• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

NAD! SVT7 Pro (also comparing it to my Streamliner 900)

#223
i'm glad to hear that.

BTW, since i've been playing thru the 7pro so much lately, and am much more familiar with it with a mulitude of my basses now, i decided to pull out the streamliner 900 again and take a listen to it with 'new', and a bit more 'objective' ears. IMO, the SL900 is still a completely awesome amp. it's kinda bigger and fatter, yet softer in its general tone. i had it up pretty dang loud, but i was going from playing really lightly (soft) to banging the notes out within the same bass line and realized just how dynamic the 900 is, and i think it's a little more dynamic than the the 7pro in some ways. the 7Pro has a much stronger mid 'voice' and is a little 'harder' for lack of a better term, and the 7Pro definitely cops a tube SVT's 'vibe' more, but the SL900 is a great amp too. so, it looks like rather than the SL900 being a backup, i think that it's going to be on alternate status.

also of note is that i was servicing a couple of a friend of mine's stratocasters today (refret/rewire/nut replace and setup) and i tested them thu the 7pro since it was already out and hooked up. it kinda surprised me that with a little eq'ing, i could make it sound pretty much like a vintage V4, and when i pushed the gain all the way up, it distorted really nice with a guitar. so that told me that it is truly a good sounding amp since electric guitars can be pretty picky about what you play them thru. that said, i've often run guitars (strats, teles and SG's) thru my SVT's (clean of course) and they sound awesome thru it.
 
#224
Ya, my guitar sounds really good running clean through the PF350 and Micro VR, although I'm not quite buying its dirt tones for guitar as much as I am my Crate Power Block. My band's guitarist is totally sold on the micro format, though. For most of the past year, he's been using a Vox Valvetronix 112 combo, and unlike me he shows zero interest in being a tube snob again, even though he really is ;)
 
#226
johnk_10 said:
BTW, since i've been playing thru the 7pro so much lately, and am much more familiar with it with a mulitude of my basses now, i decided to pull out the streamliner 900 again and take a listen to it with 'new', and a bit more 'objective' ears. IMO, the SL900 is still a completely awesome amp. it's kinda bigger and fatter, yet softer in its general tone. i had it up pretty dang loud, but i was going from playing really lightly (soft) to banging the notes out within the same bass line and realized just how dynamic the 900 is, and i think it's a little more dynamic than the the 7pro in some ways. the 7Pro has a much stronger mid 'voice' and is a little 'harder' for lack of a better term, and the 7Pro definitely cops a tube SVT's 'vibe' more, but the SL900 is a great amp too. so, it looks like rather than the SL900 being a backup, i think that it's going to be on alternate status.
Click to expand...

Although I don't have the same hands-on experience, my take is that it is not so much that the SVT-7PRO has more midrange as the Streamliner is inherently mid-scooped, which makes it difficult to approximate a flat response. Also, I'm wondering if the single tube in the 7PRO contributes to a more "direct" sound overall, while the multiple-tube preamp of the Streamliner adds a bit of tubey "give" to the tone. As mentioned previously, I think that Genz-Benz would please more people if they flattened out the nominal frequency response of the Streamliner, while retaining the basic overall character.
 
#227
12bass said:
Although I don't have the same hands-on experience, my take is that it is not so much that the SVT-7PRO has more midrange as the Streamliner is inherently mid-scooped,
Click to expand...
What's the difference? ;)

which makes it difficult to approximate a flat response.
Click to expand...
I think John did a pretty good job of adding mids back into the Streamliner. I'd be willing to bet you could get it pretty flat if you wanted. Me, I don't care so much about flat response...I always seem to favor a slight dip in the mids and a slight boost at 100-125, which is why I play Ampegs in the first place ;)

Also, I'm wondering if the single tube in the 7PRO contributes to a more "direct" sound overall, while the multiple-tube preamp of the Streamliner adds a bit of tubey "give" to the tone.
Click to expand...
Very possible, but I'm sure there are other factors at play as well.
 
#228
JimmyM said:
What's the difference? ;)
Click to expand...

Here's the difference:

We're comparing a fairly "mid scooped" amp (Streamliner) to a somewhat flatter amp (SVT-7PRO). In saying that the SVT-7PRO amp has more pronounced mids, it sounds as if the amp is actually forward in the midrange, when it isn't. Judging by the EQ plot (see blue line below), it is not forward in the midrange, just somewhat less scooped than the Streamliner.

Pro7-Blue_noon---_Green_adjusted_flat.jpg


With regard to other differences, I have noticed a similar effect with my SVP-PRO. It has five tubes and sounds more "tubey" than any single tube preamp I've compared it to. There just seems to be a bit more dynamic and harmonic interaction with the multiple tube arrangement. In comparison, single tube circuits seem to sound more "immediate" and "direct". Of course, that's a very rough analysis of a complex phenomenon....
 
#229
12bass said:
Here's the difference:

We're comparing a fairly "mid scooped" amp (Streamliner) to a somewhat flatter amp (SVT-7PRO). In saying that the SVT-7PRO amp has more pronounced mids, it sounds as if the amp is actually forward in the midrange, when it isn't. Judging by the EQ plot (see blue line below), it is not forward in the midrange, just somewhat less scooped than the Streamliner.

Pro7-Blue_noon---_Green_adjusted_flat.jpg
Click to expand...
Right, but as you saw, a couple twists of the dials and John got it to flatten out very well. Don't know if he did a True RTA on the Streamliner, but I imagine you could work the dials into a flat sound if you wanted it. Never quite understood some bassists' fascination with wanting flat response with everything nooned, to be totally honest with you. I got sucked into that world for a little while until I discovered two things...I didn't like the sound of most amps with the knobs nooned be they flat or scooped, and without a known flat reference point for every cab I've ever plugged into, I wouldn't recognize flat response in an amp if it bit me on the ass, and I seriously doubt that anyone else could, either. Used to think I could...HA!
 
#231
JimmyM said:
Right, but as you saw, a couple twists of the dials and John got it to flatten out very well. Don't know if he did a True RTA on the Streamliner, but I imagine you could work the dials into a flat sound if you wanted it. Never quite understood some bassists' fascination with wanting flat response with everything nooned, to be totally honest with you. I got sucked into that world for a little while until I discovered two things...I didn't like the sound of most amps with the knobs nooned be they flat or scooped, and without a known flat reference point for every cab I've ever plugged into, I wouldn't recognize flat response in an amp if it bit me on the ass, and I seriously doubt that anyone else could, either. Used to think I could...HA!
Click to expand...

Not sure if it was John or someone else, but there are some EQ plots of the Streamliner around. IIRC, close to flat response can be approximated, but it takes some serious knob twisting to do it. The SVT-7PRO is much closer to flat with the controls at noon.

Perfectly flat response may not be a panacea, but it does give a good starting point for tone sculpting, IMO. If there are too many peaks and valleys built into an amp's frequency response, it can make it difficult to achieve a consistent tone, because the player ends up working against the amp's inherent coloration. Also, it can be difficult to find a good tone if the important midrange area is overly subdued.

Sometimes I like a little bump in the bass and treble, but from what I've heard and seen from the Streamliner, it goes way overboard, so much so that it is difficult to dial the EQ back to a nominally flat starting point. This seems to be a big reason behind why a lot of people have bought and sold so many of them.
 
#232
JimmyM said:
Right, but as you saw, a couple twists of the dials and John got it to flatten out very well. Don't know if he did a True RTA on the Streamliner, but I imagine you could work the dials into a flat sound if you wanted it. Never quite understood some bassists' fascination with wanting flat response with everything nooned, to be totally honest with you. I got sucked into that world for a little while until I discovered two things...I didn't like the sound of most amps with the knobs nooned be they flat or scooped, and without a known flat reference point for every cab I've ever plugged into, I wouldn't recognize flat response in an amp if it bit me on the ass, and I seriously doubt that anyone else could, either. Used to think I could...HA!
Click to expand...

IMO you answered yr own question there Jimmy. People - or at least I - am partial to a flat amp nooned because it is so hard for our ears to recognise where flat is sometimes. When I have a new room or a new cab I noon the amp as my reference point and twiddle away til I get the tone I want. For me... a Streamliner would take a bit of getting used to.
 
#234
vin*tone said:
IMO you answered yr own question there Jimmy. People - or at least I - am partial to a flat amp nooned because it is so hard for our ears to recognise where flat is sometimes. When I have a new room or a new cab I noon the amp as my reference point and twiddle away til I get the tone I want. For me... a Streamliner would take a bit of getting used to.
Click to expand...
Ya, seeing John's Streamliner there, it does look a little complicated to get it to flatten out. OTOH, now all you have to do if you have a Streamliner is memorize those settings and you're good to go ;)
 
#235
Interesting stuff! Like it.

Wow, you really have to roll back the bass on the Streamliner don't you...to make it flat.

Still love the amp...its got a thickness to it I can't find anywhere else, plus Genz's stellar service.

I'd like to test the 7 Pro one day...
 
#237
when the bass control on it is set at 9:00 or less, IMO, it can be too thin since it also rolls off steeply at 30Hz. with my 3015 cab, i've been running the bass on mine at 11:00, boost the mids at 600Hz at about 1:30-2:00, and run the treble at 1:00 and it has plenty of mids, solid low end, and a nice smooth & defined top end.
 
#240
I like that fact that my sm9.2 starts out ruler flat because I already like the sound of my bass and I pick cabs that have the character I want. That way, I can dial in a room very quickly and not have to make a sacrifice between getting a good tone or just sound useable in a bad room. Starting at flat, I generally just boost some treble with most cabs. This 7-pro starts flat enough though.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back