

[gwangi]

This amp sounds nice!!!!

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Just an FYI for the SVT set...

I saw a, dare I say, pristine SVT Skunkworks #365/500 for sale @ Atomic Music in Beltsville, MD this morning. I see it and another on Reverb @ $2500.

I would likely rather have a Skunkworks SVT than either a 50th AV or the VR.

Good Luck!

 

[baddarryl]

Just an FYI for the SVT set...

I saw a, dare I say, pristine SVT Skunkworks #365/500 for sale @ Atomic Music in Beltsville, MD this morning. I see it and another on Reverb @ $2500.

I would likely rather have a Skunkworks SVT than either a 50th AV or the VR.

Good Luck!

What is a Skunkworks SVT? I have a VR as well as a vintage V4B and have been wondering about the Heritage as well.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

What is a Skunkworks SVT? I have a VR as well as a vintage V4B and have been wondering about the Heritage as well.

Here’s the bloodline: Ampeg was sold to the Magnavox Corporation in 1971. Magnavox then sold Ampeg to Music Technologies Inc. in 1980. SLM bought the rights to the Ampeg name in 1986 and took possession of any Ampeg inventory left at MTI. That inventory contained enough of the old major parts (transformers, chassis, etc.) to build 500 SVTs! These amps were built in-house by the Skunk Works crew at SLM. They were supposedly the first SVTs made in the U.S. since Magnavox had the brand. SLM built and covered all the wooden cabinets and used some stock typical of their ’80s/’90s SVTs for the vinyl, knobs, grille cloth, etc.—which is why, at first glance, they look to be standard SLM-era products.

That perception is quickly put to rest once these units are disassembled. The layout and circuit boards look pretty much identical to the ’70s units. - Premier Guitar Magazine

More technical stuff is addressed.

It's basically a 70's original parts SVT made in the USA by SLM in 1987. Well regarded!

 

[baddarryl]

View attachment 4278049
Here’s the bloodline: Ampeg was sold to the Magnavox Corporation in 1971. Magnavox then sold Ampeg to Music Technologies Inc. in 1980. SLM bought the rights to the Ampeg name in 1986 and took possession of any Ampeg inventory left at MTI. That inventory contained enough of the old major parts (transformers, chassis, etc.) to build 500 SVTs! These amps were built in-house by the Skunk Works crew at SLM. They were supposedly the first SVTs made in the U.S. since Magnavox had the brand. SLM built and covered all the wooden cabinets and used some stock typical of their ’80s/’90s SVTs for the vinyl, knobs, grille cloth, etc.—which is why, at first glance, they look to be standard SLM-era products.

That perception is quickly put to rest once these units are disassembled. The layout and circuit boards look pretty much identical to the ’70s units. - Premier Guitar Magazine

More technical stuff is addressed.

It's basically a 70's original parts SVT made in the USA by SLM in 1987. Well regarded!

Thank you. Maybe keep an eye out! Lol!

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Thank you. Maybe keep an eye out! Lol!

Ampeg SVT-HD Club? The #500!!!

 

[baddarryl]

Ampeg SVT-HD Club? The #500!!!

Very cool. I just read all 9 pages! Yes that's me!!

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Very cool. I just read all 9 pages! Yes that's me!!

...lol...

The thing is, for myself, I would just drop it with Bill Webb in Austin or Pete Cage in Damascus, MD and wait for the call then go grab it. And not be too involved with self amp diagnosis, sourcing and repair on a forum!

But, on the basic level, I would rather have one (SW) rather than a VR or AV all things being equal. Just switch on, plug-in, adjust (no matter what type of knob was being used that my ears cannot see) and play!

I probably would have replaced all the knobs anyway...thats me.

 

[JimmyM]

The only SVT's I consider "bad" are broken. I own one of the first SVT's ever made from the very first batch, a 2013 Heritage SVT-CL, and I've played every single kind of SVT out there as rentals. All of them are exceptional as long as they work, and all of them sound basically the same with only small variations that could be down to tube choice as much as anything.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

The only SVT's I consider "bad" are broken. I own one of the first SVT's ever made from the very first batch, a 2013 Heritage SVT-CL, and I've played every single kind of SVT out there as rentals. All of them are exceptional as long as they work, and all of them sound basically the same with only small variations that could be down to tube choice as much as anything.

I was driving today and counting my SVT prior history.

I have had:

'71/Squareback Cab (my first)

'74/mid-70's Cab (received a custom covering of Red Lizard skin tolex obtained from the Fender Custom Shop with Black grill cloth.)

'77/ but no Ampeg Cabinet

'90 SVT II/Ampeg PR410

90's SVT-300 & SVP/Ampeg Iso-Vent 50

SVTII Pro (had it for a week and sold it)

I looked at the specific SW I mentioned. I would want it gone over by Cage Audio before I would do anything on it and told the owner so. It's a free, in person, inspection/estimate. (I'm used to a level of service in Austin from Bill Webb where things are clean, tightened up, cooked off and "tour ready" when he gets done. I blame Eric Johnson and Ben Harper for his attention to details)

 

[whitepony64]

I sold my SVT VR with the Heyboer transformer upgrade so I could buy a 50th Anniversary SVT.

Sonically: To me the 50th Anniversary SVT sounded instantly better in a way I would describe as more 'focussed' and 'defined'. My bandmates commented on this as well. To be be fair, I never changed the tubes in the VR. It could just be that the stock tubes in the Anniversary SVT are better than the stock tubes in the VR.

Aesthetically: At first I felt like something was missing without the logo badge on the front but now I think its a classier look... to the point where I'm thinking about taking the badge off my V4B. I also love the lowercase 'a' logo by power switch so much that I'm thinking of buying vintage badges for my cabinets. The etched front panel looks way nicer and the mid selector switch now has the frequencies listed which is helpful.

I am happy I made the jump to the Anniversary SVT model.

Full disclosure: I am the target market for gear like this. To my own detriment I can get fixated on having 'the best' of something.

 

[ThisBass]

Someone said post pictures

SVT VR non heritage

View attachment 4100738


With that out of the way, thought I’d address a few things mentioned above.

Does in fact have Sovtek 6550s
Does have the silk screened letters
Nov 2019 mfr date
Does sound pretty awesome, even on channel 2

Quoted post is about 2 years old.
Yet some comment on the linking of normal channel with bright channel.
The linking of both channels means nothing but the linking of two different passive RC filter networks at the input of V1.
Furthermore with linking of both input channels the total input impedance may be reduced down to 1/2 of its normal impedance (each channel). Its not an issue with active pickups but it may be a concerne with passive pickups where high Z is desireable.

 

[Wasnex]

The linking of both channels means nothing but the linking of two different passive RC filter networks at the input of V1.

If I understand what you have written, this is accurate for the SVT CL but not the VR.

Here is the SVT CL input.

AFAIK, it's not common to jumper the two inputs.



The VR has two channels. Each channel has two inputs (bright and normal). The two channels are significantly different.


The signal path in the VR is electrically equivalent to the vintage amps, but it's way more complicated to follow. It's way easier to see what is going on with the vintage schematic.