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SVT KILLER!

#63
JimmyM said:
Yeah, there are some people who don't like SVT's. They are, of course, wrong ;) But even a diehard Ampegger can appreciate good work when I see it.
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Preference is not right or wrong. ;)

But they do blow chunks. lol I can't get a decent sound out of them to save my life.

Here's two amps I like better than an SVT: :bassist:

amps.jpg
 
#64
SGD Lutherie said:
Geeze, standard for what? Back in the 70s you saw way more Marshall, Acoustic, and Sunn bass amps. Even Hi-Watt. I don't get the whole SVT thing. I disliked them then, I dislike the new ones even more. :spit:

Marshall bass amps kicked butt!
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I agree:cool:
- but so many people i know immediately go "Ampeg!" when you ask about a favorite bass tone, or amp - sometimes I'm not sure if they even know what the Ampeg sound is.

To me, when Ampegs get pushed hard, they get this waterlogged "glog" mid-focused tone.

Marshalls answer back with a shower of sharp overdriven harmonics when pushed hard - like you just stuck the amp with a hot poker.


My Mesa Bass 400 also does that, to some degree. One only needs to listen to Tool's "Undertow"(why I bought it - Paul's was a 400+, but similar tone) to get a feel of the opposite of the Ampeg tone in your head.
 
#65
Yeah, you guys are right. The SVT sucks so bad that I guess that's why SVT's have been available continuously now for 43 years. Anyone know where I can get a new 400+? Oh yeah, that's right...they've been discontinued.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
 
#66
JimmyM said:
Yeah, you guys are right. The SVT sucks so bad that I guess that's why SVT's have been available continuously now for 43 years. Anyone know where I can get a new 400+? Oh yeah, that's right...they've been discontinued.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Click to expand...

I tried to work a 400+ for a couple years. Its a really frustrating amp.
 
#67
FaithNoMan said:
I agree:cool:
- but so many people i know immediately go "Ampeg!" when you ask about a favorite bass tone, or amp - sometimes I'm not sure if they even know what the Ampeg sound is.
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Exactly. Same thing when you say "tubes"!

To me, when Ampegs get pushed hard, they get this waterlogged "glog" mid-focused tone.
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Bingo! Thats the tone I hate.

SVTs have this big hump at 250Hz. The guy who designed the tone stack used to do phono preamps. So he figured if you roll the low end off the bass won't sound boomy in big arenas. Then the big hump at 250 simulates the low end. The Ultra Lo switch notches the mids and still doesn't add any lows.

Unless they are played at low volume, I find them to be boxy and unpleasant sounding. However, I don't think the old ones were like that. I kind of liked those, or I least that's what I remember. But except fore the B-15n I used to have, I always disliked Ampeg's tone stacks. And most of their other amps, like the V4-B, were underpowered compared to everything else.

Now Sunn amps were pretty badass at the time. ;)

Just in case anyone doubts that I know what an SVT sounds like.... ;)

Link Removed

The studio owner insisted I pose with it. lol I did record with it.

Marshalls answer back with a shower of sharp overdriven harmonics when pushed hard - like you just stuck the amp with a hot poker.
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Right. Listen to vintage Jack Bruce! Or for a similar overdrive, John Wetton with his Hi-Watts. Hi-Watts and Orange amps were always painfully loud. At least with the guitarist that used them that I played with back in the 70s!

My Mesa Bass 400 also does that, to some degree. One only needs to listen to Tool's "Undertow"(why I bought it - Paul's was a 400+, but similar tone) to get a feel of the opposite of the Ampeg tone in your head.
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I have a funny story about my 400+. I was using a GK-800RB since about 1987, and was feeling I wanted something different. I liked Tony Levin's SVT tone, so I decided to see if I could find a used head. They were not in production at the time. This must have been the mid 90s.

So I went to a amp repair shop in NJ (Dave's Sound) and he had the Mesa. I tried it out and loved it. It's more hi-fi than the SVT, while still being thick warm and tubey. He tells me if I want it, I had better buy it, because there was a guy looking at it, but he didn't have the money, but would be coming back in a few days. So I bought it.

Then I wanted to find a Mesa cab, so I looked in the Want Ad Press, which was a free little magazine type thing with ads in it. I see a guy with a Mesa 4X10 cab, so I go to check it out.

He says "yeah, I was going to buy this 400+ at Dave's sound, but some other guy beat me to it!" :D

You should have seen the look on his face when I broke the news to him!

It's got Eden speakers in it, from before they made their own amps. It sounds great with the Hartke too. The 400+ is just too heavy to lug around. It also needs some minor repairs, as it has two broken pots and it's been blowing fuses.

It's going to be my at home practice amp. ;)

Now my new Hartke on the other hand is just heavily. You can't make it break up, but it throws out warm thick slabs of bass!
 
#68
JimmyM said:
Yeah, you guys are right. The SVT sucks so bad that I guess that's why SVT's have been available continuously now for 43 years. Anyone know where I can get a new 400+? Oh yeah, that's right...they've been discontinued.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
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Continuously? Absolutely false. Ampeg went out of business, remember? They were NOT available in the 90s when I bought my Mesa.

Also, LOUD is not Ampeg, just as Fender Musical Instruments is not Fender of old. They just own the name. LOUD is Mackie. Before they were Mackie they were TAPCO. Remember them? TAPCO made crappy mixers.

The new Ampegs blow chunks. :spit: So did the old ones.

As far as the 400+, just get one of these:

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Amps/bigblock/bigblock.htm

That will blow an SVT out of the water.

So will the Hartke LH500. Notice all the former big name Ampeg users are now using those?

They even have Will Lee now! And his wife took all those cool B&W shots for the Ampeg ads.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Who uses SVTs that can actually play well?
 
#69
Wow, looks like I hit a nerve, eh? OK...Stanley Clarke. Dave LaRue. Juan Alderete. Jon Reshard. Pino Palladino. Daryl Jones. Tony Levin. Hutch Hutchinson. Rob Trujillo. Stefan Lessard. The late Donald "Duck" Dunn. Beefcake The Mighty. Just to name a few. And me, thank you very much ;)

Won't ever say a bad word about the LH500. It's a killer amp and Hartke's a class act. And actually I got nothing against Mesa. Had a pretty good experience on a cruise ship recently where in one room they had an M6 combo for me. But get serious now. I get that not everyone likes it, but you take it to new levels of irrationality. You can't get a good sound with an SVT and 810 and you might as well quit playing bass. Of course I'd say that about any decent working amp but I ain't blaming the SVT if you sound bad playing one.

Oh, and Ampeg hasn't been the REAL Ampeg since 1966 when Everett Hull sold to Unimusic and was forced out. And it was a good thing, too, otherwise there never would have been an SVT since Hull hated loud music.

And the SVT has been available continuously since 1969, save for short transitional periods where the new owners had to gear up. The idea that it wasn't available in the 90's is ludicrous. And as the owner of one of the very first SVT's ever made, I say the new SVT's are as good as any of them.

And Will Lee's wife still works for Ampeg and still takes all their B&W ad photos. And I'm way more handsome than all of you put together so there!
 
#70
JimmyM said:
Wow, looks like I hit a nerve, eh? OK...Stanley Clarke.
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Clarke is only using the power amp section. His tone comes from the Alembic preamps.

The preamp is the part of the SVT that sucks.

No nerve hit here, but clearly this thread hit yours!

Oh, and Ampeg hasn't been the REAL Ampeg since 1966 when Everett Hull sold to Unimusic and was forced out. And it was a good thing, too, otherwise there never would have been an SVT since Hull hated loud music.
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From Wikipedia:

Ampeg was acquired by Magnavox in 1970 and held until MTI of Japan acquired Magnavox in 1980.
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Yeah, Hull hated rock and roll.
 
#71
Not too strong on Ampeg history, David? Good thing that have that crap wiki page to fill you in ;) A company called Unimusic bought Ampeg from Everett Hull in 1966 and gave him an honorary position that he thought meant he still had input, but he was clearly behind the times and Unimusic refused to listen to his ideas and he left Ampeg and retired a year later. Unimusic sold Ampeg to Magnavox, not Hull. And yeah, he did hate rock and roll. He refused to meet with rock musicians when they'd come to the factory for a tour. And he hated distortion. And loud music in general.

EDIT: MTI acquired Magnavox? LOL!
 
#72
Hee Hee!
I love threads like this. It's like listening to two rednecks fighting over which pickup is better: Ford or Chevy.
If there was one amp that was clearly superior, every professional musician would play them.
Everyone has a sound that works for them; to argue that something is better just because you like it is silly.
I wouldn't play through an Ampeg if someone gave it to me for free, but I'm cool with anyone who makes it work for them.
 
#73
SGD Lutherie said:
The preamp is the part of the SVT that sucks.
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The suck parts are the layout, construction and price. The preamp is fine, bit complicated for what it does. That stuff only shows once you have to work on them (or you blow one up playing it). The other stuff is bit reactionary agianst them being popular.
 
#78
Worldeeeter said:
Hee Hee!
I love threads like this. It's like listening to two rednecks fighting over which pickup is better: Ford or Chevy.
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Well I am from Florida ;)

I would just like it known that while I did take a lighthearted poke at SVT haters at first, I showed respect for Marshall and Mesa amps and the other rednecks are the ones taking shots.

BTW, the preamp is the best thing about the SVT. So there again!
 
#80
Worldeeeter said:
If there was one amp that was clearly superior, every professional musician would play them.
Everyone has a sound that works for them; to argue that something is better just because you like it is silly.
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Exactly. I was giving my opinion, and Jimmy said:

Yeah, there are some people who don't like SVT's. They are, of course, wrong
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So either that means we really like them, but don't realize it, or our option doesn't matter. :eyebrow: I know it was meant in fun, and so was my comments that they blow chunks. Even though it's accurate.

I also give a detailed description of what I dislike about them. Jimmy, how about you? :D

I hate them. He loves them. No one is wrong. But its fun, like the Mac vs PC thing. In that war PC = SVT = dinosaur. ;) I like Jimmy though. :)

:bassist: :bassist: :bassist: :bassist:
 

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