Ampeg SVT7PRO vs. SWR SM900

You know, I used to own an SM-500 and I liked it but I didn't love it. Played the SM-900 on gigs several times as well and enjoyed it about equally. I don't own a 7 Pro but I've played it and I like it a lot. Not as much as a full on SVT but I do really like it. But there are certain things that each head does better, and some might like one over the other. I think the 7 Pro sounds more warm and tubey than traditional solid state heads so I prefer it. But tradtional solid state has a character of its own with a very hard and sharp attack that lightweight designs just don't quite get, at least none that I've heard. So you're totally allowed to change your mind about gear

 

Definitely apples and oranges. The 7pro preamp is a bit of a joke, only one tube means it's a starved plate token tube circuit compared to the all-tube 8Pro or SVP preamp, while SWR heads aren't trying for the Ampeg sound.

By what you've written, you'd love my rig, a SVP preamp into an IPR poweramp into a Goliath III 4x10. It's got signature Ampeg all over it, but I hear everything I need on stage, rather than the fluffy wash of an SVT head/cab. Can't see the 7Pro doing so good a job of the Ampeg tone without the fluff, it's all in the preamp.

 

That's funny, all tho I like SVT All tube amps most & have used all tube amps all m3 35+ yrs gigging, I've found MANY hybrid amps with ONE or sometimes 2 tubes in the pre, sound FAR more tube-like than many with 3,4,5 etc...
I must not hear right.

 

Cheers man. I think the 7 pro has a more tubey sound than the 5? Tubed 3 pro. & Mesa Walkabout, with it's 2 tubes, wow! more tube-like than many all tube amps
I'll get my coat.....

 

Seth

Stick with what you have. I know the pots calling the kettle black! You come back to Ampeg. Or....try the swr 900 and a hematoma or vt bass pedal?????

 

How interesting. I have been a long time Ampeg user/fan and have been gigging a 4pro for years--but ten years ago I went through my SWR phase and got two 4x10 goliaths and an SM900. Probably because of my 42 IQ I always struggled with the parametric EQ on the SM900 but occasionally got a tone I liked. Also on a couple of occasions when another bass player sat in on my rig I was able to enjoy the tone 20 to 30 feet away--man what a difference from the stage tone--very harm and punchy yet clean.

Anyway last night on the 3rd song on the first set my 4 pro began cutting out bad and I got my son to bring the SM900 -- Once I got the EQ dialed in (no small feat for me) I ended up being able to get a tone that was still my own and yet not all that far from the 4pro tone. Even the tone snob guitar player remarked that he was surprised at the warmth and fatness. I have discovered that for my instruments (Fender P or J) and playing style (fingers--classic rock-variety) I set the EQ on the SM900 flat and cut the lows a little, aural enhancer at 2 oclock and compressor almost off.

By the way even when I started using the ampeg amp again years ago I kept using the SWR speakers. To my ear they are just tighter and punchier sounding. My two cents!

 

That's a big generalization - the number of tubes has nothing to do with/is not any indication of the plate voltage used in a particular design.

 

sorry, but i couldn't disagree with you more. to me, my SVP-CL and SVP-pro preamps were just, meh.

 

I only tried an SWR 750 once - I could hardly hear the thing over the fan. Sounded like it had a hairdrier taped to the back of it. Just that unit? maybe.

I like where you're coming from thugh. A lot of really high quality gear went out of fashion 5 minutes ago because it's not super light weight. There's a lot of great gear out there for the picking.

 

I really liked the SVP-CL. The Pro got a meh from me but I always liked the CL. Not as bold in tone as something with an output transformer in it, but it's the preamp of an SVT and I think it's got the goods as far as similar tube pres. I like it better than the Alembic, at least

 

I'm kind of with John on the SVP CL - I was pretty disappointed and sent mine back during the return period. I found it was just too clean, kind of blah, and had some kind of weird thing going on with the very low end that made the bass control useless for me. I was running it with the DB728 for what I thought would be the ultimate SVT but not so. I had better luck using it with SS power but not enough to make me want to keep it. I think the DB680 does a way better job of copping the SVT vibe. The pro's always sounded overly compressed and noisy IMO. Too much crap in the signal path...

I have to say I really like the clips of the 7 - it has the Ampeg vibe without any of the shortcomings (as far as I can tell) of their preamp offerings. Looks like a winner so long as it proves reliable.

 

Before all the excitement with the Streamliner and 7 Pro, John had posted a number of clips with his Focusrite, Urei, and a SVP-CL. Many of us thought the SVP sounded beautiful and had the tonal qualities of the big money channel strips. I like my SVP-CL and gigged it outside yesterday with a 1500 watt amp and a SWR 410. Bass with authority and near SVT tube goodness. I could have taken my SVT but it wouldn't have had enough clean power & headroom with this band, cabinet, and vocal only monitor mix. Out of the 1/2 dozen pre's I had the SVP is the only I've kept (and there was an Alembic as well as a Presonus tube strip).

Of course, everybody gets to change their mind when they want.

PS: I have a SWR SM400; sounds nothing like a tube amp to me although have recently found that with the compressor blinking most of the time, it is better and not so surgical to play. Never tried a VT pedal but would think it would make it more tubey. Changing the 12AX7 in an SWR did nothing for me.

 

i still think that the SVP preamps are pretty good, but the SVP Pro's noise floor was just way too much for me, and the SVP-CL, IMO, sounded better between the two, but it had such a low output level i had to run something between it and my crown power amp to to boost it up, and IMO, the UA 6176 sounds more like an SVT than either one of them.