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Just played an SVT VR head.....

#23
I bought one the same day I had a gig and the thing just rocked. Much better experience than the Classic (VR much more clarity for sure). 1/3 way through the show, the tubes were warmed up, then it became even more of a monster. Definitely happy with it, only thing of course is the iffy Russian tubes, but that's of course simple to fix (NOS) and it's a done deal.
 
#24
Jona-s said:
So is it worth all the extra $$$ compared to CL?
Click to expand...

Personally, I think it is. Of course that probably depends on what you are looking for.

I have the VR and the anniversary 8*10 cabinet and at first was a little skeptical. It didn’t sound all that great and all that loud to my ears. But as the cabinet has broken in and I have figured out where I like things set on the VR it is really coming to life. I did have a chance to use the CL and an 8*10 for a week of shows with a friend’s band about 5 months ago and it, in my non expert opinion, did not deliver the same punch and tone as the VR.

The mid range selector on the CL also didn’t seem as responsive for lack of a better term to my ears.

I highly recommend the VR especially for those of you who play rock.

Twonky
 
#25
I'd say it's worth it. Getting rid of that master volume knob is going to help with getting a better sound IMHO. Also a friend of mine recently replaced his 2 HiWatt Bass 400 stacks with the VR head and cab. Now he just uses the HiWatt's for distortion sections w/ a pedal, but loves the VR for the overall body and pure tone. He a/b's both setups on stage. :bassist: :bassist:
 
#26
While I do like the CL (had two of them at one point), I would have to say it's worth it to save a few more bills and spring for the VR (my local place was a few hundred cheaper than MF BTW, though sales tax narrows the gap).

The VR is loud, clear, fat, and just sounds "right" plugged straight in - with no screwing around to get a good tone. I like the EQ better than the CL too - it just seems more musical sounding, and it works well to further shape/enhance an already great flat tone. This is one of those heads where you would have to work to get a bad sound out of it, rather than the other way around...

JR
 
#28
The 0x said:
That can't be true. If that were the case, you'd be slamming the preamp the whole time. Not exactly good sounding at low volumes.
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Yeah there is only a master volume just like the original. Amps with "master" volume do not usually have the pre gain maxed which is what you are thinking. I think turning the dial up is a mix of increasing both pre and power gains. If anything the power section gain is maxed and a master volume would be increasing preamp gain. With the SVT I think its the former.
 
#29
Whatever it is, that one less knob makes a difference - right??? I'm not an expert with these, but was told that it makes a difference. And I agree that the vintage and the VR's sound better than CL. I still think the CL's are great and wouldn't cry if it's all I had. One thing I like about the gain knob on the CL is ofcourse being able to drive the amp at lower volumes for smaller venues. Comes in handy then.
 
#31
metron said:
Yeah there is only a master volume just like the original. Amps with "master" volume do not usually have the pre gain maxed which is what you are thinking. I think turning the dial up is a mix of increasing both pre and power gains. If anything the power section gain is maxed and a master volume would be increasing preamp gain. With the SVT I think its the former.
Click to expand...

Then it's not a Master Volume, it's simply a preamp volume control. :rollno:
 
#35
Detonation said:
Hmm, my 8x10 (1971 or so) is rated 280 watts rms if I'm not mistaken, so that 35 Watts a speaker.
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got it.. i knew they were lower wattage speakers than the 100 watters that are in the current 8x10's Ampeg puts out, and this surely has a big impact on the sound. i think alot of folks overlook this fact and focus on the construction...

i can see why Ampeg upped the wattage to work with more modern, high-powered heads, as not many would want to lug around a fridge and not be able to crank a SS head in a cab that big.

that said, it would be nice if they made a couple of versions.


JR
 
#36
Detonation said:
Hmm, my 8x10 (1971 or so) is rated 280 watts rms if I'm not mistaken, so that 35 Watts a speaker.
Click to expand...

This is a common misconception based on Ampeg's past sales tactics. The original SVT 8x10's were rated at 240 watts each to encourage multiple cabinet sales. The actual driver ratings were much higher, with Eminence quoting 175 watts peak power for EACH speaker for their early models of SVT 10" drivers which translates roughly to 60 watts continuous per speaker. The higher per speaker rating is somewhat controversial (lots of self-proclaimed "experts" love to argue it), but research and 40 years of SVT players using a 300 watt plus amp with a single cab with no driver failures bears it out.
 
#37
Psycho Bass Guy said:
This is a common misconception based on Ampeg's past sales tactics. The original SVT 8x10's were rated at 240 watts each to encourage multiple cabinet sales. The actual driver ratings were much higher, with Eminence quoting 175 watts peak power for EACH speaker for their early models of SVT 10" drivers which translates roughly to 60 watts continuous per speaker. The higher per speaker rating is somewhat controversial (lots of self-proclaimed "experts" love to argue it), but research and 40 years of SVT players using a 300 watt plus amp with a single cab with no driver failures bears it out.
Click to expand...

good info, makes sense! i would imagine that regardless of the wattage, their current offerings have drifted away from the original design quite a bit.

JR
 
#39
galore said:
Email ampeg and ask them for the manuals, they will send you i'm sure - i got them this way.
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Ampeg email support has been great over the past year that I've emailed them, must say.

Just got the manual for the VR - anyone that would like it, PM me with your email ... :)

JR
 
#40
I tried one too, the other day and had to stop myslef from buying it - couldnt justify spending that much money (about 3000 US, here in Japan). It was however, a great sounding amp, and as others said, I just plugged a Pbass in, everything was pretty much flat and it sounded NICE. Low volumes was nice and higher volumes it broke up sooo sweetly. Had that nice even, rounded, tube-compressed kinda sound. Lack of knobs was great. I didn't try in thru any other cabs, just an ampeg 810. If I was seriously gonna buy it Id try it through some other cabs and with other basses, but it really was a sweet amp - just very expensive and very heavy.
 

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