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Opinion - Which Class D comes closest to an SVT

Ringhammer

Ringhammer

Supporting Member
Sep 3, 2016
3,527
18,165
S. F. Bay Area
#1
I wanted to hear from any lovers of the old SVT/810 sound that may also have shopped a class "D" setup and hear any opinion of which one they find can come the closest to emulating an SVT/810.

I have a Tech21 VT-500, and I think it comes sort of close. I have run it with two 1 x 12" cabinets, and while it sounds good, really good actually, it is missing something, and I blame the 12" speakers in ported cabinets. Maybe a 2x10 in a sealed cabinet would make a difference.

Anyway, any GK, Darkglass, Mesa, etc owners speak up!
 
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#2
Yeah I don't think it's about the SVT head so much as the cabinet.

Tube preamp will get you part of the way there but it's 'the air movement' that makes the fridge work.

I haven't tried many but they're are plenty of cab sim boxes out there. I'm recording and the engineer is hot to dial in a tone for me with one.
 
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#5
One thing a lot of us know is that the fridge, in a small environment, isn't getting the effect one would want. And I recently played a decent size venue, and while many people commented on how good my sound was, I think I got a bit loud, as I couldn't get the sound I wanted on stage. And of course the f-ing guitarist and his buddies said I was too loud. I have a sealed 4x10 that Fliptops made for me for a V4B, and it works really well with my SVT. (I'm not such a fan of the V4B). I have not tried the VT-500 with it yet. I should get on trying that out.

Still curious about what the Mesa, Darkglass, GK, etc. people think.
 
#8
catcauphonic said:
In my limited experience I'd say that the GenzBenz Streamliner is the closest Class D to tubes, but good luck trying to emulate the granddaddy of all tube setups with it or any other!
Click to expand...

Agreed - the Streamliner had a nice, warm, round sound. I think the SVT7 actually has that great AMpeg vibe to it as well.

If we're going beyond the world of Class D the M-Pulse 600 was one of the tubiest non-tube amps I ever had the joy of playing.
 
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#9
Ringhammer said:
One thing a lot of us know is that the fridge, in a small environment, isn't getting the effect one would want. And I recently played a decent size venue, and while many people commented on how good my sound was, I think I got a bit loud, as I couldn't get the sound I wanted on stage. And of course the f-ing guitarist and his buddies said I was too loud. I have a sealed 4x10 that Fliptops made for me for a V4B, and it works really well with my SVT. (I'm not such a fan of the V4B). I have not tried the VT-500 with it yet. I should get on trying that out.

Still curious about what the Mesa, Darkglass, GK, etc. people think.
Click to expand...

I've had guitarists complain I was too loud before I even turned the head on with a fridge, of course when you're playing you ask the sound person and they'll say the guitarists are blastingly loud usually.
 
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#10
Ringhammer said:
I wanted to hear from any lovers of the old SVT/810 sound that may also have shopped a class "D" setup and hear any opinion of which one they find can come the closest to emulating an SVT/810.

I have a Tech21 VT-500, and I think it comes sort of close. I have run it with two 1 x 12" cabinets, and while it sounds good, really good actually, it is missing something, and I blame the 12" speakers in ported cabinets. Maybe a 2x10 in a sealed cabinet would make a difference.

Anyway, any GK, Darkglass, Mesa, etc owners speak up!
Click to expand...

Instead of flipping a bunch of heads and cabs, you might be better off buying a semi-parametric EQ like the Tech 21 Q strip or Empress ParaEQ.

I do agree that a lot of the sound that people associate with the SVT is actually the 810. When you combine a bunch of drivers you get mutual coupling in the low end and destructive interference at higher frequencies. So the sound of one 10" speaker versus eight will be a bit different. You can use a bit of EQ to emulate the build up in the low end and high frequency roll off of an 810. As you probably know, the SVT does not go super deep either, so an adjustable HPF may help.

The other aspect is the SVT has a slight, broad-band boost centered around 400hz and gets a bit grindy when pushed. I think the grind is a bit of distortion that occurs in the mids and upper mids. Several Ampeg amps are good at reproducing the grind and some of them are even Class D. The only one I have experience with is the SVT8-Pro which is pretty rare. I am sure @JimmyM can steer you in the direction on which current models are the best and most portable.

Although I have not played one. The Mesa WD800 has a tube preamp and a flexible enough semi-parametric EQ with an adjustable HPF that you should be able to coax some SVT like tones out of it.
 
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#11
Well if you're running a pair of 12's anyway, try & find one of these to try out...

My gear Mesa Venture.jpg


Mesa Venture 2x12 combo, 600w @ 4ohm, great big piles of usable tone, LOUD, & utilizes the M-Pulse head. It doesn't answer your question, but the fact that I nicknamed mine the "mini-fridge", should be an indication of what I think of it. I've never needed FOH help with this thing.

...or one of these? :roflmao: :bassist: :roflmao:

Hotone.jpg


(Ha ha...Hotone)
 
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#12
KsPiNeSh said:
Agreed - the Streamliner had a nice, warm, round sound. I think the SVT7 actually has that great AMpeg vibe to it as well.

If we're going beyond the world of Class D the M-Pulse 600 was one of the tubiest non-tube amps I ever had the joy of playing.
Click to expand...
Another Streamliner vote - amazing the sounds you can get from that amp with no tube power section. I just got an Aguilar Tonehammer 700 and it is on that end of the spectrum (warm and fat) while having its own character. I like it a lot. The Mesa Walkabout is on that end of the spectrum too.

IME, Darkglass and GK are opposite the SVT tone
 
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#14
Admittedly I've never played an SVT but here's my take. To me bigger speakers with tweeters aren't the same as a fridge sound. I use a Barefaced 2x10". It has the same frequency range if not broader than an Fridge. I use a New Vintage Undertow 500D which has an all tube pre-amp and a Broughton Power Stage to mimic a tube power section. The new Mesa Hybrid Amp with that power section response control probably gets close to an SVT too I'd imagine.
 
#15
Nighttrain1127 said:
There is no sound of an 810 when you are running a Breg NV 610 Or an Ampeg 410 hlf or a pair of Gk Neo 212's . I run my SVT through all these cabs and it still sounds like the same old SVT
Click to expand...

Conversely, regardless of whether you use an Ampeg SVT, GK 800RB, Genz Benz Shuttlemax, or Mesa 400, an Ampeg 810 will always sounds like an Ampeg 810. It's one of the most heavily voiced, least transparent cabs on the market. That doesn't make an 810E any more or less awesome. Many people love it, and many don't.
 

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