For well over two years now, I have been more than happy with my MarkBass Jeff Berlin combo sitting on top of a New York Cab 115. Still, to this day, I think that having an Ampeg SVT all tube ( like a CL, or a VR, an AV model ) or a V4BH would satisfy my hunger for the warmth of the tubes in all their glory.....
I use a Darkglass VMT at the front of my current rig and truly enjoy the nice overdriven tone thus far.
Would I be more satisfied with an Ampeg SVT for instance??? Is it worth to haul such a beast around for that Tone??
I know this is the standard of all bass amps out there, I just don't want to invest in something that I may find too subtle of a difference to truly appreciate it.
Let me know your thoughts!!
The first thing to figure out is what makes you hunger for tubes? If it's reading a bunch of hyperbole and hyped up nonsense about tubey goodness, then you may be heading down the wrong rabbit hole.
There are a range of different qualities that tube amps posses. In order to decide which amp will best suit your needs, you need to identify the range of tubey qualities and figure out what they do for the sound and feel of an amp. After that you can consider the balance of tubey qualities that you are looking for. The idea is different tube amps have their own unique tubey personality, and without discussing the specific balance of characteristics you are looking for, it's impossible to determine if you an Ampeg tube amp is the best choice for you or not. For example, An SVT and a Hiwatt tend to have very different personalities, but they are both tubey delicious in their own way.
Now if you have tried a couple of Ampeg tube amps and just loved the sound, it's a different matter. Then you need to balance cost, weight, power, and specific features.
An Ampeg SVT and 810E has a certain sound that people either tend to love or not. Millions of bassist consider this combination the gold standard of bass amplification. This rig is sort of a living legend as it has been around since 1969.
IMHO the 810E is more responsible for the sound than the SVT because it is one of the most heavily voiced, least transparent cabs you can buy. By "least transparent" I mean pretty much any head you play through an 810E is going to sound fairly similar.
If you use a more transparent cab, you will hear more of the subtle differences between each head and bass. I own two vintage SVTs and think they are great...I personally hate playing through the 810E, and I am not alone. But I don't really think it's my place to say the 810E sucks. How could it suck if millions of players love it so much. Try the rig out and make up your own mind.
The best way for you figure out the answer is to hunt down and play through the amps you are interested in. All of us have a different idea of how bass should sound. If I think a rig sounds awesome and rave about it, there is no guarantee that you will agree, so please don't take my word for it. Try the amp and form your own opinion.
If you can't try before you buy, try to read through the hyperbole. Many people who love SVTs are very tribal about it and think it's the perfect amp for every person in every occasion. Anyone who disagrees is considered an idiot. The true believers will use every positive subjective modifier in the book to describe how great the SVT and 810E is, but many of them cannot tell you very much about the rig that is objective. Even worse, many grossly exaggerate the rig's capabilities--and actually believe what they are saying is true.
IMHO it's about a 300W amp and it plays about as loud as any other 300W amp. If your guitar player has 100W half stack you can give him/her a good run for the money with an SVT and 810, but anyone who says they can crush a 100W Marshall with an SVT is trash talking or ignorant of what is really going on. For the record I own a couple of vintage 100W Marshalls and a 1960AX/BX full stack, so I know exactly how loud these amps can play. They can easily bury my SVTs.
If you want to understand why a 100W Marshall sounds louder than a 300W SVT you need to consider two factors. 1. Guitar speakers are more efficient than bass speakers, so they make more volume with less power. 2. Our ears are most sensitive to mid range frequencies. Because of this, if the guitar and bass are at the same volume, the guitar will actually be perceived as louder. Google and read about the Fletcher Munson curve.
Here's another helpful little tidbit...the decibel change produced by increasing the power from 100W to 300W is about 4.77dB. The general rule is you need a 3dB change to hear the difference. So increasing the power from 100W to 300W produces a noticeable change, but it's not a huge jump in volume.
It might seem like I am bashing on tube amps, but I am not, I just want you to make an informed choice instead of making a bad decision based on hype like I did. Back in the early 80s, I special ordered an MTI SVT and 810 after doing a bunch of research. I had never seen or heard an SVT, but all the articles I read gave it such glowing reviews. When the amp came in I actually though something was wrong with it, but since it was special ordered I was pretty much stuck with it. Every SVT and 810 I have played since then has sounded pretty much the same. The rig was perfect, it's just not my sound.
For the record, I own 28 amps and approximately 2/3rds of them would be considered all tube. I believe all but three have tubes in the preamps. So I have plenty of love for tubes.
