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Do the new SVT CL heads suck?

T

Tschmu20

Apr 9, 2012
29
0
Orlando
#1
I've been shopping around for a new head, I'm looking to go all tube, and as they're a bit spendy I want to make sure I'm getting something I like... Problem being that local guitar stores don't stock much in the bass department, so I'm left to combing through internet reviews and youtube demos :/

That said, I really want to love the Ampeg SVT Classic head, but its one of the very few tube heads I've actually put my hands on and it's been painfully underwhelming. I wan't to think it was the cab I was playing through (an SVT, albeit a brand new one and I've heard the voicing is... different) but I couldn't get a single sound out of it that wasn't boring. There was no warmth or texture at all. Did I find an edge case here or are they really not-so-hot right now?
 
#4
Is this a loaded question?;)


SVT's shine in a band mix. Playing stuff solo isn't the way to judge things unless you have a lot of time spent listening to how your "band tone" sounds solo, which usually isn't very pretty. That said, they're not for everybody, and if you played one at GC, rest assured it's not properly taken care of, checked out. It has undoubtedly been abused, likely had speaker cords yanked out while it was powered up and God only knows what else done to it by some teenage wanker. Use the floor model stuff to check things out the best you can, but if buying, always demand one from the warehouse, sealed in the shipping box, untouched. They can't provide that....no sale. I passed on a Mesa 400+ before for that very reason. I'm paying for brand new, I want BRAND NEW, especially considering the majority of the employees, and the vast majority of the clientele.
 
#6
If you don't have much experience with tube heads, one thing you should know is that they generally dont reveal their full character until you crank them to around a stage volume. You can't properly fool around with an SVT or similar big tube amp in a store.
 
#7
chaosMK said:
If you don't have much experience with tube heads, one thing you should know is that they generally dont reveal their full character until you crank them to around a stage volume. You can't properly fool around with an SVT or similar big tube amp in a store.
Click to expand...

This may have been my problem actually, the only other stage amps I've owned were solid state.

I guess I was expecting the kind of tone I've heard come from the old Porta-flex drop head combos, and at 15w they would've been up to a pretty good volume level.

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to give these a second look.
 
#10
There were a couple slip ups when first moving from the US to Vietman. Then they fired the CEO, got a different bossman, moved production again, this time to China, and oddly, it's better now. I think you're ok with about anything made after about '09 or so, or before maybe '06? Something like that.
 
#14
And for the umpteenth time of posting my early Vietnam SVT VR has also been perfect and in fact the most reliable tube head I have ever owned. Yes, there were some quality control issues early on but it is my belief (based on anecdotal evidence) that any SVT from that era still in service is absolutely fine, a good one from any era is a good one. The standby protection circuit issue cropped up around that time and is sometimes unfairly linked to manufacture rather than being viewed as a design issue (and an easy fix as most VR owners know).The crap ones were probably ...er.....disposed of.
 
#17
will33 said:
There were a couple slip ups when first moving from the US to Vietman. Then they fired the CEO, got a different bossman, moved production again, this time to China, and oddly, it's better now. I think you're ok with about anything made after about '09 or so, or before maybe '06? Something like that.
Click to expand...
SVT tube heads and higher end cabs are made in S. Korea now. And no, there is no difference that I can tell between an American CL and a S. Korean CL. And I think the cabs they made since LOUD moved them in 2007 now are the best sounding cabs they've made in years.

Sounds like to me that you may just prefer solid state over tubes, Tschmu. But before you give up on the CL, try turning the master all the way up and using gain to set the volume. This makes them sound cleaner, tighter, much less compressed, and more like a vintage SVT. Cranking the gain sounds good for certain tones, especially if you like preamp distortion, but for me the attraction is the clean sounds.
 
#18
Tschmu,

If you like your B2-RE's sound and dislike the SVT-CL, maybe a SVT isn't your thing. I owned a B2-RE for a couple of years and it was just ok (not one of Ampeg's best amps to say the least). I went from the B2-RE to a SVT CL and it was night and day on gigs. IMO, the SVT is a much better sounding amp. MUCH better at gigging volumes.

As far as reliability, the only terrible SVTs IME are the very early Vietnamese models. The new models seem to be as solid as mid-'00s USA models.
 

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