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Anyone NOT like the SVT?

#161
is this a club...I'm in. Actually, they are great amps, just not my cup o' tea. Heavy, expensive to fix and/or retube, heavy, and not very flexible sound wise (IMO of course). I like Ampeg stuff for rock and (somtimes) country, but beyond that, I have no use for them. I feel the same for SWR. They're very niche oriented for me. SWR for gospel and slap, but beyond that I have no use for them.
 
#163
Last I saw, the thread title asked those who don't like the SVT. Not why we should be forced to like it. The reason doesn't matter, some just don't like it. Get over it man.

Steffan and Daryl change gear like they change underwear, neither stays constant for me to say "yeah that is their schtick". And if Marcus ever even used one at all, then 99% of his career has been made with other amps and not with one of them.
 
#164
JoshuaTSP said:
This came about when talking about "what if the band got signed and we got gear money?".

I said, I don't think I'd change my rig or basses much. I've already experimented and found stuff that I like.

They said....you wouldn't get an SVT stack?

I said, I don't know...isn't that the most played amp in bassdom?......I've never played an SVT?
Click to expand...

I'm quoting this post by the OP, because, at least as far as I can see, he was talking about an SVT Stack, not an SVT amp with different cabs. That is another whole ball of wax, as far as I know. The head can do alot with different cabs, but the classic SVT stack has that unique sound, whether you love it or not. :hiding:
 
#165
Ive never been a fan of the SVT's. To me, most of the Ampeg stuff "colours" your sound a bit? Im gonna admit im an SWR man, mainly just because I love the clean hi-fi tone. But I have been able to get nice rock sounds from it too. IMHO I dont think tubes are the be all and end all for playing rock! :hiding:
 
#166
It's fine for people not to like the SVT if it's not their cup o' tea. It's missing the point to think they're one trick ponies, though. There's a big difference between "I don't like the range of tone I get with an SVT" and "I never got anything but muddy fuzztone out of one". The former is a legitimate opinion. The latter is cockpit error. :D
 
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#167
okcrum said:
It's fine for people not to like the SVT if it's not their cup o' tea. It's missing the point to think they're one trick ponies, though. There's a big difference between "I don't like the range of tone with I get with an SVT" and "I never got anything but muddy fuzztone out of one". The former is a legitimate opinion. The latter is cockpit error. :D
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Cockpit error and the subsequent sweeping assumptions and conclusions.

Not an Ampeg fan here either, weight and basic tonal starting point.

If I need a lot of grunt I grab my Carvin B1500 (weighs about 50 lbs less than an SVT) and get a great tone FLAT. Much better amp IMHO.
 
#168
okcrum said:
It's fine for people not to like the SVT if it's not their cup o' tea. It's missing the point to think they're one trick ponies, though. There's a big difference between "I don't like the range of tone with I get with an SVT" and "I never got anything but muddy fuzztone out of one". The former is a legitimate opinion. The latter is cockpit error. :D
Click to expand...

That's all I really pointed out in my original post.
I played through a bunch, and didn't like what I heard.
And they pretty much all did the same thing.

Jimmy got his panties all bunched when he read that I guess.......;)
Still love the guy though!

It's not that I didn't try to get what I liked. I HAD to use them, so I tried.
It didn't sound bad. Just I would never go that direction myself. At all.
 
#169
again, for the millionth time, i couldn't give a rat's ass if anyone likes it or not. there are plenty of great amps on the market and not every amp speaks to everyone. what i don't like is the preposterous proposition that you can only get one sound out of it, and the even more preposterous proposition that ANY amp on the market is only good for one type of music. ampeg, swr, genz benz, gk, carvin...doesn't matter what it is...if you can only get one sound out of an amp or can't play certain styles of music with a certain amp, i blame you and not the amp.

and i love you too mike...i just think the idea that there are amps that are only good for a certain style of music is wack.
 
#170
jnewmark said:
I'm quoting this post by the OP, because, at least as far as I can see, he was talking about an SVT Stack, not an SVT amp with different cabs. That is another whole ball of wax, as far as I know. The head can do alot with different cabs, but the classic SVT stack has that unique sound, whether you love it or not. :hiding:
Click to expand...
which classic svt stack? the svt/810e stack? the svt/2 410he stack? the svt/410hlf stack? the svt/610hlf stack? the svt/215 stack? the svt/412 stack?
 
#174
Alex1984 said:
JimmyM has spoken, Amen!

Also, I found there to be 2 extreme opinions, one group feeling the SVT is completely scooped, and one feeling the SVT has a huge mid-hump. Why is this? Is it because of the Ultra-hi, Ultra-lo settings?
Click to expand...

It's kind of both. It has this huge low mid thing and doesnt seem to want to do much of a middle- to high mid thing. Pretty much the opposite of the Mesa sound which is kinda lean on low mids and has an excess of that 800-1.6k clank. Of course folks will swear that their AMpeg does have lots of mid, which means "lots of mid for an Ampeg". They havent had som much mid come out of their speaker that they run to the other side of the room as can happen with the mesa stuff.

I think what is funny is when folks say they dont like ampeg because it's not clear or hi-fi then go on to name an amp that is SOOO not hifi! Ampegs can be clear, but are rarely run with conservative gain and eq. It's just not fun like that!
Me I would run an AMpeg if I had better experiences with teh ones I have owned. The solid state SVT I owned was awful sounding and not loud. The tube one I had was really beat up and very unreliable. I keep meaning to get a well serviced vintage SVT rig again, but I have too many other things going on. For instance I bought a Macbook pro not too long ago for what a used SVT rig goes for.
 

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