Opinion - Which Class D comes closest to an SVT

[bass40hz]

The Ampeg PF heads, Dino even has a video o n how to set them to get an SVT like tone.
Rock on.

 

[joker820]

I own an SVT-CL, and have owned pretty much every SVT except a 5 and an 8, including a vintage blueline and a vintage V4.

I currently own a 610 HLF. It takes an HPF in front of it to dial out some of the loose lows and get it back to the classic Ampeg cab tone. With the HPF it get very close.

I have owned an Ampeg 410, B40, 412, 610 HLF, 810 (several), and an Isovent.

The classic Ampeg tone TO ME is the 300W all-tube beast with sealed 10 inch speakers. The closest head to the 300W all-tube WITH an 810 is the SVT 6 Pro.

As @JimmyM said, there isn't "one" SVT tone. It'll go all over the place. BUT, the overall feel and nature of the tone TO ME involves heavy low mids. That comes from the natural SVT tone AND the CAB (again, sealed 10s).

The Mesa Walkabout CAN get close with sealed 10s. I have used mine with several backline 810 cabs and it really gets in the ballpark. Of course, it's not all the way there.

All of this goes to say two things.

1) You need either sealed 10s, an LPF/HPF to dial in that sound, or a cab sim that does all of that for you. The cab IS a huge part of the sound.

2) I have yet to play a featherweight head that gets me there. If one existed that I had heard, I would own it. The SVT 6 and Walkabout are both mid weight MOSFET amps. MOSFET amps are the closest compromise I have found in my almost 35 years of playing.

My advice?

Get a Mesa WD800. I haven't played one myself. But having an almost uncomfortably close relationship with the Walkabout, I have done a ton of reading up on the new one. I trust @agedhorse more than many people I know in person. So I'm sure he didn't "ruin' the Walkabout, rather he refined it. The para mids section of that preamp is powerful. If you get to know it, you can dial in, or out, just about anything you want.

Sit that puppy on top of two vertical Ampeg sealed 210 cabs. That will be a lightweight, somewhat close to the SVT sound, modular rig with some wattage headroom.


Best of luck with your search.

I suggested checking out the new Mesa with a similar cab setup and got flamed. Hopefully they show you more respect.

 

[Rickter]

In my limited experience, both the SVT head and the 810 cab contribute to the magic of that tone. I've played an SVT through several different cabs and it always has that meaty round tone. The cab does make a difference, but sometimes it is a subtle one. For me, playing through a sealed cabinet with either no tweeter or the tweeter turned off will at least get you close, cab wise. As for the SVT, nothing else really sounds that way. Even the V4B is only about 90-95% there. Again, this is just to my ears and in my limited experience.

As for Class D amps that come close to that tone, I've been able to get reasonably close with 2. The GK MB Fusion line and more recently with the Aguilar AG700. Of the two, I think that the AG700 was closest the Ampeg roundness and fullness.

YMMV and all of this is subjective.

 

[mmbass21]

You'll never get close. I love the new Mesa WD800, it's warm and powerful as well as very flexible with the semi-parametric eq. The tone I get from it satisfies me to the point where I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything in my tone whether at home or on stage. If I do a side by side I know what I'll pick but that isn't happening in a live gig situation. All I know is this Mesa cuts through a mix like no other class D I've ever played.

 

[The_Owl]

My Engl Iron Bass with the overdrive up through the Engl 410 sounds reminiscent of my SVT through a 410 Heritage. It does have 2 tubes for the overdrive circuit but is a class D. They're pretty hard to come by. Had to wait a few months coming from Germany and I'm not even sure you can buy them anymore. Rare to say the least and a little over priced.

This amp?



That doesn't sound much like a tube amp to me.

 

[Luckydog]

Im sure the 810 adds to the SVT sound. I almost exclusively used the 810 with my SVTs, and there is a grind, and pillow of warmth that you cant get IMO with a lot of other setups. But I agree with Jimmy about the head being so important. With an 810 and a class D head, I have never gotten the level of slam, cut and round warmth as I have with the SVT head and other cabs. I would much rather play my SVTs through other cabs, than ANY class D head through an Ampeg 810. Heck, even the V4 doesnt do "SVT", IMO. It is close, and a beautiful sound, but not quite there. I've even used my SVTs with my little Bag End stack for an incredible tone.

 

[RedJag]

Dunno how well this actually works but you could try throwing a Catalinbread SFT in front of any amp?

 

[Fishheadjoe]

The TC RH450 is reputed to be their version of the SVT head. Software was designed to emulate an SVT.
I play an all tube amp, but not an Ampeg, so I can't speak to how well TC did in "matching tone". I do know that it is severely lacking in power though....
Fishheadjoe

 

[Rice]

+1 to the Mesa WD-800. I had been through 8+ heads trying to replace my SVT4pro (not SVT-CL, but pretty good non the less...), and the WD-800 was the first head of the lot that I was like "ok, this will do." From there, I run a variety of EA cabinets... With these being fairly flat and transparent, I can trust what the head is sounding like at the time, and I can get it pretty darn close to the 'fridge sound when I need it.
One other suggestion is just get some small, light gear that is reliable, and use a Helix or something to simulate what you want. There's definitely enough gear out there to get you close enough to what you want... IMHO

 

[Xandrell]

This amp?



That doesn't sound much like a tube amp to me.

I can get my SVT to sound close to those videos as well. It's all in the settings. Although I couldn't replicate the crappy sound in the NAMM videos with the ENGL. My guess is they were capturing a pedal or something in the chain.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

People like the new Mesa WD800. People also like the Berg NV212. It's sealed, and is a narrow cab, so the Mesa head will fit fine on it. That combination makes for an EZ transport.

Otherwise, might as well go SVT + 'Fridge

 

[bdplaid]

The Ampeg PF heads, Dino even has a video o n how to set them to get an SVT like tone.
Rock on.

I agree with this. And the Ampeg SCR-DI pedal. Not precisely SVT, but pretty darned close. They are both definitely unmistakably Ampeg.

 

[sharkbait130]

I ran an SVT Classic head through an 8 10e cab for several years. Recently , due entirely to my geezerness , I have gone to a PF 500 head and a 2 12 av cab. Does it sound exactly like the old big rig? No. Does it sound good enough to keep an SVT gear head like myself happy? Yup. I run a pretty clean sound so I don't know how my current rig would work if you're looking for some dirt. I do know that the tube rig I have does dirt better than the PF 500 through either of the cabs I have played either of the heads through.

 

[jerry]

The Quilter BB800 is pretty "tuby" for a class D. It's a very nice little amp, once you get used to it's odd EQ arrangement. Is it an SVT? No. But I'm very happy with mine.

I've seen Conrad Lozano with Los Lobos with a Quilter on top of a SVT cab, looked kinda funny but sounded sweet.

 

[johnk_10]

i know conrad and he still has his '69 SVT that he bought brand new. IMO, the SVT 810 is part of it's sound but definitely not all of it. depending on the gig (and my back) i run mine thru an SVT 810 cab, an Ampeg V4 cab with 412 Eminence neo's and a 215 cab with 3015's. with all of those cabs it still sounds and feels like an SVT, just a little different thru each of them.

 

[arbiterusa]

Admittedly I've never played an SVT but here's my take.

This is the distilled essence of Talkbass right here: "I've never played it but here's my opinion anyway"

 

[joker820]

This is the distilled essence of Talkbass right here: "I've never played it but here's my opinion anyway"

Please read the posts after me by people that have and they made similar recommendations. I've done enough research on the topic of amp construction. I know there's a lot of geezers on here that probably get cranky when you tell them the Corvette isn't the best car ever made too. Thanks for contributing nothing to the OP.

 

[Flog]

Ampeg PF..... I rest my case.

 

[Rice]

I've seen Conrad Lozano with Los Lobos with a Quilter on top of a SVT cab, looked kinda funny but sounded sweet.

I did this for one gig while I was testing out the Quilter. It kicked!! The headlining bassist asked if he could just use it since it was already set up... He was up there with THREE guitarists playing metal/rock, and he had to turn down!! Bwuhahahahaha!!!! (Btw, the Quilter was my runner up to the Mesa... FWIW)

 

[96Brigadier]

Please read the posts after me by people that have and they made similar recommendations. I've done enough research on the topic of amp construction. I know there's a lot of geezers on here that probably get cranky when you tell them the Corvette isn't the best car ever made too. Thanks for contributing nothing to the OP.

I'm not an old geezer. I've read all the posts. What you recommended was based purely on guesswork. If you haven't played through an SVT you don't have any business telling someone what sounds like one, because you have no clue. That's the definition of "contributing nothing" to the OP.