I tried a SVT

[joel406]

Ok not a whole SVT. Just a 810 classic. Ran my Gallien Krueger MB-800 fusion into it.

Now normally I run my GK through one of my GK 410's. And I love it.

But the drummer I jammed with last night has a studio and a few amps on hand there. He bought a SVT 810 classic last week and I invited me to use it.

I couldn't refuse him now could I.

I had a lot of hope that it would blow the roof off.

I was wrong.

Maybe it sounds better with an actual SVT head. But it just didn't sound good.

Volume wise it kept up against a 100 watt marshal half stack and a large loud drum rig. And punched through the pa.

But did not have the presence or boom my GK 410's have.

In fact. Just one of my 410's sound better than this "fridge".

And yes I eq'd my brains out. Had to back off the low end and push some mids. Contour and presence adjusted according to the room. Tried running pre amp hot and cold.

It shaped up but was, in the end, a disappointment.

I guess I'm just a GK guy.

 

[Russell L]

Interesting.

I have played a friend's V4B through his 810 many times, including at a couple of gigs. It sounded good, but didn't seem to cut through enough at the gigs. Coulda been my own fault, though, for not having enough experience with the rig.

One night I took my Little Mark head over to the jam room and played it through the 810, and Holy bejeezes! What a sound. It still had the Markbass sound pretty much, just bigger.

Another night I took my two Markbass 151P cabs over with my LMIII head and compared those two 15s at 500w with the LMIII to the V4B/810 rig in general.

I thought the Markbass rig outdid the Ampeg rig in every way, except one. There was just this one aspect of the Ampeg tone that I like, but couldn't get. Hard to describe.

Anyway, not putting down Ampeg. I like that sound, just can't carry it.

 

[joel406]

Interesting.

I have played a friend's V4B through his 810 many times, including at a couple of gigs. It sounded good, but didn't seem to cut through enough at the gigs. Coulda been my own fault, though, for not having enough experience with the rig.

One night I took my Little Mark head over to the jam room and played it through the 810, and Holy bejeezes! What a sound. It still had the Markbass sound pretty much, just bigger.

Another night I took my two Markbass 151P cabs over with my LMIII head and compared those two 15s at 500w with the LMIII to the V4B/810 rig in general.

I thought the Markbass rig outdid the Ampeg rig in every way, except one. There was just this one aspect of the Ampeg tone that I like, but couldn't get. Hard to describe.

Anyway, not putting down Ampeg. I like that sound, just can't carry it.

Keep in mind this was. "Jam" session. We all new a lot of songs together but have little experience playing together. And ... well I gotta lock with the drummer and that was a challenge sometimes.

However we did play for like 5 hours. So I had a lot of tweaking time.

I came to the conclusion SVT cabs can't handle a lot of low end.

 

[BogeyBass]

Been playing Ampeg 810 cabs for well over 25+ years
And have played many other cabinets and heads.

Cool Story

Heard it many times.
( I can't carry a 810 in my car so I'll be justifying why a 810 doesn't sound right)

Then again I will say this. I had a similar story first time I used a 810.

" Meh it's Alright "

Then after spending time with one in rehearsals / and recording our first album with a 810.

Eventually I bought one, then 2, then 3 and I haven't complained

 

[Wasnex]

Ok not a whole SVT. Just a 810 classic. Ran my Gallien Krueger MB-800 fusion into it.

Now normally I run my GK through one of my GK 410's. And I love it.

But the drummer I jammed with last night has a studio and a few amps on hand there. He bought a SVT 810 classic last week and I invited me to use it.

I couldn't refuse him now could I.

I had a lot of hope that it would blow the roof off.

I was wrong.

Maybe it sounds better with an actual SVT head. But it just didn't sound good.

Volume wise it kept up against a 100 watt marshal half stack and a large loud drum rig. And punched through the pa.

But did not have the presence or boom my GK 410's have.

In fact. Just one of my 410's sound better than this "fridge".

And yes I eq'd my brains out. Had to back off the low end and push some mids. Contour and presence adjusted according to the room. Tried running pre amp hot and cold.

It shaped up but was, in the end, a disappointment.

I guess I'm just a GK guy.

Here's a quote from the movie Pretty Woman that might explain it: "People's reaction to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic. They either love it or hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul."

Revised for relevance: People's reaction to an 810E the first time they hear it is very dramatic. They either love it or hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul.

It makes me a little sad that the 810E will never be part of my soul; I only appreciate it because it is loved by so many.

The first bass rig I bought was a brand new MTI era SVT and 810E. It had to be special ordered so I couldn't back out of the deal. I had never heard or seen an SVT, but everybody claimed they were the king of bass amps.

By the time my rig came in and I got a chance to play it, I had paid a little over half the purchase price. I honestly thought something was wrong with the amp, but that's just the way 810s sound.

I currently own two SVTs. Put them on the right speaker and you have a nice sounding rig.

 

[Al Kraft]

It's perfectly okay to like the GK tone better...apparently Bob Gallien thought it was a nice option when he deigned his gear - and he grew up in the era when the SVT/810's were a benchmark tone. I always thought the Ampeg SVT and 810 had a lot of punch, round well-defined notes, and strong low end, but never a deep low, ported cab vibe.

IMHO both the Ampeg and GK sounds are kind of classics in their own right with clear appeal to players of differing tone goals. As always, YMMV!

 

[Wasnex]

Keep in mind this was. "Jam" session. We all new a lot of songs together but have little experience playing together. And ... well I gotta lock with the drummer and that was a challenge sometimes.

However we did play for like 5 hours. So I had a lot of tweaking time.

I came to the conclusion SVT cabs can't handle a lot of low end.

The 810E starts to roll off somewhere around 60Hz I believe. I used to run between 12-18dB of boost at 40Hz on mine--I wound up biamping with the SVT running from 200Hz down. My biggest complaint with the cab is it rolls of the high frequencies way to soon. I prefer open mids and extended highs.

 

[cerrem]

If you dont like it .....then that OK.... It all based om what works with our hands, bass..ect...
I have played the GK stuff and can say there are elements to the sound that I like over the SVT stuff...
GK is also part of Flea's sound...
When I play the GK stuff, I have to use Nickel strings to get it balanced out...
I found that I have to use Stainless Steel strings when I play my SVT rig to get the sound balanced....
But at the end of the day I still prefer my SVT ...

 

[bassboysam]

not all ampeg 810Es are created equal. there have been lots of variations over the years.

 

[Russell L]

I can say that I immediately loved the V4B/810 sound. But I love other sounds, too, including GK. I especially like the Trace Eliott sound. And now I enjoy the Markbass sound, except the eq centers on the Little Mark are not ideal to me. Although, the two filters do a good job varying the tone in different ways. I also miss my old Peavey Mark IV head. Good sound there, too.

 

[Al Kraft]

Although, the two filters do a good job varying the tone in different ways.

The VPF and VLE circuits are probably my favorite Markbass features. While simple to describe, I imagine it took a lot of trial and error to get them dialed in as nicely as they are now.

 

[joel406]

not all ampeg 810Es are created equal. there have been lots of variations over the years.

This I think is very true. It's also what came to mind several times during the evening. The cab had full range and separate inputs. As well as speakon connections. Perhaps it's a newer version? There was no indication of a blown driver. But as the low end came up clarity went down. And yes I found most of a halfway decent tone in the mids.

 

[Russell L]

The VPF and VLE circuits are probably my favorite Markbass features. While simple to describe, I imagine it took a lot of trial and error to get them dialed in as nicely as they are now.

Yeah, they are helpful. Dunno what the Q is on them, though.

 

[voided3]

Just to rule this out, if it's a modern production 810E, you did plug into the "mono" 1/4" input or one of the Speakon jacks, correct? If you plugged into one of the stereo 1/4" jacks, you might have only been using half of the cabinet at 8 ohms instead of all eight drivers at 4 ohms.

If you did use a mono input, then you may just not be a proponent of sealed cabinets. They don't have the same depth or efficiency as a modern ported cab, and without a tweeter they won't have the highs you are used to, but they have an addicting punch and "pop" to each note when played loud and can be a life saver in a boomy room due to their low end roll off characteristic. That's why I have both sealed and ported cabs!

 

[pht2356]

I like both

 

[Al Kraft]

Yeah, they are helpful. Dunno what the Q is on them, though.

...and I imagine that was the tricky part to get them to sound as musical and seamless as they do throughout the total rotation of the dial...VPF especially. The VLE would appear to be more of straightforward LPF that is well matched to the overall voicing and control authority of the other filter and EQ.

I've never owned Marlbass gear, but have played shows on a number of their products. The VLE can help make a bright hi-fi cab seem a bit more old school. Markbass did a nice job with the total tone shaping package in the amp design IMO.

 

[ultra60]

Back in the 90's, I used (2) GK 410 cabs and thought they sounded great. While I don't own an 810, I have an SVT and a GK800. I play through (2) Ampeg 15's. While the GK is nice, light, portable, etc, the SVT crushes it tonally IMHO. I would expect it too. This is not a knock on the GK at all. I'd be happy to gig it. I'd love to hear both through an 810, but I'd imagine the results will be the same.

 

[joel406]

Just to rule this out, if it's a modern production 810E, you did plug into the "mono" 1/4" input or one of the Speakon jacks, correct? If you plugged into one of the stereo 1/4" jacks, you might have only been using half of the cabinet at 8 ohms instead of all eight drivers at 4 ohms.

If you did use a mono input, then you may just not be a proponent of sealed cabinets. They don't have the same depth or efficiency as a modern ported cab, and without a tweeter they won't have the highs you are used to, but they have an addicting punch and "pop" to each note when played loud and can be a life saver in a boomy room due to their low end roll off characteristic. That's why I have both sealed and ported cabs!

I used speakon

 

[Jim Carr]

I like the head, hate the cab.

 

[bassboysam]

This I think is very true. It's also what came to mind several times during the evening. The cab had full range and separate inputs. As well as speakon connections. Perhaps it's a newer version? There was no indication of a blown driver. But as the low end came up clarity went down. And yes I found most of a halfway decent tone in the mids.

as ampeg has gone through different owners the drivers and materials changed. it's hard to tell unless you play them side by side.

here are just a few modern examples and vintage.