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I would hit it if I didn't already have three SVT's 
- Apr 15, 2009
- 539
- 260
- Disclosures
- Sales and electronic tech/piano tech: England Music Center - Clinton IA - now closed
The V9 is an SVT that has reverb and is voiced for guitar. I had a good friend that had one. I compared his side by side with my 70s SVT. Really nice sounding amps that are brighter than an SVT. Would have loved to have had both but he wasnt selling his V9. He so badly wanted to buy my V9 cabinet (cabinet had 9 10" speakers in it) but I wouldn't sell it either.
Get it while you can if you can. You'll love it.
Get it while you can if you can. You'll love it.
- Apr 15, 2009
- 539
- 260
- Disclosures
- Sales and electronic tech/piano tech: England Music Center - Clinton IA - now closed
I'm not seeing a reverb control on the front. On the back of the amp on the top is there a metal locking mechanism that locks the reverb so the springs dont bounce around when the amp is in transit? My friend's amp had a reverb control and the locking mechanism.
And i sure as heck hope he wasnt demoing that amp with just a speaker plugged into the extension jack as that jack is a secondary one and should only be used with a cabinet already plugged into the speaker out. Otherwise it xan be hard on the amp and cause problems down the road.
And i sure as heck hope he wasnt demoing that amp with just a speaker plugged into the extension jack as that jack is a secondary one and should only be used with a cabinet already plugged into the speaker out. Otherwise it xan be hard on the amp and cause problems down the road.
Ive seen a few regular SVTs that have V9 on the back panel- That is what this is. Someone at the Ampeg plant back in '76 came back from a "smoke" break and got the V9 panels mixed in, most likely!
An Ampeg V9 is a V4 with an SVT power section. The amp pictured above is a regular SVT bassamp.
The V9 and SVT used the same power amp chassis so those are labeled for both.
That is just a regular SVT.
In the magnavox era like this they were made in either Indiana or Tennessee. I think the company was head quartered in Indiana and manufacturing may have been elsewhere? Not sure.
That is just a regular SVT.
In the magnavox era like this they were made in either Indiana or Tennessee. I think the company was head quartered in Indiana and manufacturing may have been elsewhere? Not sure.
Wow! Thank you very much for the input. This being a reg SVT is what I want. In reading that the V9 had a distortion and reverb channel had me confused. I didn't see how this one was a V9, as there is nothing on the front panel that allows for controlling those channels. Since this amp has V9 on its the back, but does not have the distortion or reverb what model number is it closes to?
Any thoughts on the cabinet? They have the SVT610, but also have SVT15E & SVT410HE. I've read a single cab is a better way to go and that the SVT15 is not a good cab.....true?
They are doing demos with the cab plugged in that way. hopefully not too many people have played it tho. I played through it maybe 10mins at most and never really turned it up.
Any thoughts on the cabinet? They have the SVT610, but also have SVT15E & SVT410HE. I've read a single cab is a better way to go and that the SVT15 is not a good cab.....true?
They are doing demos with the cab plugged in that way. hopefully not too many people have played it tho. I played through it maybe 10mins at most and never really turned it up.
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It's an SVT. As I said above the power amp chassis was labeled for both because they used the same power amp. The V9 had an entirely different preamp/upper chassis.
You want a 4 ohm cab so the 15 or 410 wouldn't work on their own, though they'd work together. The 610HLF is fine, I like the new 212AV cabs as well.
The jacks are switching jacks, the main output should short to ground if not plugged in, plugging into the extension jack with a cab in the main output should switch the amp to the two ohm tap. Usually if you use the extension without anything in the main output jack you will only get low volume distorted sound.
I have two just like that one, that's a good deal, I'd snap it up quick if I were you. What's that on top, one of it's kids?
3 SVTs.I would hit it if I didn't already have three SVT's
Now I don't feel deranged for having 9 basses.
It is a bit different preamp than the SVT. There is no ultra low circuit. The initial coupling cap after the first stage is .01uF compared to .1uF in the SVT. I'd solder a .1uF on top of the .01uF to give more low end. The bright switch cap is double the SVT... .001uF VS 500pF.
The James EQ (bass and treble) is voiced differently. The V9 uses caps sealed in ceramic...a PEC module, #250762-1. You could put in discrete caps in the values of the SVT, or put in a #6470000 as used in the V4B. I don't know off hand the values in the 647. Some V9's do use the 647.
The active mid is different. The V9 uses a two stage, simplified version of the SVT midrange. This is best just left. It should be fine.
Channel 2 is a bit different, and might be a little fuller. The channels share tone controls.
Minor differences. Voiced a little higher for guitar, but easily remedied, if you know how to work in a beast like this.
The James EQ (bass and treble) is voiced differently. The V9 uses caps sealed in ceramic...a PEC module, #250762-1. You could put in discrete caps in the values of the SVT, or put in a #6470000 as used in the V4B. I don't know off hand the values in the 647. Some V9's do use the 647.
The active mid is different. The V9 uses a two stage, simplified version of the SVT midrange. This is best just left. It should be fine.
Channel 2 is a bit different, and might be a little fuller. The channels share tone controls.
Minor differences. Voiced a little higher for guitar, but easily remedied, if you know how to work in a beast like this.
See if you can knock the price down a little.
Is there anyone local you can have go thru the head quickly to give you a heads up on any immediate major repairs?
I like my blackline, but I knew that it needed around $650-900 in tubes and service if I was going to use it for more than weighing down my closet.
Is there anyone local you can have go thru the head quickly to give you a heads up on any immediate major repairs?
I like my blackline, but I knew that it needed around $650-900 in tubes and service if I was going to use it for more than weighing down my closet.
To confirm what others have said: the amp you're looking at is an SVT. Because the two amps used the same chassis and power section, the SVT's and V9's all said SVT/V9 on the back during the years of V9 production (1975-1980). The faceplate will specifiy SVT or V9. The V9's pre-amp is different and it has distorion and reverb. All such amps were made during the Magnavox era so none will say "Linden, NJ". That would be seen on amps through 1972.
You should not use the SVT with a single 8-ohm cabinet like the 15 and 410 they have. Consensus is that the output transformer is stout enough to deal with the impedance mismatch, but it is still tough on power tubes. The SVT-610HLF is a fine cabinet, but not period-appropriate to the amp. The SVT was intended to be used with two SVT cabinets (8x10).
So I bit the bullet got the amp and cab for $1500. Hope I made the right decision.
