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I HATE MY SVT HEAD!!

Jim C

Jim C

I believe in the trilogy; Fender, Stingray, + G&L
Supporting Member
Nov 29, 2008
15,871
14,118
Bethesda, MD
#1
That 85lb pig has been sitting under a cover on a book shelf.
Haven't turned it on in a year.
I've been so happy with an Ampeg SVT IIP tube preamp driving an MBF800 power section with either a Fender or Sandberg J bass into a GB 2x12 NeoX. Sometimes with a dbx 160 or a PDR compressor.
Only had about 8-10 gig this year but it was always clear, warm, and punchy and allowed the bass to sit nicely in a busy rock / R&B mix (2 gtrs, bass, drums, keys, and 3 vocals). 2-space rack that weighs about 17 lbs.

I turn on the SVT today and spent 2 separate 1 hour sessions with my Ampeg selector switch and both amps. The big SVT just has that something, something I can't get any other way. I go for clean, clear, and thick. The treble can be heard without being that bright and it's never strident or brittle even when up too high. The bottom and mids have major authority and stay clear even with dumb EQ; I just can't explain it. It's inherently musical.
I left it on all day just for spite thinking that I haven't changed a tube since I got it in the 80's, and it will cost a fortune when it's time.

The difference isn't huge but it's there. I can't get that same touch sensitivity with any other amp no matter what compression or limiting. Assuming we get to play gigs again, I'm going to drag it back out just for torture.
Who's with me?

Long live the King!
 
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#3
I really miss dragging out my SVT Classic head but at 68 years old and some back issues it's just not an option any more. My PF 500 head is as close as I have been able to get to the big iron and works well with either my 8 10 or my 2 12 AV cabs. Have to fiddle with the eq more on the 500 but the results when I do are quite satisfactory. I still keep the Classic head in the practice room in the basement hooked up to an 8 10. Dang , I love rehearsals.
 
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#4
SVT's sound great. We used to hire them for touring but only when we had roadies. But they don't sound better when covered up and sitting on a shelf. . . . which is where it would stay if I owned it. I just can't lift 80lbs any more. Doesn't matter how good something sounds, there's a point where reality and common sense has to come first.
 
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#10
I have been thinking about selling my CL...obviously, we arent gigging at the moment, and its kind of overkill since I go through a PA 100% of the time anyway. Also, did you hear? Its heavy! Ive been taking my MB Little Mark II which is 6lbs and it is so nice at 1:30 am.

BUT! That thing sounds SOOOOOO good. Better than any other amp ive ever had so its really hard to part with it.
 
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#11
It's not that other amps don't sound great.
It's just during an A/B test that I hear that extra 5% which is non linear.
That last 5% carries the extra magic.

I've never been a huge B-15 guy and have owned the tube and transistor models.
But I get why guys spend upward of $2K on a little 30 watt amp. If you're into minutia, that amp is really hard to copy 100%.

Funk With Me said:
Nothing else sounds like an SVT. As much as I love them, and I still have 2, I scaled down this year. I got an Orange AD200 Mk III. Only 50 pounds.
Click to expand...

Does the Orange sound anything like the SVT? Never tried one.
 
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#12
Jim C said:
It's not that other amps don't sound great.
It's just during an A/B test that I hear that extra 5% which is non linear.
That last 5% carries the extra magic.

I've never been a huge B-15 guy and have owned the tube and transistor models.
But I get why guys spend upward of $2K on a little 30 watt amp. If you're into minutia, that amp is really hard to copy 100%.



Does the Orange sound anything like the SVT? Never tried one.
Click to expand...
Jim I had a Pf50t. It was a great amp, but it was missing the "umph" factor
 
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#18
Same here...Mine is relegated to an overkill practice amp. A VTBDI has become my friend as of late. It's easy to say "suck it up buttercup" and lift that thang. Unfortunately 2 hernia and abdominal tear surgeries just won't allow it. I know that feeling when I fire up my 2 Berg NV 115's with it and I just die from tone nirvana. I trucked it for years and enjoyed every damn note I played thru it. Got it in 76 and still have it, that speaks volumes.
 
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#20
Jim C said:
That 85lb pig has been sitting under a cover on a book shelf.
Haven't turned it on in a year.
I've been so happy with an Ampeg SVT IIP tube preamp driving an MBF800 power section with either a Fender or Sandberg J bass into a GB 2x12 NeoX. Sometimes with a dbx 160 or a PDR compressor.
Only had about 8-10 gig this year but it was always clear, warm, and punchy and allowed the bass to sit nicely in a busy rock / R&B mix (2 gtrs, bass, drums, keys, and 3 vocals). 2-space rack that weighs about 17 lbs.

I turn on the SVT today and spent 2 separate 1 hour sessions with my Ampeg selector switch and both amps. The big SVT just has that something, something I can't get any other way. I go for clean, clear, and thick. The treble can be heard without being that bright and it's never strident or brittle even when up too high. The bottom and mids have major authority and stay clear even with dumb EQ; I just can't explain it. It's inherently musical.
I left it on all day just for spite thinking that I haven't changed a tube since I got it in the 80's, and it will cost a fortune when it's time.

The difference isn't huge but it's there. I can't get that same touch sensitivity with any other amp no matter what compression or limiting. Assuming we get to play gigs again, I'm going to drag it back out just for torture.
Who's with me?

Long live the King!
Click to expand...

I had an early 70's "blue line" Ampeg SVT that I used with a Sunn Concert Bass 2x15 loaded with a pair of JBL K-40s that I played through with a busy touring country rock band for 5 1/2 years in the late 70's/early 80s. As far as I'm concerned, it was "the voice of God" ... especially when paired with my P-Basses. Flash forward and I'm now old and decrepit with back and neck problems (probably stemming from schlepping that beast of an SVT rig and our other heavy equipment) for 1500 gigs or so with that band ... mostly one-nighters across a 15 state area in the upper midwest and mostly playing small joints where a monster SVT rig is just WAY, WAY, WAY too much power for my current needs. I have an SVT-3 Pro head and a coupla Ampeg preamps (an SVP-CL and an SVP-Pro) that I run through various solid state heads via the "effects return" patch point and they're good'nuff at getting, at least, a semblance of that SVT sound that has always been home base for me.
 
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