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Svt5-pro : my first legit head questions

E

Eedwards7891

Dec 11, 2017
106
39
#1
I did it. I found a STEAL of a deal- an Ampeg SVT 5-Pro , with a road case, with a hartke 4x10 cabinet, all for the lofty price of 350 dollars. The owner , a local musician, just decided he didnt want to play bass anymore.

The specs of the svt 5 are:

FEATURES
  • Stereo
  • 2 balanced line-level outs
  • 2 effects loops
  • MOSFET power stage
  • Tube preamp with one 12AX7
  • 3-band tone controls
  • 0-4:1 compressor
  • 1/4" biamp high and low outs
  • -15dB pad
  • 1/4" input
  • Overdrive channel with boost and 3-band EQ
  • Defeatable Optocoupler limiters
  • Internal 24dB octave crossover
  • Variable crossover point
  • Octave circuit
  • 500W x 2 at 2 ohms
  • 340 x 2 at 4 ohms
  • 255 x 2 at 8 ohms
anyways- I've tried to understand how to set it up with a cab . I know there's two channels on the amp, and there is a way to run a mono bridge . However, I'm not exactly sure what that means aside from the mono basically running a much hotter signal through both cabs by reversing the polarity or something.... haha, I really dont know.

I'm currently running a fender rumble 500w combo (2x10) with a 2x10 extension. It sounds good, but I needed more headroom .

All the possible cabs I have are as follows

2x10 fender rumble extension (350/700 peak) 8 ohms

1x15 GK Goldline (300/600 peak)8 ohms

Hartke XL 4x10 ( 400w peak @8 ohms)

Are any of these a "good " combination ? What would be the "best" way to set them up? I realize I may need a cab that can handle all that power, but for the 350 bucks I spent on the head and cab, I'll let it sit in a closet until I can get a good cab , haha.


Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
 
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#2
Congrats on the great price.
Very few people on TB have the 5 Pro, it is a rare bird.
I have one and love it.
I would run it at 4 0hms with the 2x10 and 4x10 cabs to get a sense of just how much fire that amp can spit out, as more speakers, and higher rated ones, best suit the 5-Pro IMO.

Mine has "failed" (gone into shut down mode) a couple times on an SVT 810 cab, but runs great and very dependably for many years now when run into an SWR 8x10 Megoliath (1200 watts RMS). I run the 5-Pro "mono bridged" setting (which involves pushing i a little button on the back of the amp) to get the full 1,000 watts (1350 peak, which incidentally people rarely mention these days on TB. People mention RMS with peak left to implication).
 
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#5
abarson said:
The obvious starting point: https://ampeg.com/pdf/SVT-5PRO.pdf
Click to expand...
I got it to load up . I didn't see specifics about running it in bi amp mode other than how to hook it up . I am not sure about how many watts its rated for in bi amp , but knowing it's a 1000 w head, am I close to right in assuming that 500 w would go to each amp if I ran the 4 x 10s on the higher frequency , and rhe 1 x 15 on the low frequency ?
 
#6
Son of Wobble said:
Congrats on the great price.
Very few people on TB have the 5 Pro, it is a rare bird.
I have one and love it.
I would run it at 4 0hms with the 2x10 and 4x10 cabs to get a sense of just how much fire that amp can spit out, as more speakers, and higher rated ones, best suit the 5-Pro IMO.

Mine has "failed" (gone into shut down mode) a couple times on an SVT 810 cab, but runs great and very dependably for many years now when run into an SWR 8x10 Megoliath (1200 watts RMS). I run the 5-Pro "mono bridged" setting (which involves pushing i a little button on the back of the amp) to get the full 1,000 watts (1350 peak, which incidentally people rarely mention these days on TB. People mention RMS with peak left to implication).
Click to expand...


I'm liking the idea of the 6 tens I could run . I also like the idea of the 4x10s with the 1x15 .

All of the cabs I have are 8 ohm rated . Will it mess them up to run them on 4 ohms? I realize they are too much amp for them , and I understand that I obviously should not exceed the mechanical limits of the speakers . Other than the mechanical limits , will running them on 4 ohms mess the speakers up?
Also, I was reading in the manual about a "bi amp" mode . How does that work? What would be the optimal way to hook up either the 2x10 and the 4x10, or to hook up the 4x10 and the 1x15?
 
#7
Eedwards7891 said:
I'm liking the idea of the 6 tens I could run . I also like the idea of the 4x10s with the 1x15 .

All of the cabs I have are 8 ohm rated . Will it mess them up to run them on 4 ohms? I realize they are too much amp for them , and I understand that I obviously should not exceed the mechanical limits of the speakers . Other than the mechanical limits , will running them on 4 ohms mess the speakers up?
Also, I was reading in the manual about a "bi amp" mode . How does that work? What would be the optimal way to hook up either the 2x10 and the 4x10, or to hook up the 4x10 and the 1x15?
Click to expand...

You'll be getting 255 watts per channel with a hi-low biamp as described here.
Each speaker will run at 8 Ohm and not get more than its recommended wattage, so all should be good.

Hook your 15" to Power Amp A
Hook your 4x10" to Power Amp B

don't forget to depress switch (see graphic)

Use the crossover switch on the front to determine where the cutoff will be for the speakers cabinets you are mixing.



do this.png
 
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#9
Eedwards7891 said:
Thank you . I also downloaded the manual and it's been SUPER helpful. I've been running the amp today with just the 4x10, and it sounds so good I could cry , haha.
Click to expand...


Here's mine. So good, I guard it with a miniature panther.

I think there is maybe ONE other player on Talk Bass using a 5-Pro. We should start the site's most exclusive club!

IMG_9450.JPG
 
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