Vintage SVT v. Mesa 400+

The vintage SVT (if we're talking early seventies) is still the king of all bass amps, IMO. But the 400+ is a great amp and my current favorite (I own both). The Boogie is warmer and fatter while the SVT has more raw edge and grunt. They both blow away just about anything else out there, IMO (and I'm talking tubes, ss are a whole other deal). The SVT is heavier while the Boogie can be rack mounted. The 400+ also offers graphic EQ and a bit more flexibility with controls and the fan can be turned to low, high or off. Whichever one you show up with on a gig, you will OWN the band!

 

I can't imagine headroom being a problem but you should definitely get one and try it, maybe with an option to return it if it's not for you. I currently own 4 Eden cabs (D210XLT, D410XLT, D115XL and D215XLT) and yes, I think they would be great all the way down to 2 ohms with either amp. I've personally run the 15 and 210 with my 400+ and it just kills! Good luck.

 

I'd more or less agree with boogiebass about the two amps. You get more grind out of an SVT and more clean volume from a 400+. Both amps are plenty powerful for any applicatiion with any cabinet. The Mesa has more tone shaping options while an SVT sounds like an SVT. An old SVT is more likely to have mainentance issues than a new Mesa, so you need to consider that. Anything older than 24 or 25 years is going to need a cap job, etc.... That being said, when I replaced the caps in my '76 SVT, the amp really came to life. If an old SVT in good shape presents itself I'd reccommend going for it. They're real easy to sell and have good resale values, so if you didn't like it for some crazy reason, you could get your money back on selling it. I'm using an SWR Goliath III (8 ohm) and don't have any problem cutting through a VERY loud rock band. The 8 ohm cabinet won't even let the amp develop full power. Before I get any lectures about impedence matching and tube amps, just let me say that running an 8 ohm box on a 4 ohm output tap isn't much of an issue. I checked into that....
To sum it up both amps just slay, try to play on both and see which you prefer!

 

Is your V4B not loud enough?? Those get loud for most gigs. I'd love to have an old SVT but I can't talk my arms and back into getting one (haha). Also, if you do get a vintage SVT, have a knowledgable tech look at it for you and make sure the 6550's are biased properly. If the push-pull sections are not accurately biased together, it will literally self-destruct and eat tubes (which = money).

BTW, I love Eden cabs with tube rigs and they should be plenty efficient for the head.

tapp

 

Here's a semi-related 400+ question. I've been
thinking about buying one for years, but have
varied gig situations - some I need a lot of volume
for some I need to keep it pretty quiet. Do you
find that the tone varies at low volume with the
400+? Assume that 'loud' is NOT sending the
amp into overdrive or break up - that it is
clean. Will the amp retain the clean loud tone
at a lower volume? That's one thing I really like
about SWR is that tone is constant regardless
of volume level.

Scott