Ampeg Classic SVT
Question:
Readers/Fellow Bassists: I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an Acoustic 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a better cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch? I love the sound with a pick but crave more bass/bottom/depth when I play with fingers. I must admit I cannot stand the sound of the ultra high low/high boost switches. Would changing the tubes help and if so to which tubes? Or less master and vice versa. Also, I do not have my bass guitar volumes up high at all. To achieve more round and bottom I have the bass quiet and the amp up. You know how something sounds great in the music store but not at home. Well…. Any help would be greatly appreciated, JP
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Readers/Fellow Bassists: > I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have > recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an Acoustic > 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender > sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a better > cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only > allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ > what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch? I > love the sound with a pick but crave more bass/bottom/depth when I play with > fingers. I must admit I cannot stand the sound of the ultra high low/high > boost switches. Would changing the tubes help and if so to which tubes? Or > less master and vice versa. Also, I do not have my bass guitar volumes up > high at all. To achieve more round and bottom I have the bass quiet and the > amp up. > You know how something sounds great in the music store but not at home. > Well…. > Any help would be greatly appreciated, > JP
I just finished several gigs with the ampeg svt pre amp.. buttons, graphic eq, some kinda five position switch.. and boy am I glad it’s gone. but lows.. it had tons of lows. running via a single fifteen at the time. with the low boost on it had lows aplenty.. use the eq and it would shake that 15 incher off the stand. ok. milk crate. So I have no clue.. interesting contradiction though.. Twang! — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Response:
>> I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have > recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an >Acoustic > 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender > sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a >better > cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only > allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ > what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch?
I owned SVT’s for 20 years with the 8 x 10" cabs, and never ever wanted for more bass. However, some guys just like 15’s, so I would recommend getting the SVT cabinet that has 4 10"s and a 15". I play a gig in Idaho regularly once a year and that’s the amp/cab they always have for me. I don’t care a whole lot for 15"s but I sure like that cabinet. Also, I might suggest biamping.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Readers/Fellow Bassists: > I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have > recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an > Acoustic > 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender > sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a > better > cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only > allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ > what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch? > I > love the sound with a pick but crave more bass/bottom/depth when I play > with > fingers. I must admit I cannot stand the sound of the ultra high low/high > boost switches. Would changing the tubes help and if so to which tubes? Or 10, gain > less master and vice versa. Also, I do not have my bass guitar volumes up > high at all. To achieve more round and bottom I have the bass quiet and > the > amp up. > You know how something sounds great in the music store but not at home. > Well…. > Any help would be greatly appreciated,
I suspect you just found the problem in your own post. It could be the room’s acoustics. I have had similar things happen with my Acoustic 371, and that amp certainly did not hurt at producing lows. The only Ampeg SVT that I am familiar with was from thirty years ago. It too had no problem developing lows, however the 8×10 cabinet did not seem capable of producing the super low frequencies that I liked. The bassist friend that owned the Ampeg SVT setup finally went with a folded horn by Ampeg. That had the lows, for sure. When playing in some small venues with my 371, I noticed a lack of lows. What was happening was that the lows were forming up just fine, but outside of the building. My solution was to buy a couple of Sunn Coliseum bass cabinets with Vega 18" speakers. These were bass reflex and seemed to do the job well in small venues. I only used one, by the way. Two would have demolished most small clubs. I suspect that 15" bass reflex cabs, or perhaps a bass reflex cab with two good quality 15" speakers might have worked similarly. I do love the 18" speakers. If there was something bigger, I would buy it, if I was still a working bass player. I suspect that it has something to do with wavelength and room size. Anyway, the bass reflex cabs worked great in smaller rooms. Nothing touched the Acoustic 301 cabinet for large rooms. You know, the Jazz bass really isn’t the one to use for super deep bass. The Precision bass would be a better choice. But you probably knew that. If your SVT head is anything like the one I am familiar with, I do not believe that the problem lies there. Good luck finding the solution you seek. Ed Cregger
Response:
There is a danger to having too much bottom, where the notes have no definition, are practically indistinguishable from one another, uncomfortable for the audience to absorb, and nearly unmusical in their impact on your group’s sound. Be careful what you wish for, because you just may end up with it. Above all else, you want a sound that mixes well, and such a sound for bass is never dominated by the extreme low frequencies, which to an audience in a big room are nothing more than a giant, amorphous thud. Think texture instead. The thrust and the musicality are in the mids, whether they are high or low, and they are what you perceive as the bass in recordings. I guarantee it. What sounds good when you are alone in a carpeted room is an altogether different thing than what sounds good with your band in a bar or concert hall. Don’t just play hard; play smart. Edward G. — "You don’t always get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get." –Don King — – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Readers/Fellow Bassists: > I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have > recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an Acoustic > 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender > sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a better > cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only > allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ > what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch? I > love the sound with a pick but crave more bass/bottom/depth when I play with > fingers. I must admit I cannot stand the sound of the ultra high low/high > boost switches. Would changing the tubes help and if so to which tubes? Or > less master and vice versa. Also, I do not have my bass guitar volumes up > high at all. To achieve more round and bottom I have the bass quiet and the > amp up. > You know how something sounds great in the music store but not at home. > Well…. > Any help would be greatly appreciated, > JP
Response:
I currently own the Ampeg SVT and i’m running it through a simple Hartke 2×10 most of the time (for space issues), but i use a 210 and a 15 for performance. But even with the 210 alone, i rarely crank the bass all the way full unless i’m really driving the amp with the Gain at 10 as well. I think the problem may be the room acoustics where you are playing. If you’re playing on a concrete floor, it would sound light years different than if you’re playing on a wooden floor with a basement or other levels underneath. Try it in different rooms. If you see that the speakers are moving and breathing like crazy but you’re not really hearing what you’re seeing, that should be suspect number one. Try the sucker out in the biggest room you can, and then in the smallest room, and note the difference. Good luck. Mike-the-ampeg-rattles-my-balls-Rocha – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Readers/Fellow Bassists: > I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have > recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an Acoustic > 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender > sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a better > cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only > allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ > what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch? I > love the sound with a pick but crave more bass/bottom/depth when I play with > fingers. I must admit I cannot stand the sound of the ultra high low/high > boost switches. Would changing the tubes help and if so to which tubes? Or > less master and vice versa. Also, I do not have my bass guitar volumes up > high at all. To achieve more round and bottom I have the bass quiet and the > amp up. > You know how something sounds great in the music store but not at home. > Well…. > Any help would be greatly appreciated, > JP
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> There is a danger to having too much bottom, where the notes have no > definition, are practically indistinguishable from one another, > uncomfortable for the audience to absorb, and nearly unmusical in their > impact on your group’s sound. Be careful what you wish for, because you > just may end up with it. Above all else, you want a sound that mixes well, > and such a sound for bass is never dominated by the extreme low frequencies, > which to an audience in a big room are nothing more than a giant, amorphous > thud. Think texture instead. The thrust and the musicality are in the > mids, whether they are high or low, and they are what you perceive as the > bass in recordings. I guarantee it. > What sounds good when you are alone in a carpeted room is an altogether > different thing than what sounds good with your band in a bar or concert > hall. > Don’t just play hard; play smart. > Edward G.
What you are saying is true, Edward. Many years ago, I noticed that what most people thought of as deep bass was actually in the 200 Hz range. Much deeper than that and it was not really muddy at all. It was when the amp/guitar combo focused most of its energy in the 200 Hz region that the muddiness associated with deep bass occurred. Again, all of this is affected by the room’s acoustics. Psychoacoustically speaking, the deepest bass I ever heard was when my brother played in a band at the high school back in the late sixties, early seventies. He was using nylon tape wrapped strings on a very long scale bass guitar. This was going through a Coral bass amp equipped with 4×12" speakers. I didn’t know it then, but both the bass and the amp were made by Danelectro. Anyway, each note was clearly defined, yet the bass was as thick in the air as a milkshake. It was one of the neatest bass sounds I have ever heard. Very musical, very defined and tactily (sp?)satisfying and not in the least bit offensive. It was very unique. Ed Cregger
Response:
This my sound totally crazy but I never liked the should of my 70’s SVT until I hit the LOW CUT switch. There is actually so much low in the cab that it eats up the low mids that create the punch. It may not be the magic cure for you like it was for me, but it will cost you nothing to try. Rocco www.sugarfuzz.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Readers/Fellow Bassists: > I have a question regarding this amp. I play a ‘64 Fender Jazz and have > recently purchased a SVT Classic with 8×10’s since I cannot find an Acoustic > 360. I wanted a simple amp with less knobs and that classic ’70s Fender > sound. My problem is I find I’m wanting more bottom. Would 2×15 be a better > cabinet? Or is there something in the "classic" SVT circuitry that is only > allowing this tone? Is the Anniversary amp the same? Besides using an EQ > what options are there to add depth and bottom to a very mid range punch? I > love the sound with a pick but crave more bass/bottom/depth when I play with > fingers. I must admit I cannot stand the sound of the ultra high low/high > boost switches. Would changing the tubes help and if so to which tubes? Or > less master and vice versa. Also, I do not have my bass guitar volumes up > high at all. To achieve more round and bottom I have the bass quiet and the > amp up. > You know how something sounds great in the music store but not at home. > Well…. > Any help would be greatly appreciated, > JP
Response:
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