I hate ampeg, but...

I like the SVTCL/810E too - they sound great, and I loved my old B15 and I wish I never sold it.

 

I loved my SVT and 7Pro, but I've yet to ever find an Ampeg cab that I could get on board with.

 

Always helps when you've got a Bongo They are the answer to blowing guitarists away.

 

You're not kidding. Those Micro stacks are no joke. I'm considering getting one for myself. The bottom end out of those things is incredible.

 

I did like my Ampeg 810E, I like my Fender PRO810 even better.

In my experience in the rock genre, the 8x10" platform is more an aesthetic on stage.

 

I really dig a lot of Ampeg products...just as many as I despise, in fact.
The V4b, B100R(both discontinued) rocked my world. Their Classic/SVT line of cabs can be hit or miss, but the hits are real winners. I especially liked the 1x12" and 2x10". The BA series of combos are pretty nice...just need tweaking to get a tone that works for me...but there are a lot of usable tones in them.
Their new micros look real nice, and their SVT line is pretty nice as well.
You just have to want that Ampeg tone.

 

I, too, have never been an Ampeg fan. Lately, since switching from an active 5 to a passive 4 I have been enjoying more "old school" tones - using a BDDI in front of my Genz Benz - which I love!

They have a Micro VR locally and I tried it and almost bought it. Really great sound.

 

Hmm....I've carted a 8X10 from one coast to another for as long as I care to remember - up stairs, down stairs - in and out of vans (and a few cars) and frankly, I don't get what the problem is. I'm 60 years old and STILL have no problem "carting" my gear. I guess if I did, I would change what I play.

As for the Berg hype - I have played through a couple of NV610s. No big deal to me.

But hey!! To each his own.....But I think I can honestly say that I don't think that I have ever played through ANY gear that I actually "hated".....I've had a road manager or two that I "hated", but that's another story....

 

many 6x10 cabs weigh almost as much as an 8x10 cab

I like the way 6x10 and 8x10 cabs sound.

 

Yeah, I get it. A lot of people use Ampeg so naturally there is some backlash for folks who don't want to use what everyone else uses. But just like many Fender bass haters, you plug into one and think, boy, why have I hated this stuff for so long? Never went through an anti-Ampeg thing but I went through an anti-Fender thing for a while...until I discovered that they really are the basses for me. Once you get used to the idea that individuality comes from the player and not the gear, all of a sudden Fender basses and Ampeg amps look pretty good

 

Well said.!
I laugh to myself every time I read 1 of 100 posts about what strings, speakers, or even tuning keys (for Christ Sake....tuners.?) a certain player uses.
It is the player.
SRV often had 4 amps on stage.
If he plugged into Tommy's bass gear, he would have still sounded like Stevie.
Best

 

Yeah, I really like some Ampeg stuff, am indifferent towards some, and dislike some - pretty much the same with most manufacturers...


- georgestrings

 

I've played through Ampeg a few times when that's what was provided. Always worked and sounded great. Wouldn't trade it for my Genz Benz stuff though.

 

The Heritage 8x10 is really something to hear. I've done 5 or 6 gigs with it,and still blown away by it. A 6x10 version of this cab would do really well.

 

So what did you play through? micro vr?

 

I don't hate it. I don't love it. If an old SVT came my way cheap, I'd be happy to have it sitting at my house.

I always think the mythology is something though...my first bass amp when I was first starting to play was an 8x10 and an SVT head. Back then, in the early/mid 80's it was just an old amp. Mine was 'liberated' from the local high school music program by a friend because we needed an amp and they had one that sat at the back of an equipment room blockaded in with other broken and/or antiquated gear.

For me I like the tone of the heads, but find the cabs a bit too unruly/snarly for my liking, or as I've said before, it's like the big fat*ssed drunk girl on the dancefloor throwing herself around...

I recently enjoyed the Streamliner 900 for coming VERY close to my memories of all the good aspects of the head...but through my cabs which are a lot cleaner and controlled sounding.

 

Try and fix a broke newer one, it will sort that right out.

 

I play regularly at the club mentioned in #1, and like the rig enough to have just bought a pair of the SVT 210 AV cabs. I'll drive them with a Traynor YBA3 Custom Special or a Genz Benz 6.0.

 

Sometime's individuality also includes your look, and a Fender P or Fender J doesn't visually scream "individual" (nor does a Ampeg CL on top of an 8x10.) For me I found I like Ampeg amps, don't like their cabs, and don't like the look of Fenders cuz everyone has one. They sound... ok, but nothing earth shattering... my old Ibanez P copy sounds just like a P bass but has a cool unique twist to the classic P bass look. To each his own... I don't think it discredits people who genuinely don't like Fender or Ampeg... there is no "light" to be seen. Tone-wise, I'd prefer some goofy active PJ's or humbuckers with a cool pre, and when I reach for J or P tone I like that the bass doesn't look like every other J or P around the block.