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need to make my 810's thunder

i just got serious and purchased an ampeg svt 810e. when it finally gets here i will be running it with my ampeg b5r head. i would like to move to a pre/power amp setup and get a little more beef behind it and eventually add in a compressor and what not. i love the ampeg tones and want to find a good match to go with my new 810's to allow me to get the most out of them. i would love some feedback to point me in the right direction from fellow musicians on how to start a rack rig that blows people away (via tone and db!) thanks

Huge

MORE POWER -Tim the tool man Taylor
 
for an ampeggy pre/power rig, i'd look for an svp cl preamp. they don't make them anymore but you can find them used. one tb'er on here raves about the ampeg-like sounds he can get from his universal audio 6176 and avalon 737 channel strips, but they ain't cheap. and he did a bunch of recordings of his different pres and channel strips, and to my ears, the svp cl hung right in there with the ua and avalon imho.
 
If you want an Ampeg-like tone in a preamp, you should check out the Tech 21 SansAmp RBI or RPM. It sounds like they're really good at emulating a tube amp and the tones that people associate with Ampeg. Picking a power amp shouldn't be too difficult. I'm not sure exactly sure how to determine which amp is well suited for a particular preamp so hopefully someone can chime in. I keep seeing things about sensitivity but I've never taken the time to do any research on the subject.

If I were to build a preamp/power amp rig -- and I probably will, down the road, for the sake of experimenting -- I'd probably go with a SansAmp or Alembic preamp and then a lightweight Carvin or Peavey poweramp. I'd absolutely love an Avalon VT-737SP as a preamp but that carries a hefty price tag. I believe it was johnk that posted sound clips and it sounded fantastic. I'd love to hear those again but I haven't been able to find the thread.

Good luck getting a rig that you're happy with! I also recently picked up an SVT810E and it's an awesome cabinet. My SVT-VR sounds so much better through it than my previous Carvin BR810 or my pair of Avatar SB112s. It sounded great through those cabs but, dang, it's tough to beat the classic.
 
Heck, save some money on a compressor and just get an SVT head for that cab.

Plenty of power, natural tube compression, and the sealed 810E is the perfect match.

For quieter stages pop a VT pedal in front of it and you're golden.
 

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