SVT 7 Pro - Reliability Issues fixed?

[baxter_x]

Sheesh! Are you running -15db or something? I never had a problem making my 7 Pro's pre overdrive, and it would get pretty strong if you cranked it.

I have to give another try then. I don't use the pad.

Is it the most powerful amp they make? Certainly not. But 450w at 4 ohms is plenty for the vast majority of non-metal gigs, and is even plenty for a lot of metal gigs. SVT tube amps only do 300w and it's rare you hear about someone complaining about not having enough volume with an SVT.

Agree. Everytime I played the 3 I could not understand why people claim it's underpowered.

It also has way more tubes in it than any other svt pro minus the svt2pro obviously.

That doesn't mean much actually. There is that main concensus that the more you have tubes, the "tubier" is sounds. And it's just total BS.

 

[BogeyBass]

Pretty much.

Just get SVT 350H
Lol

Laughable dinosaur. Probably still works

As long as it says Ampeg on it. Then technically it sounds like a Ampeg

 

[forrestlaw]

Thanks for all of the thoughts and comments everyone. Definitely some good information to think about.

I'm thinking that I'm going to go with a 7 Pro, even though the comments about the 3 Pro make it seriously worth considering. The fact that the 7 Pro is 40% lighter and quite a bit smaller physically is pretty valuable to me. Plus, it's a bit cheaper as well. The 4 Pro, even though it's significantly lighter than a CL, seems to be getting into the price and size range of "Why am I not getting a CL?"

For a cab I think I'm going to stick by my original thought of getting an SVT410he, which probably sounds ridiculous after I made a comment about weight being important above. But, it is a relatively small cab physically compared to other 410s and the price is nice. Also, for the sound I've been GASsing for most of those players are playing out of the 810 fridge, which is out of the question for me both due to size and weight. The 410he seems to be half of the fridge. Won't sound the same, I know, but probably closer than other options.

 

[baxter_x]

I'm thinking that I'm going to go with a 7 Pro, even though the comments about the 3 Pro make it seriously worth considering. The fact that the 7 Pro is 40% lighter and quite a bit smaller physically is pretty valuable to me. Plus, it's a bit cheaper as well. The 4 Pro, even though it's significantly lighter, seems to be getting into the price and size range of "Why am I not getting a CL?"

To me there are no reasons to get the 3 against the 7. The only thing the 3 has is the graphic EQ.
The 4 pro is a great head, I onwed it for 6 years. But it's heavy, and you will probably not need all the features it offers. Especially this dual amp thing. That's mainly the reason why I sold it.

The 7 is close to the most perfect amp I onwed. It has all the features we need. An very nice compressor, lightweight, compact form factor, RCA plugs, extremely powerfull, stereo output to connect your headphones that mutes the power amp for home use.....
I've owned many amps, and that one is the one I would keep for sure. I'm even considering buying another one.

 

[Lovep]

Thanks for all of the thoughts and comments everyone. Definitely some good information to think about.

I'm thinking that I'm going to go with a 7 Pro, even though the comments about the 3 Pro make it seriously worth considering. The fact that the 7 Pro is 40% lighter and quite a bit smaller physically is pretty valuable to me. Plus, it's a bit cheaper as well. The 4 Pro, even though it's significantly lighter than a CL, seems to be getting into the price and size range of "Why am I not getting a CL?"

For a cab I think I'm going to stick by my original thought of getting an SVT410he, which probably sounds ridiculous after I made a comment about weight being important above. But, it is a relatively small cab physically compared to other 410s and the price is nice. Also, for the sound I've been GASsing for most of those players are playing out of the 810 fridge, which is out of the question for me both due to size and weight. The 410he seems to be half of the fridge. Won't sound the same, I know, but probably closer than other options.

Look into the Ampeg PN-series. To me the PN410HLF (neodymium cab series) sounds a lot more open than the 410he...to me that translates to a much more better sounding low B (I play a 5-string). It’s also much lighter and has a smaller overall dimensions. The metal grill makes the cab much more road ready. It looks more modern and matches with the 7Pro well.

 

[Lovep]

To me there are no reasons to get the 3 against the 7. The only thing the 3 has is the graphic EQ.
The 4 pro is a great head, I onwed it for 6 years. But it's heavy, and you will probably not need all the features it offers. Especially this dual amp thing. That's mainly the reason why I sold it.

The 7 is close to the most perfect amp I onwed. It has all the features we need. An very nice compressor, lightweight, compact form factor, RCA plugs, extremely powerfull, stereo output to connect your headphones that mutes the power amp for home use.....
I've owned many amps, and that one is the one I would keep for sure. I'm even considering buying another one.

I agree! I hope that Ampeg will update this amp soon with more modern features, but for now it certainly holds its own against other amps (ex Mesa WD800) with similar power ratings and specs.

 

[baxter_x]

Look into the Ampeg PN-series. To me the PN410HLF (neodymium cab series) sounds a lot more open than the 410he...to me that translates to a much more better sounding low B (I play a 5-string). It’s also much lighter and has a smaller overall dimensions. The metal grill makes the cab much more road ready. It looks more modern and matches with the 7Pro well.
View attachment 3509027

I'm really tempted by those cans. They look sweet and spud probably great. But for the moment both my SWR Goliath III serve me very well.
The fact those cabs sound more opened is actually because they are ported. Unlike the HE that is closed.

 

[JimmyM]

Pretty much.

Just get SVT 350H
Lol

Laughable dinosaur. Probably still works

As long as it says Ampeg on it. Then technically it sounds like a Ampeg

Pffft! Good gag post!

 

[JimmyM]

Thanks for all of the thoughts and comments everyone. Definitely some good information to think about.

I'm thinking that I'm going to go with a 7 Pro, even though the comments about the 3 Pro make it seriously worth considering. The fact that the 7 Pro is 40% lighter and quite a bit smaller physically is pretty valuable to me. Plus, it's a bit cheaper as well. The 4 Pro, even though it's significantly lighter than a CL, seems to be getting into the price and size range of "Why am I not getting a CL?"

For a cab I think I'm going to stick by my original thought of getting an SVT410he, which probably sounds ridiculous after I made a comment about weight being important above. But, it is a relatively small cab physically compared to other 410s and the price is nice. Also, for the sound I've been GASsing for most of those players are playing out of the 810 fridge, which is out of the question for me both due to size and weight. The 410he seems to be half of the fridge. Won't sound the same, I know, but probably closer than other options.

Actually, I find very little difference between the 410he with the tweeter off and half of an 810e, which only makes sense since they use the same speakers. The 410he has slightly less cubic volume per speaker, but the sound is very close.

 

[Sparkl]

That doesn't mean much actually. There is that main concensus that the more you have tubes, the "tubier" is sounds. And it's just total BS.

Well it is BS as much as it isn't. The 3Pro uses many tubes around the gain section which should in theory allow for a more natural tube overdrive when pushed. I can definitely feel a close resemblance to the SVT-CL voicing when slightly pushed, meaning it never produces ugly spikes but tends to polish the overdrive into a pleasant harmonic mid based (lower mids) thick sound. Same goes for the eq section which never produces ugly nasal harsh upper mid tone even if you push the mid frequencies and pleasantly increases sustain since it compresses the signal nicely.

It might be a marketing trick but I have certainly developed a feeling that tube heavy amps tend to sound more like a tube amp than vice versa. With the 3Pro I constantly get the feeling as if I am playing my bass through a tape machine as far as the sound polish goes. In a very pleasant way. Especially through my Hartke set - literally zero weird spikes and very controlled through the whole frequency field. I definitely appreciate this amp for this very reason. And it still maintains a very nice pronounced sizzle at the top but with a nice natural high frequency roll off and basically reminds me of a studio mixed bass sound right out of the box especially when using it with a sealed cab.

 

[forrestlaw]

So I took the plunge today at a local shop and bought an svt 7 pro and used pn410hlf. The 7 pro sounds fantastic paired with this cab. Both need a few parts. The cab was missing the rubber feet and caster mounts (just empty holes on bottom of cab) and the amp needs rubber feet (previous owner had put the plastic feet from the back on the bottom and the end result is that the amp slides all over the place). All easily and cheaply fixable though.

There is a sticker on the back saying the amp had been recently tuned up and inspected in may by a local tech, which helped to put my mind at ease about purchasing a used 7 pro, but I'm probably still going to buy a pf500 or th500 as a backup.

 

[tripp2k]

I love my Pro Neo (15 & 2x10) cabs. Nice rig @forestlaw. Been thinking about the 7 Pro for months now for a proper all Ampeg rig.

 

[forrestlaw]

I took some time today and opened up the chassis. Sticker on the outside says reision C00 and PCB is revision H. Seems to be the latest version that's been made. I did strip a few of the black chassis screws and had to get some replacements from home depot, but the new ones are silver and don't sit perfectly flush with the top. Anyone know where to source OEM screws?

Amp had been tuned-up/serviced/inspected by a tech called The Tone Doctor outside of Houston. I don't know what he did other than look at it, but it made me feel a little better about buying a used one.

I was able to find the rubber amp feet, casters and mounts, and rubber feet for the cab from fliptops.net for a reasonable price.

 

[forrestlaw]

I love my Pro Neo (15 & 2x10) cabs. Nice rig @forestlaw. Been thinking about the 7 Pro for months now for a proper all Ampeg rig.

Thanks! I'm still at least a little uneasy about gigging this without a backup given how many people have had issues, although those numbers probably pale in comparison to the total units sold. I had wanted to pick up a small 350 or 500 head anyway for a practice amp at home, so I'll likely at least buy one and keep it handy for a few gigs.

 

[pgpete]

Ive read almost every post on the internet there's ever been about the 7 pro before i got mine, so I think i have a handle on how reliable ( or not ) it is.

yes the problem with the ICE chip on the early models soured the amps reputation somewhat, with many bass players having to deal with an amp that would randomly fail. That problem has been identified and a different ICE chip is now used that solves the problem.

That being said, the 7 pro is a complex amp with motherboards that have many components - and - these motherboards are made in china. So, they are not built like tanks, and will probably have a failure rate just like normal electronics gear.

If you treat the 7pro gently - avoid dropping it, avoid bad power, and reduce the vibration it experiences, it'll be fine. But like any electronic equipment it'll fail if to subjected to adverse environments.

 

[JimmyM]

Ive read almost every post on the internet there's ever been about the 7 pro before i got mine, so I think i have a handle on how reliable ( or not ) it is.

yes the problem with the ICE chip on the early models soured the amps reputation somewhat, with many bass players having to deal with an amp that would randomly fail. That problem has been identified and a different ICE chip is now used that solves the problem.

That being said, the 7 pro is a complex amp with motherboards that have many components - and - these motherboards are made in china. So, they are not built like tanks, and will probably have a failure rate just like normal electronics gear.

If you treat the 7pro gently - avoid dropping it, avoid bad power, and reduce the vibration it experiences, it'll be fine. But like any electronic equipment it'll fail if to subjected to adverse environments.

I never dropped the 7 Pro when I had it, but I have dropped the PF350, Micro VR and V4B. The Micro VR rolled across a sidewalk as well. Scuffed it a tad but it was fine. The PF350 did break the connection to the limiter switch, but it fell very hard onto a hard stage floor after getting accidentally plowed into by a sound tech. The V4B broke a preamp tube and got a couple tears in the tolex near the preamp, but was otherwise fine. I think that's a pretty good track record.

 

[Lovep]

I never dropped the 7 Pro when I had it, but I have dropped the PF350, Micro VR and V4B. The Micro VR rolled across a sidewalk as well. Scuffed it a tad but it was fine. The PF350 did break the connection to the limiter switch, but it fell very hard onto a hard stage floor after getting accidentally plowed into by a sound tech. The V4B broke a preamp tube and got a couple tears in the tolex near the preamp, but was otherwise fine. I think that's a pretty good track record.

Hopefully the success rate of an amp after dropping is not a major considering factor in buying an amp. Guitar clip tuner, maybe....

 

[Lovep]

So I took the plunge today at a local shop and bought an svt 7 pro and used pn410hlf. The 7 pro sounds fantastic paired with this cab. Both need a few parts. The cab was missing the rubber feet and caster mounts (just empty holes on bottom of cab) and the amp needs rubber feet (previous owner had put the plastic feet from the back on the bottom and the end result is that the amp slides all over the place). All easily and cheaply fixable though.

There is a sticker on the back saying the amp had been recently tuned up and inspected in may by a local tech, which helped to put my mind at ease about purchasing a used 7 pro, but I'm probably still going to buy a pf500 or th500 as a backup.

View attachment 3511528

Are you leaving the rack ears on and putting it in a rack case?

 

[KaseOfBass]

So I took the plunge today at a local shop and bought an svt 7 pro and used pn410hlf. The 7 pro sounds fantastic paired with this cab. Both need a few parts. The cab was missing the rubber feet and caster mounts (just empty holes on bottom of cab) and the amp needs rubber feet (previous owner had put the plastic feet from the back on the bottom and the end result is that the amp slides all over the place). All easily and cheaply fixable though.

There is a sticker on the back saying the amp had been recently tuned up and inspected in may by a local tech, which helped to put my mind at ease about purchasing a used 7 pro, but I'm probably still going to buy a pf500 or th500 as a backup.

View attachment 3511528

I think you made a great choice as I love my SVT 7 Pro. It was bought new in December 2017 and hasn't given me any problems whatsoever.

 

[forrestlaw]

Are you leaving the rack ears on and putting it in a rack case?

Wasn't planning on it.