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WHAT AMPEG BASS HEAD SHOULD I GET?

R

RTrafton

Jul 26, 2011
4
0
#1
Okay guys. I currently play a Fender Deluxe Active Precision Bass through an Ampeg BA-115 Combo, but it's time to get a proper SVT Stack.

Bands I Like: Pixies, Jimmy Eat World, Passion Pit, Weezer, The Clash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Shout Out Louds, The Faint, The Early November, Animal Collective, The Cure, Death From Above 1979, The Get Up Kids, The Smiths.

Sound I Love: A real rich, big, warm tone, but while retaining just a little bit of that diggy-diggy Ernie Ball Super Slink sound.

Price Range: Trying not to cap out over $2500 for the whole head and cabinet combination.

Heads I've Tried Already Tried: Tried The SVT Classic and I loved the warm tone-- seriously, I felt like I could have sat in Guitar Center Pasadena for hours just playing around on it. Also tried The SVT 2 Pro and got a similar warm tone and even felt like I could get more tones out of it than The Classic.

Heads I've Been Told To Try: The SVT 3-Pro and The SVT 4-Pro. Though, I prefer the authentic all tube tone, and feel like I have already spoiled myself from playing on the Classic/2-Pro tube amplifiers already.

Auxilary Question Concerning Cabs: Can I play any of these heads through a 410HLF or do I need to go up to a 610?

Okay guys. Excited to get your input. 1... 2... 3... Go!
 
#6
I own an SVTII pro which had great tone, but lacked the edge and definition I wanted especially when loud. also I think it's a lemon becuase there's some poltergiesty issue with the circuit board, or some other business that was always making the amp crap out on me and which "SLM authorized" techs weren't able to root out... the SVTII pro is in storage and may one day see some sort of repair attempt again. I bought my SVT4 pro about 7 or 8 years ago and have not missed the SVTII pro in the least. It's given me nothing but beautiful Ampeg Tone, great focused growl, and more than enough power. Just my 2 cents.
 
#7
I like all the tube SVT's a lot, but I slightly favor the VR. But I use SVT-CL's on the road all the time and they're great, too, just slightly different. The 3 and 4 Pro are excellent, and I've recently just become a big fan of the 7 Pro, but I prefer all-tube.

As for cabs, the 410HLF and 610HLF will work well with an SVT, but I prefer the 810E because the HLF cabs have a lot more bottom end that I don't really need. Personal opinion, though. Some folks like the extended lows.
 
#8
I recently acquired an SVT-II PRO and I have been nothing but thrilled with it.

I can't offer opinions on the CL, VR, or non-pro SVTII as I've never had the pleasure of owning any of those. The only thing I have done is demo the SVT-CL at Guitar Center and I was not impressed by it. BUT, GC is not the place to get real world experience with a head.

For cabs I would seriously consider the Berg NV610. Do a search and learn of the goodness.




My rig:

Head - Ampeg SVTII-PRO

Cabinet - Bergantino NV610


You should be able to get both in the $1,600-$1,800 range.

Or, you could buy my Ampeg 610HLF I have for sale. It's the best cabinet money could buy. :p
 

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#10
TaylorO' said:
hahaha 2500 bucks is yer "limit". wow. do NOT get the svt 3 pro. that amp sucks. Most problematic hunk of feces ever made. the guts are FULL of chinese made garbage.
Click to expand...
Um, no. There are way worse amps. And what amp today ISN'T full of Chinese parts? Even the ones made here are full of Chinese parts. The Chinese part thing is a total red herring.
 
#11
I have had an SVT3 Pro for quite some time and have never seen her so much as sputter.

I think there is a stigma attached to 'post-LOUD' Ampeg heads, but I have gotten nothing but raves on the tone of my LOUD era unit.

Just my opinion though,

And to the OP, I went with the 610 HLF cab, but now wish I would have gone with a 410 or 810. Reason being, that the 610 uses custom 6ohm speakers and they can be quite the pain to replace in the event of failure.
 
#14
JimmyM said:
Um, no. There are way worse amps. And what amp today ISN'T full of Chinese parts? Even the ones made here are full of Chinese parts. The Chinese part thing is a total red herring.
Click to expand...


Im sure there are "way worse amps". but we are talking about the SVT 3 pro. Personally i hated it. It always had solder issues. it had over heating issues. The fan was loud and made weird noises. I mean, when it worked, it didnt sound bad at all. But if it was played more than an hour, loudly, then it would just cut out and i had to wait for it to be ready to go again, haha. The chinese part thing being a "red herring" is kind of a dumb statement. Sure theres a few things that the Chinese make that are great. Like violins and egg rolls. But that chinese transformer inside the SVT 3 pro looks like a toy. Alot of chinese electronics are garbage. Seemingly made to be used and thrown away.

So, like i said, personally, it was a really problematic amp, for me. AND it looks like a VCR from 1995.
 
#15
One of the best rigs you'll ever get your hands on is an Ampeg SVT-VR head on top of a Bergantino NV610 cab. I've tried the SVT-CL head and it's good but my personal preference from a tone standpoint is the VR, it's just a little more vintage sounding to me. The other cab that's great is the Bergantino NV215.
From a cost standpoint, you can pick up a used SVT-VR for between $1000 and $1200 and a used Berg NV series cab for about $600 to $800. Both the head and cab are built to last a lifetime so I wouldn't have any concern going used and saving some bucks.
 
#19
I love my SVT4PRO head with my SVT810E cab. Great sound with more than enough power to play any where and be heard. Head runs about $1,200 and the cab runs about $1,000. You can usually find an SVT810 cab used for around $700-$800 though. Just my $0.02
 
#20
TaylorO' said:
Im sure there are "way worse amps". but we are talking about the SVT 3 pro. Personally i hated it. It always had solder issues. it had over heating issues. The fan was loud and made weird noises. I mean, when it worked, it didnt sound bad at all. But if it was played more than an hour, loudly, then it would just cut out and i had to wait for it to be ready to go again, haha. The chinese part thing being a "red herring" is kind of a dumb statement. Sure theres a few things that the Chinese make that are great. Like violins and egg rolls. But that chinese transformer inside the SVT 3 pro looks like a toy. Alot of chinese electronics are garbage. Seemingly made to be used and thrown away.

So, like i said, personally, it was a really problematic amp, for me. AND it looks like a VCR from 1995.
Click to expand...

Okay, just because you had a bad experience with an SVT3-Pro does not mean that they all suck. I played a loud gig with mine last night. I play loudly for over 2 hours at a time at least 3 days a week with mine, no problem. And the amp sounds really good as well.
As for the Chinese parts...what are you playing that does not have them? My Eden WT-400, handmade in Montrose, Minnesota is full of Chinese components.
 

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