Ampeg Ba 600
Osman Briseno
I'm just back from my gig and still buzzing from it. The band was well received and just as importantly I had managed to dial in a tone I was really happy with!! :-)
Bassy, bright, gritty, driving..it was all there!
American std Jazz, Orange Terror Bass, Schroeder 410BMF and a VT Bass out front....playing 77-80 punk and new wave...bloody brill.
It has really got me wanting the real thing...an Ampeg that is. I'm not keen on the the TB by itself anyway and have experimented with a few different OD's but yet again tonight I went back to the VT and this time I had it nailed. Major difference to previous outings was setting the TB flat (bass and treble off, mids full).
I realise I could save myself more than a few hundred quid by being happy with tonight's rig but I really don't want a pedal doing all the work.
I'm looking at the SVT-7 Pro cos it has the tube pre-amp and it's relatively compact and lightweight design...but is a 1000 watt head ever going to be able to get the on the edge of tube break up dirt at pub/club volume levels? I am thinking it will have way too much headroom before the pre-amp tube even gets warmed up.
I guess there is the PF500 and 800 to consider but at the moment it's the SVT that has my attention!
I'd really appreciate hearing my fellow BCers thoughts and opinions on all of this and help me decide the way forward.
Thanks in advance!
I would love a 7 pro but have been scared off by all the reports of cutting out, seems its a bit of a lottery, some heads are good some aren't. I have even heard that some of the later revisions have issues. As for tone- closest thing to an all tube SVT is what the gear heads are reporting.... Which is exactly what I want, SVT tone and volume without 80lbs lift
There are a couple of threads on Talkbass for info, and Dino at Ampeg is really helpful if you email him.
There`s a lot to be said for a real Ampeg, and a lot to be said for GAS (sure we all agree with that) but your current set-up gives the sound you want, and if you have gigs with provided rigs, as your sound is essentially coming from your VT, you`ll always be able to get "you" no matter what the rig is.
I too thought about the 7-PRO, but read a few horror stories on Talkbass. Seems the problems, as the others have said, are like that of the PF500. Having had one of those with no issues, and one which didn`t last a rehearsal, I now won`t touch any amps that have a "reputation". Shame really, these lighter weight Ampegs sound great, my functioning PF500 was a brilliant amp.
Ampeg have a few models in the SVT pro series, and only the 7 has that troublesome Class D power stage. I suggest you look out for used examples in Basschat Marketplace. Also someone on here is selling an SVP preamp.
Thanks guys, yeah I see what you mean about the issues with the 7 and the PF500. Doesn't help that no-one appears to be 100% sure what causes them to shut down. Still appears to be happening with newer builds too.
I'll widen my search to the rest of the SVT Pro range. Is there a particular SVT Pro that really cuts the mustard?
[quote name='Jonesy64' timestamp='1396783812' post='2417224']
Thanks guys, yeah I see what you mean about the issues with the 7 and the PF500. Doesn't help that no-one appears to be 100% sure what causes them to shut down. Still appears to be happening with newer builds too.
I'll widen my search to the rest of the SVT Pro range. Is there a particular SVT Pro that really cuts the mustard?
[/quote]
The 3 pro has great tone but not big on output, not sure about the others.
I had a 7Pro for a while and was thoroughly underwhelmed by it (even through the Genz 8x10 cab I was running at the time). They don't overdrive, so don't expect grit from it. It's a clean pre-amp.
For the money there are far better choices out there, IMO.
but going back to the OP ... It seems that wanting a new rig is a rather bizarre response to playing a gig where your tone is amazing. Personally, I'd be desperate to not change a thing.
There are no pro touring bassists out there who's front of house sound is "just" their amp. It all gets extra compression, EQ etc etc. I wouldn't worry about what components you are using. Once you've got the "tone in your head" don't change a thing.
[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1396787167' post='2417264']
but going back to the OP ... It seems that wanting a new rig is a rather bizarre response to playing a gig where your tone is amazing.
[/quote]
I don't think I described it as amazing but I was really happy with it :-)
I don't want a new rig....I would like an Ampeg head to replace an underwhelming TB being pushed by a VT pedal to sound like an Ampeg....bizarre indeed :-)
Used it at last weeks gig Paul, cracking pedal but...again, only my ears and my opinion, the combination of it and the TB didn't do it for me. Went back to the VT bass for last nights gig and that's what I want out of a head.
I've had an Svt2 which was amazing, an Svt4 which was great, an Svt6 which was ok but noisy and have used an Svt7.......which was gash.
All IMO of course.
Sansamp is the key to great ampeg sounds these days unless you want to splash huge cash and have a strong back.
I wouldn't go with the SVT7pro if you want a lot of break up or distortion, as mentioned earlier it has a pretty clean preamp.
That said, I love mine, I almost sold it until I heard it again with my Laney NX810. On the strength of that I sold all my Aguilar gear, kept the SVT7 and bought a pair of Berg AE112's for the small to medium size gigs I do. When I do get the chance to roll the 810 out the combination is a wonderful thing.
ps, up to now (fingers firmly crossed) I must have been one of the lucky ones. No issues with mine, It goes to every gig / rehearsal and I use it everyday at home for noodling.
This isn't the amp you're looking for...
Seriously. You have got the sound you want right? - many aren't nearly so far along this quest. Best of all, it fits in a bag, doesn't require a 2 man road crew and large vehicle to move around! SO even if you are using another amp, you get the sound!
If it's good enough for Geddy...
I had a SVT7-Pro, for a while, too, and I thought it kinda fell in between two stools: on the one hand, it does a good impression of a 'real' SVT (but it's only an impression, and there are smaller, more practical amps (and pedals like the Sansamp) which can do it just as well IMHO) and it's much, much lighter, but on the other it's still a rackmount heftyish amp (I took the top off mine, and there's loooooaaaads of empty space inside), although it'll go enormously loud, if that's what you're after.
I bought an SVT7 Pro about 4 years ago and have had nothing but problems with it, I returned it for repair as it kept cutting out and after a month or so it was sent back to me with a reported clean bill of health.
It just shows that money is all they are interested in and hope people will keep buying their gear even though the quality control has been lost, I had a Fender Bassman 100 all valve bass head that was also a load of trouble and eventually that was returned for a full refund as it could not be repaired as the main board was so badly damaged by very poor soldering causing shorts across the main PC board which had damaged the power supply etc to make it totally worthless.
I used to have a SVT-7. And I ran into the cutting out issue during a gig, in the middle of the first song. Which is a shame, as it was a fantastic-sounding head, with just the right amount of "hair" to the tone, and gobs of power. I got it fixed and immediately sold it on.
Supposedly the defect has been addressed on newer versions of the head. I've been tempted to get another, but it's a gamble I don't think I want to make. Apparently the new Venture series heads nail the SVT tone, but I've not had a chance to try one yet, and it'll be a "simulated" version, since they have no valves.
@DaveBassMan2115 Try plugging a signal cable between the Send and Return of the Effects Loop to see it that helps. Corroded normalizing contacts on these jacks have caused a lot of problems in the past. If it solves the problem leave a short cable like between effects pedals in place.
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