# (Sort of) New Bass Amp Day.... Ampeg SVT-7Pro!



## Metalman X (Sep 11, 2013)

Okay... been looking for a bass amp to graduate to from my hartke HA2500... needed more power, and a tone with more 'character' to it. At least, a character better suited to what I'm wanting to achieve.

After much research and some trial and error, I settled on the Ampeg SVT 7-Pro. This puppy has that classic grinding Ampeg tone, coupled with a nice 1000watt power rating for ampe headroom. The fact that it only weighs 15lbs is some tasty icing on an already delicious cake. 

In fact, I currently fit it and my Bass Pod XT Pro altogether in a 12" deep 4 space Gator rack case. I have the Pod hooked up using the 4 cable method, so I can dial the SVT for it's famous grind (with the Pods Sansamp driver model pushing a little extra hair into the SVT's preamp), and switch to a clean bass tone with some chorus and delay if I like.... kinda like going from a Rex Brown inspired tone to Justin Chancellor inspired tone with a single tap of the foot. It's so nice having this much versatility and the power to push it loud all in one compact, 30lb box... my troubled lower back loves it too.

But yeah... the 7-Pro is a sick amp, with lots of tone and power on it's own, and well worth the price.

HOWEVER.....

This is my second 7-Pro that just arrived. The first one I got a month ago would stop outputting after about 15 minutes of rehearsal. And I only had the master volume at just past 9 o'clock (with one high gain guitarist and a hard hitting drummer.... yup... headroom ;-) ). The input signal lights we're all blinking and lighting accordingly. Just nothing came out of the speakers all of the sudden. Amp wasn't even hot, and no weird smells came from it. Turned it off, waited a minute, turned back on... still no output. Unhooked all effects and ran straigh from bass to amp to cab.... still nothing. Took a smoke break with the band, came back 30 minutes later, hooked everything back up, turned it on and it worked fine again for about 10 minutes than no output again.

I bought it new from Sam Ash, so I sent it back for a replacement. Both that one, and the replacement are Revision C00, which is supposedly the 'stable' version with the purported bugs worked out in the Class D amp. So hoping my first one was just a statistical dud. I don't have a bass cab in my apartment to test it out (nor could I... I'd want to test it at at least rehearsal volumes which I cannot do at my place lest I anger the natives), so hopefully were rehearsing tonight and I can confirm this one is a keeper.

The 'cutting out' bugs have been well documented over at like Talkbass, so it's a known issue with this head. But that aside, if you can get a stable one of these, it's a LOT of amp in a nice sized box, with that classic SVT tone. General knowledge is to seek a Revision C00 or higher and you should be golden (if you buy used, keep that in mind).

I mainly run this amp with a couple of Traben basses.... a 4 string Element (tuned to drop C) and a 5 string Chaos (tuned to A standard). My main tone is the head dialed with plenty of boosted upper mids, slightly rolled back treble, and bass just above flat. I set the amp for a medium drive, than use a Sansamp model in my Line 6 to push the gain a little harder and add some metallic 'clank' to it as well. Kind of a cross between Rex Brown and DD Verni's (Overkill) early 00's tone. The band I'm now working with does riff heavy groove stuff.... Pantera, Crowbar, and Gojira being the most notable influences. I stopped playing with a pick as I find I'm getting better control and a harder, more aggressive sound with my fingers (smack'em hard!). My cabinet is a Behringer 4x10 with aluminum cones... which holds up surprisingly well and sounds better than you'd expect (although I had plans to replace it with an Ampeg 6x10 but I just got laid off last week.... grrrr.... )

If I have rehearsal tonight I'll grab some pics of the rig since my cab is there.


----------



## iron blast (Sep 12, 2013)

sweet man happy new Ampeg day I love both of mine


----------



## Metalman X (Sep 12, 2013)

iron blast said:


> sweet man happy new Ampeg day I love both of mine



Thanx duder! 

What Ampegs do you have?


----------



## Metalman X (Sep 12, 2013)

Also, just a follow up...

replacement 7-Pro ran flawlesly at last nights rehearsal for the entire 3 hours or so. 

Also pushed the gain a on the head a bit harder... up around 3 o'clock, and thats with my Traben Elements pick-ups both at full volume, the Trabens active mid knob at almost full tilt (bass and treble left flat), and I leave the amps active pad disengaged. Makes for an awesomely full-but-clear sounding overdrive with a nice metallic edge to it. Also, I only needed to leave the master volume at like 9 o'clock. This thing has power to spare! 

I did however forget to take pic's... but in my defense, I was too busy just loving the sounds I was making with this rig


----------



## Metalman X (Sep 12, 2013)

Well, just took a couple pics of the rack in my apartment, sans 4x10, which is at my rehearsal space:


----------



## DaemonRage (Sep 12, 2013)

Thanks for input on the SVT 7 Pro. I'm currently shopping around for a head to match up with my Ampeg 610HLF I just picked up and was researching the SVT 7 pro. Just no headroom left on my Peavey Tour 450 head. I am actually looking for basically the same tone you're using.


----------



## Metalman X (Sep 13, 2013)

DaemonRage said:


> Thanks for input on the SVT 7 Pro. I'm currently shopping around for a head to match up with my Ampeg 610HLF I just picked up and was researching the SVT 7 pro. Just no headroom left on my Peavey Tour 450 head. I am actually looking for basically the same tone you're using.



Well dude, definitely look into a 7 Pro than.... you'll have that tone, plus plenty of power to spare. Hell... mine is capable of being freaky loud through a mere Behringer 4x10. I can only imagine what it'd do through that 6x10. In fact, that cab is the one I was planning to upgrade to if I hadn't gotten laid off last week.

I've been pushing the gain a little harder on the amp with excellent results. Tone I get is very similar to this:

(though I add a bit of sharpness and upper harmonics using the Pod's BDDI model in front of it... but the bulk of the tone is still mostly from my basses and this amp)

Also worth mentioning... even f your using active basses, don't use the pad on the amp, unless you want a cleaner tone. Myself, and others, have found that just leaving the active pad off yields a fuller, ballsier sound... in other words, what you should expect from an Ampeg SVT. 

Also, make sure the sticker on the back of the head says "Rev C00" or higher. The Rev A's and B's seem to have a high rate of reported issues with the amp's protection limiter, and other output problems. Even a few of the C's seem to have some issues (but a much smaller number... unfortunately my first one was one of them), so be aware. That aside, I'm in no way trashing this amp. so long as you get a stable one, it's a monster.


----------



## iron blast (Sep 16, 2013)

Metalman X said:


> Thanx duder!
> 
> What Ampegs do you have?



I have a Svt-4pro and a B2r as a back up. I'm having to get my svt-4pro serviced for a 2nd time for a similar Issue my sound cuts out and the clip/mute led lights up. I had it taken in and had the the sauder joints on the mute switch redone and a few other points but the I'm still getting the same issue. The sound is amazing when it works though


----------

