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NAD! SVT7 Pro (also comparing it to my Streamliner 900)
- Thread starter johnk_10
- Start date
I got to play my 7PRO through a GK 410 and Hartke 115 stack today and it was great! Had none of the reported cut-offs and I could see a slightly annoyed facial expression on my guitarist, meaning I'm loud - Which means I was just as loud as him and sat perfectly in the mix unlike my usual volume where you can't really tell if I'm playing anything. 
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,518
- 19,955
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I got to play my 7PRO through a GK 410 and Hartke 115 stack today and it was great! Had none of the reported cut-offs and I could see a slightly annoyed facial expression on my guitarist, meaning I'm loud - Which means I was just as loud as him and sat perfectly in the mix unlike my usual volume where you can't really tell if I'm playing anything.
Enjoy!
Thanks. Yes, at 130lbs it needs to be very, very good (which it is) to warrant the effort needed to lug it around. Thank the Lord for casters and for vans with ramps up into the back (my wife is disabled) !
OK, the 7pro arrived this morning and I have spent a couple of hours flipping back and forth between it and my streamliner 900. So here are my first impressions, and also a question !
Firstly, it's obvious to me that both are GREAT amps.
The streamliner sounds more "tubey" to me .... now that is an almost impossible word to define, but what I mean by that is that it has a somewhat rounder tone which is just a little soft at the edges. The Genz puts a "pillow" of bass underneath a band. I set my bass knob at somewhere between 8 and 9 oclock on the Genz, and it is ample with my cab. I typically boost the mids (600 KHz) - 3 oclock and treble, about 2 oclock also. The Genz's natural voice is a little mid-scooped compared to the Ampeg, but that should come as no surprise to anyone here. So the Genz requires some serious EQ knob turning, but that's what it is, and it shouldn't have to apologise for it.
I found the useful gain range on the Genz to also be far wider than the Ampeg, and in fact the onset of overdrive and dirt is more musical to my ears on the Genz. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't use it on either, as my Darkglass B7K trounces every amp and pedal in terms of dialling in musical OD or distortion. On the Ampeg, the input clipping light was starting to come on with the gain less than noon (with my passive Yamaha BB). So I followed accepted Ampeg lore and ignored it. I settled with the gain at 1 to 2 o clock which was as high as I could get it without audible clipping/OD.
The 7Pro, however, instantly felt "balanced" as soon as I played it, without the pillowy bass of the Genz. Also noticeably crisper in response, especially on the low strings, than the Genz. The range of mid-adjustment is also way, way more flexible. In fact the whole amp is more flexible than the Genz.
For me, the ultra lo on the Ampeg was something I would never use. I like the Ultra hi though, which added some very controllable brightness, without it being harsh.
The Ampeg's compressor seems useable, and I shall have to play with it some more.
One thing I definately noticed (and this will lead me on to my question) is that the Genz's master was really only just on, providing tolerable volume levels in my house. I had the Ampeg's up to 9 oclock for similar levels. THis could just be very different tapers on the master volume control, but has me wondering and hoping that the Ampeg will be loud enough. I mean this is a "1000W" amp into a pretty sensitive ported 8x10, in a 25" x 12" room. Surely I should be deafened with the gain up as high as clean headroom would allow, and the master on 9 oclock ?
Is this something that other 7 Pro owners have found ? Maybe the master volume truly keeps getting louder throughout the whole range, and maybe the Genz's just starts compressing past noon. I just haven't had the chance to try either of these amps out at volumes that would allow me to find out yet.
I will add that I have gigged the Genz once and rehearsed 2 or 3 times with it, so I do have some "real world" experience with it.
Ultimately though, I think I may well be keeping the Ampeg as number one. The streamliner is a great amp, but the mid-control and flexibility of the Ampeg and it's "crispness" are very attractive to me. It also is a better match for my cab, which has extended bass reponse. That, along with the streamliner's bass response, seems to be just too much of a good thing.
I'll gig the 7Pro, at some volume, on saturday and see how it goes. The streamliner will be there as backup though !
Firstly, it's obvious to me that both are GREAT amps.
The streamliner sounds more "tubey" to me .... now that is an almost impossible word to define, but what I mean by that is that it has a somewhat rounder tone which is just a little soft at the edges. The Genz puts a "pillow" of bass underneath a band. I set my bass knob at somewhere between 8 and 9 oclock on the Genz, and it is ample with my cab. I typically boost the mids (600 KHz) - 3 oclock and treble, about 2 oclock also. The Genz's natural voice is a little mid-scooped compared to the Ampeg, but that should come as no surprise to anyone here. So the Genz requires some serious EQ knob turning, but that's what it is, and it shouldn't have to apologise for it.
I found the useful gain range on the Genz to also be far wider than the Ampeg, and in fact the onset of overdrive and dirt is more musical to my ears on the Genz. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't use it on either, as my Darkglass B7K trounces every amp and pedal in terms of dialling in musical OD or distortion. On the Ampeg, the input clipping light was starting to come on with the gain less than noon (with my passive Yamaha BB). So I followed accepted Ampeg lore and ignored it. I settled with the gain at 1 to 2 o clock which was as high as I could get it without audible clipping/OD.
The 7Pro, however, instantly felt "balanced" as soon as I played it, without the pillowy bass of the Genz. Also noticeably crisper in response, especially on the low strings, than the Genz. The range of mid-adjustment is also way, way more flexible. In fact the whole amp is more flexible than the Genz.
For me, the ultra lo on the Ampeg was something I would never use. I like the Ultra hi though, which added some very controllable brightness, without it being harsh.
The Ampeg's compressor seems useable, and I shall have to play with it some more.
One thing I definately noticed (and this will lead me on to my question) is that the Genz's master was really only just on, providing tolerable volume levels in my house. I had the Ampeg's up to 9 oclock for similar levels. THis could just be very different tapers on the master volume control, but has me wondering and hoping that the Ampeg will be loud enough. I mean this is a "1000W" amp into a pretty sensitive ported 8x10, in a 25" x 12" room. Surely I should be deafened with the gain up as high as clean headroom would allow, and the master on 9 oclock ?
Is this something that other 7 Pro owners have found ? Maybe the master volume truly keeps getting louder throughout the whole range, and maybe the Genz's just starts compressing past noon. I just haven't had the chance to try either of these amps out at volumes that would allow me to find out yet.
I will add that I have gigged the Genz once and rehearsed 2 or 3 times with it, so I do have some "real world" experience with it.
Ultimately though, I think I may well be keeping the Ampeg as number one. The streamliner is a great amp, but the mid-control and flexibility of the Ampeg and it's "crispness" are very attractive to me. It also is a better match for my cab, which has extended bass reponse. That, along with the streamliner's bass response, seems to be just too much of a good thing.
I'll gig the 7Pro, at some volume, on saturday and see how it goes. The streamliner will be there as backup though !
Im not sure about the ampeg but, when you have the genz input gain just up to the point of distorting, the output will start to compress with the master volume 12:00, and then compress more. At least with my shuttlemax 9.2 with pre gain and volume at noon. I'd love to try this ampeg but feel that I probably get a similar tone with my genz anyway.
Hamfist- great review. I was hammering away with my Streamliner 900 yesterday with my GK NEOs. Their built in upper mid range bump plus adding mids at 600K & cutting the bass back to 9 & treble to 3 gave me all the clarity & crispness to "DE-tube" the Streamliner. Great pairing with these cabs. I couldn't get clear tone with the Streamliner & Epifani... so as you say, cab pairings are ESSENTIAL in figuring out which of these amps are good for you. The GK NEOs are so tight in the lows they really need the extra tube warmth the Streamliner gives at times vs my 9.2max & maybe even the 7pro
Had my second full band practice with the 7 Pro last night. We play pretty loud. Realized I was crushing the guitars, looked at the amp and my gain was at 12:00 and master around 11:00. Holy smokes! This amp gets LOUD.
Just to clarify, my Gain was around 2 o'clock with a passive precision, master vole around 11 o'clock, bass at 1 and miss boosted at 800hz to 3 o'clock. I could feel the hair on my body vibrate. The tube Jazzmaster and Fender guitar half stacks were no match to my power.
I probably run my EQ in what most people in this thread would consider strange, but it is how I like it. Took a pic when I realized I really liked my tone.
Compression - Off
Gain - 12:30
Bass - 3:00
Mid - 2:30
Mid Freq - 3
Treb - 1:00
Master - 11:30
With my Guild B-301 and flats, this sounds incredible.
Compression - Off
Gain - 12:30
Bass - 3:00
Mid - 2:30
Mid Freq - 3
Treb - 1:00
Master - 11:30
With my Guild B-301 and flats, this sounds incredible.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,518
- 19,955
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Yes... yes it does...
+1
Played with 100-ish brass and 25 or so percussion last night and only went up halfway. And that was with Ultra Lo engaged. Without Ultra Lo engaged I would have had to turn down. It was indoors, but in a football field sized room. I really couldn't be happier with an amp.
The tapers on volume controls vary and should not be taken as representative of an amp's power. Just yesterday I tried out a Mesa M9 and the input and master volume were barely on, yet the amp was already too loud for the store. All that means is that the manufacturer chose stupid tapers for the volume potentiometers which make the amp seem REALLY LOUD at the music store. It also means that you don't have as much subtle control of volume on the gig.
Short answer, pay no attention to the positions of volume knobs.... just crank it up as much as necessary....
The Genz knobs DO have good tapers on them, as in they will turn up all the way. Thats one feature I love over the Markbass amps.
yeah, the tapers on the GB is totally different- just push the Master a bit and you'll see how loud this thing will go. I haven't got much above 10 or 11 o'clock with the gain at about 2 o'clock- monster volume (to get this loud the Streamliner Master would be at around 8 o'clock.
I just got done sound checking in another tough room- what I really like so far about the 7 is it's flexibility- it's tone shaping ability can really help with funky rooms. I actually engaged the Ultra Low this morning for the first time to help thicken up the room (no FOH support for the bass). Whoa- shook the whole damn stage!!
I think pairing it with the Berg 410 HD that I have is not the best choice but still sounds pretty damn great. Thinking about either a 2-12 or different brand 2-10s (X2).
Hamfist- your review is totally in-line with my thoughts after owning and gigging a STm for a year and now switching to the 7pro...
I just got done sound checking in another tough room- what I really like so far about the 7 is it's flexibility- it's tone shaping ability can really help with funky rooms. I actually engaged the Ultra Low this morning for the first time to help thicken up the room (no FOH support for the bass). Whoa- shook the whole damn stage!!
I think pairing it with the Berg 410 HD that I have is not the best choice but still sounds pretty damn great. Thinking about either a 2-12 or different brand 2-10s (X2).
Hamfist- your review is totally in-line with my thoughts after owning and gigging a STm for a year and now switching to the 7pro...
Isn't the taper of the master volume dependent on the gain setting?
Also, not sure I get why that would be important. As long as you can get what the amp says it delivers, does it really matter if a volume pot stops working at 2:00 or 5:00?
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i don't have a problem with the 7pro's or the GB SL900's gain or master volume's taper. IME, neither one of them are too touchy and come on all at once (like on some other amps).
