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China Ampeg???

#23
coreyfyfe said:
You probably blew the 15 for the obvious reason: a 4x10 and 1x15 is a terrible speaker pairing due to the vast differences is wattage handling. And fwiw, the Baltic birch plywood they're using on the new cabs is thinner because it gives the same strength and durability (probably better actually) than the thicker and heavier osb that was being used on later slm cabs.
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+1. 3/4" Birch plywood has greater tensile strength and rigidity than OSB or particleboard twice as thick, and weighs less. Boutique or otherwise very high-quality speaker enclosures are all made from birch plywood.

christw said:
Quit blaming Ampeg. You probably blew your 15. Was it on the bottom of the stack? Probably. I doubt you heard it distress before it blew under the power of your 6PRO. A single 15 is only equivalent to two ten's, no matter what the old know-it-all guitarists tell you. It was the weakest link in your rig and never was equally matched to that 410. Add another 410HE, Chinese made or not, and prepare to get what you actually wanted when you bought the 15. You can probably still exchange it and plead ignorance.
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While not wanting to sound as harsh as that, if you blew a speaker, you were doing something wrong, and can easily make yourself appear as someone not really qualified to comment on anything. I'm not saying that's the case, I'm simply saying that's how you can make yourself appear...

I have used Ampeg for 12 years and prefer the new Chinese enclosures to any other period excluding the mid-80's SVT-810e's. They're lighter, stronger, have better quality components and sound much better, IMHO.
 
#24
gpcbass said:
Yes, I blewed the speaker but I expected more from the SVT 15E.
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Why? It's only rated at 200 watts.


It was the weakest link in your signal chain. I run one and love it, but I use a 180 watt tube head.

The SVT-15E is, in my experience, not a particularly low-voiced speaker. It's better at a nasty bark than at a low rumble.

Also, the 410 + 115 combo is pretty much just marketing. Speaker size is not the biggest factor in how a cab sounds. For example, the 410HLF goes way lower than the 15.

The best thing to pair with your 410HE is another 410HE.
 
#26
Blowing a speaker doesn't make you a complete idiot, of course, but in this day and age where speakers take a lot more power than they used to, and in a situation where Ampeg was pretty honest about what it'll take real world, I just don't see any reason to blow speakers. Maybe in the 60's where companies were building guitar cabs and thinking they'd be good for bass, OK, but nowadays, I just don't get it. Sorry.
 
#30
JimmyM said:
Blowing a speaker doesn't make you a complete idiot, of course, but in this day and age where speakers take a lot more power than they used to, and in a situation where Ampeg was pretty honest about what it'll take real world, I just don't see any reason to blow speakers. Maybe in the 60's where companies were building guitar cabs and thinking they'd be good for bass, OK, but nowadays, I just don't get it. Sorry.
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Jimmy, didn't you relate a while ago in a lengthy thread that there's a fair amount of honesty in the Ampeg speaker wattage ratings?

And it's not as difficult to blow speakers as you might think.

For example, you're playing in a metal band with two very loud guitarists and you keep bumping up the volume on your amp trying to be heard. Unfortunately, you can't hear your protesting speakers over the din of the Mesa stacks and...blown drivers result.

Using heavy distortion will also mask the clues that the speakers are being pushed too far.
 
#31
gpcbass said:
Thanks, Jerrold! It seems like you are the only one who get my point.

Please, read ALL my posts before any more discrediting comments. I don't wanna be classified as a complete idiot just because I blewed a speaker. ;)
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The current SVT-15E appears to be the same cab they were making back in the SLM days.

It only handled 200 watts even then, and in my experience isn't voiced that strongly in the lows.

Sorry.
 
#34
Sartori said:
The current SVT-15E appears to be the same cab they were making back in the SLM days.

It only handled 200 watts even then, and in my experience isn't voiced that strongly in the lows.

Sorry.
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I don't remember what was in that one, without going and looking it up.

There was an "OK" 15, stamped frame, and there was a really VERY good cast frame 15, which people should not look down on... it had a very good response, and was also used in several PA cabs.....


The cast frame one was 200W.... Of course, it probably is NOT in current cabs, even if it maybe was in older versions.
 
#35
I had an Ampeg SVT400T sitting on top of an SVT410 and an SVT15 as my primary rig for years; the cabs outlived the head (which I replaced with an 800RB), and were still in fine functioning condition when I sold those off to get new, smaller cabs after football injuries came back to haunt me and I needed to downsize. What ever is best or worst is in the eye, ears, and hands of the beholder.
 
#36
NWB said:
Jimmy, didn't you relate a while ago in a lengthy thread that there's a fair amount of honesty in the Ampeg speaker wattage ratings?

And it's not as difficult to blow speakers as you might think.

For example, you're playing in a metal band with two very loud guitarists and you keep bumping up the volume on your amp trying to be heard. Unfortunately, you can't hear your protesting speakers over the din of the Mesa stacks and...blown drivers result.

Using heavy distortion will also mask the clues that the speakers are being pushed too far.
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All true, but before you even step on stage, you should get very familiar with the outer limits of your rig if you're in a situation where you'll need to push it hard.
 
#39
So this is a bit of an excursion from the main topic of this thread (which may not be all that bad for a bit), but has anyone actually A/B'd any USA particle board cabs with the plywood China cab to note the specific differences?? .. I think there was a Youtube video I saw showing the old and new construction details of an 810, but I am just curious if those same methods/materials have made their way down the entire Chinese produced line currently offered, and exactly how much difference there is in the end product, such as weight difference, tonal differences, etc ..
 
#40
The OSB cabs did not pass the "hammer test"*........ and they are heavy.... sound may be anything, per taste.... they are a little "deader" as to the cab structure.... good for HIFI, maybe not always good for MI.

*... a hammer hit makes a hole in OSB...... it makes a small dent in plywood, it doesn't even do that on "russian" ply, that stuff is like armor plate..... too bad it is also so warpy as to be a problem.

I personally showed that to the owner's son, and we lobbied for a change.... It took a while.......After the buyout, the change to Baltic birch started, but then Jamie Engen (who was affectionately known to us as "Canadian bacon") closed down manufacturing, so very few if any got made that way here.

EAW bought massive amounts of birch, so the price was good. "C-B" closed THEM down also, and the whole deal collapsed.
 

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