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Is the Heritage Ampeg SVT-CL worth it?

Eskimo Spy

Eskimo Spy

Supporting Member
May 27, 2010
724
7
Fort Worth, TX
#1
Given some issues I had with a new Ampeg SVT-CL (loose screw and stripped nut in the head, from factory), which is now on its way back to Sweetwater, I am considering dropping the extra $700 for the Heritage version.

So, to my question; anyone have this amp? Is it worth the extra $700? Are the JJ tubes and the better components worth that much more money?

Thanks!
 
#2
I don't have experience with owning an SVT, but worked at GC a while ago (please don't shoot me), so I have played through them, set them up, etc. I have a feeling you made the right choice for the extra care put into the Heritage version. This line is made in the USA, while the other SVT's are made over in Korea. I couldn't believe this, seeing as how (besides the Heritage) the SVT is the flagship of Ampeg.

GC had a lot of returns and problems with the foreign SVT's, so I think the QC degraded since the overseas deal with LOUD Technologies now owning Ampeg.

I'm not a fan of tube amps, but I have a feeling you'll be pleased, granted you maintain it!
 
#4
songwriter21 said:
I don't have experience with owning an SVT, but worked at GC a while ago (please don't shoot me), so I have played through them, set them up, etc. I have a feeling you made the right choice for the extra care put into the Heritage version. This line is made in the USA, while the other SVT's are made over in Korea. I couldn't believe this, seeing as how (besides the Heritage) the SVT is the flagship of Ampeg.

GC had a lot of returns and problems with the foreign SVT's, so I think the QC degraded since the overseas deal with LOUD Technologies now owning Ampeg.

I'm not a fan of tube amps, but I have a feeling you'll be pleased, granted you maintain it!
Click to expand...

What were the years you were seeing lots of returns with the overseas SVTs? Do you know where the returned amps were being made (China, Vietnam, or Korea)?

To the OP:
AFAIK the difference between the Heritage and regular CL is

1) made in US
2) uses JJ/Groove Tubes tubes instead of Sovtek
3) cosmetics

other than that, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts it's the same amp. The Korean models are full of 1% parts too and they do good QC, so don't fall for the "premium components and quality construction" line.

That being said, you might as well buy the Hertiage, and a set of NOS GE or Gold Lion output tubes, and Mullard preamp/driver tubes, and end this odyssey. This is, what, your 16th post on the amp quest? Just buy the most expensive stuff and be done with it. :D
 
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#6
slight correction chuck...the heritage uses winged c power tubes and jj pre tubes.

as for the qc, stuff does happen sometimes, but i'm convinced this group in charge of loud is worlds better than the previous idiot-led loud regime, and every ampeg product i've played made since then has worked great, including the handful of cl's i've played and my micro vr stack. that said, from all reports i've heard the heritage cl is even better than the regular cl's, including the previous us cl's, so yeah, i might suck up the extra money and get one of them instead.
 
#7
Another option is to look for a used but well taken care of USA/SLM era SVT-CL, AV, or 2-Pro. Depending on where you look you can find them at decent prices- far less than new. Even if you got one that sounded great, but needed some cosmetic touch ups it would still be a solid investment.
 
#8
The Heritage model CL has a number of desirable features over the CL.

A matched sextet of Winged C 6550C tubes, which except for the GE 6500A is about as good as you can get, is going to cost you around $330. Prices for these tubes have been going up, they were about $240 a year and a half ago. Add to that, the cost of a better quality set of JJ pre-amp tubes. Ampeg claims that there are construction improvements in the Heritage model. Also, the Heritage amp will have a better resale value down the road than the CL.

Subtract the cost of the better parts and the price doesn't seem that bad. If you want an Ampeg CL, you might as well get the best model that you can afford.
 
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#10
Thanks for the correction, guys, for some reason I thought Ampeg had been using Groove Tubes for the outputs. Beans-on-toast, true on the Winged C retail prices, but Ampeg doesn't buy parts at retail. So figure they're paying $150-170 tops for a set of Winged Cs.

The only other known improvement in the amps is purportedly the use of 1.6 mm (1/16") circuit boards and heaver copper traces on the boards. Yet, the boards in my Korean-made CL are the same thickness, and the copper on them is certainly thick enough to handle the currents involved. You can't get UL or CE approval if that's not the case. Then again, maybe Ampeg added 1/16" to the boards' thickness, and used heavier copper. That sure could not hurt.

I see the Heritage line as a piece of clever marketing on several levels by Ampeg. There's the "made in US" angle, the "better parts (at least tubes)" angle, and there's some vague intimation and hand-waving about QC, piece of mind, quality of components, etc. in the marketing material. IMO that's really what you're buying with the Heritage, something primarily of perception and psychology, which are the essence of good marketing.

Think about this for a second, though. Ampeg really can't say the Heritage line is that much better than the regular line, or they end up saying their regular line is crap. But they figure they can say so to the extent of roughly 40% higher street price and some soft additional marketing, and let the usual end user thinking fill in the blanks for them enough to sell some decent number of Heritage units.

Now mind you, I'm not saying it's not good to have a few extra jobs in the US these days, but these folks are really still doing final assembly and QC, and not full board stuffing and soldering (which would be automated anyway), or probably chassis and cabinet fabrication, either.
 
#11
The Heritage is not made in the USA.
It is assembled in the USA. That is what it says on the plaquette that is screwed on the amp.
If they were made in the USA they would've put that on the plaquette, believe me.

I'd say most of the amp is made in Asia. And the final assembling is done in the USA.

However it is a better amp than the CL.
I've tested the SVT Heritage next to Made in Vietnam SVT CL and a 1973 SVT.
The 1973 SVT won hands down...
 
#14
okcrum, from what I've read:

"Ampeg has increased the printed circuit board (PCB) quality, including increasing its thickness to 1.6mm, using a two-layer board with through-hole plating, and increasing the copper weight."

Also, their website says that the Heritage series is "Designed and assembled in the U.S.A." Yeah, I'm thinking that means the parts are manufactured elsewhere, but is that really that unusual?

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate it.
 
#15
I'm a big fan of the CL - I used to own a pair of SLM USA made ones, but I think the price is a bit steep. How did they used to make it here for the same price as the overseas ones, and now it costs an extra $700 a couple of years later? The PC upgrades are nice touches, but also something they should have been doing all along. For that much more $$, I would expect better trannies and premium caps as well. All that said, I would like to have one. :)
 
#16
okcrum said:
Beans-on-toast, true on the Winged C retail prices, but Ampeg doesn't buy parts at retail. So figure they're paying $150-170 tops for a set of Winged Cs.
Click to expand...

Maybe they are paying a lot less than $150-170. I'm not trying to justify their extra $700. My point was more if you bought a CL and wanted to install a better set of tubes, it is going to cost you the retail prices and that would be a good chunk of the extra cost.

Another important point that the Heritage has in it's favor -- a high degree of quality control. I would expect that amp to be perfect.

Having bought a VR a while ago and having to return it because of quality issues, it would be nice to have the satisfaction of getting a unit that looked good, was burnt in and tested like only a smaller company tends to do. This used to be part of Mesa Boogie's marketing when I was buying their amps. Yes, all their amps should be built to this standard.
 
#17
Good point about the QC and burn in. According to the review I read:

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/ampeg-heritage-svt-cl/May-2010/112159

After construction and extensive subassembly tests, each product in the Heritage line undergoes an extensive QC process at Ampeg’s U.S. factory, including thorough tests of each amp stage, a four-hour burn-in, and a final play test with one of the staff’s experienced bassists, who signs a handsome hang-tag when the amp meets his or her satisfaction. This final stage marks a unique feature of the Heritage series, as the final tester could be one of Ampeg’s many renowned artists. To wit: Tony Levin was the final tester on our review gear.
Click to expand...
 
#18
IME/IMHO, the Heritage gear is very much worth consideration, especially if you can get it at somewhat less than the "list" markup. I was quite impressed with the Heritage head and cab which we had in for testing. I was never all that impressed with the CL heads I had heard in the past, but that might be attributable to the cabs I heard them through. Unfortunately, I was not able to A/B the Heritage against a modern CL, but it fared quite well against my '74 SVT, which impressed me.

Tom.
 
#19
Also, their website says that the Heritage series is "Designed and assembled in the U.S.A." Yeah, I'm thinking that means the parts are manufactured elsewhere, but is that really that unusual?
Click to expand...

No, it isn't unusual, at least for most electronic components. I think it would be hard to find a large company like Ampeg that doesn't have their circuits and such made overseas.
 
#20
tombowlus said:
IME/IMHO, the Heritage gear is very much worth consideration, especially if you can get it at somewhat less than the "list" markup. I was quite impressed with the Heritage head and cab which we had in for testing. I was never all that impressed with the CL heads I had heard in the past, but that might be attributable to the cabs I heard them through. Unfortunately, I was not able to A/B the Heritage against a modern CL, but it fared quite well against my '74 SVT, which impressed me.

Tom.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in, Tom. I would be getting it for about $100 less than retail, not much, but it's something. Oh, and of course, no tax or shipping.

Man, the Heritage is really tempting me, but that's a ton of money.
 

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