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SVT 4 Pro Mono Bridge Volume Trouble

D

DML823

Apr 26, 2013
4
0
#1
Hey guys,

First time poster on this site, long time reader. I play bass in a fairly heavy/loud band and use an SVT 4 pro and 8x10 cab. I love the tone i'm able to get out of the amp, but my big issue is that I'm running the amp mono bridged and it seems the volume is super low for what this head should be putting out. I have the special mono bridge cable, button in the back is set to mono bridge and even when i have the gain and volume at an acceptable level it just isn't cutting through the mix at all. (I also put in brand new tubes about a month and a half ago) I've tried just about everything to get a decent volume, but it just isn't working. Anyone else have this amp and experiencing the same problems? Any solutions or suggestions as to what i could do/what's wrong would be greatly appreciated.

I'm just about ready to give up and take it somewhere to get it looked at, but figured i would see what others have to say first. Thanks guys!
 
#3
1. Make sure you're driving the input stage

2. What kind of instruments are you "mixing" with-
how is their tone?

3. More importantly--- is the tone (eq) of your sound right for the mix---- this is very important to "cutting in the mix"
 
#4
This is a typical complaint for this amp. We should do a few things and make sure that you get the power out of the amp.

1. The cable wiring in the back is a special wiring for the mono bridged outlet. Not the typical neutrik wiring. Are you aware of this? If not, you need to have a dedicated speaker cable for this amp only, and only for the mono/bridged socket. Wiring instructions are all over the internet.

2. Dial your gain over to 3 o'clock. Your red LED should light up solid with each note you hit on the bass. Fine adjust as necessary. Use the volume knob for "volume" level.

3. Use some EQ Level adjusted up, if you are still not satisfied. I usually jack the EQ Level up to +75%.

So now you should be getting the power and great sound.
 
#5
I usually have to have the gain around 2 or 3'oclock sometimes a little more and the master around the same to even get a decent volume, and I know other people have said that the amp is still loud even when their gain and master are significantly lower. I've read others have had a similar problem
 
#6
DML823 said:
I usually have to have the gain around 2 or 3'oclock sometimes a little more and the master around the same to even get a decent volume, and I know other people have said that the amp is still loud even when their gain and master are significantly lower. I've read others have had a similar problem
Click to expand...

Maybe you have a problem then. my eq is set flat except I roll off the bass to about 10:30 and with those gain and volume settings I think my cab would be having problems. Did you get this new or used are you sure all the speakers are working in the cab.
 
#9
John m- I have my eq set as a smiley face (if that makes sense) I have the bass at about 2 oclock and the treble and mid range at 12. Is there a better way to set the eq and cut some of the frequencies to possibly gain some volume and not lose too much low end?
 
#10
Whenever I get supplied a 4 Pro, all I ever do is cut the treble knob a bit and once in a while add low end. I always leave the graphic EQ alone because the knobs work fine for me. But that's the beauty of having it. Play around with it and get the sound you like.

But do crank that gain hard. Use your ears and ignore the light. Depending on how loud the signal from the bass is, I've had the gain set anywhere from 2:00 to all the way up. Turn it up till you hear distortion, then back it down a hair from there. If you turn it up all the way and still don't hear distortion, that's fine. Some quieter basses will do that. But they're made to crank the gain a good one, and that input light should be lighting up pretty good.
 
#11
Smiley face typically SOUNDS weaker even though you are putting the power out. Sometimes less is more when trying to boost the lows a lot with the EQ.

never mind where the knobs are.....

Does the input "clip" light light up pretty often?

Are you getting the output limit light to light?

If both, then try less low end boost on the EQ, because lows eat up power in a losing battle to get loud.

Also, try turning off the output limiter. use caution, because that can let you fry things like tweeters. But with certain playing styles, and certain EQ "styles", you can have the limiter holding you back instead of helping.
 
#12
I had the same problem back when I used an SVT-4Pro through a fridge- would have to push it hard to get decent volume, never boosted Bass at all (always boosted mids), and the amp would get pretty hot after a lengthy rehearsal. I tried all sorts of EQ and Gain tricks to try to get more headroom to no avail. I eventually fried the power amp board running it like that. Luckily it was still under warranty. When it was repaired and I got it back, I tried it out and it still had the same lack of headroom- I immediately sold it and bought an SVT-CL which always had more than enough juice volume-wise and never gave me any power problems through the same cabinet. I've since had a handful of amps rated between a quarter and a half of the rated power of the 4Pro and many of them have had as much or more headroom on tap to my ears.

People can say what they want about the SVT-4, but in my experience it was noticeably underpowered for its rating. I have a few other friends that have tried them as well and come to the same conclusion. I did love the tone though at the time and I really wanted it to work for me! I have seen a number of other bassists using them to good effect live though- I have payed attention and noticed that most of them tend to have the Limiter light on often or all the time as mine usually did.
 

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