Johnnyc

Hey guys! So I'm thinking about getting a new cab in the next few months; still going to keep my Super Twelve for smaller shows but I'm after something bigger now that my musical situation is changing and I can afford to be more self-indulgent When I bought the S12 I was in a number of small musical projects playing/rehearsing all over the place and the S12 was great for that, portable, lightweight, sounds amazing and loud as hell. Now I'm only in one band & things are going pretty well for us, we have a few things coming up soon and I'm anticipating playing alot more shows & support slots etc by the end of the year. As it is my rig already gets dwarfed on alot of stages I play now (even though it has more than enough volume). Just for some reference we play rock music (think Deaf Havana, You me at Six Mallory Knox etc) & I play a Fender P-bass through an Ampeg SVT-VR. So I wanted to ask you fellows about the SVT-810AV and the Barefaced 69'er. Obviously they both have their pro's & cons, Barefaced's being lightweight and far more portable, with Alex's magical engineering, but also more squat and somewhat boxy, & the SVT being taller (I'm a tall guy - 6 4" so it's nice to have a cab that bit closer to my ears!) matching my head & looking incredible, though weighing a freaking tonne. We all know what it feels like after a show when you have to pack your gear away... I love the idea of the 810 but I'm not sure I could be bothered with the weight of the SVT every night. Do we know how similar tonally these two cabs are yet? What would you guys choose?

I could get a set of the Brimars on eBay for £20 a pop but would I actually notice the difference? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12AU7-ECC82-BRIMAR-UK-NOS-/260695299591?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Valves_Vacuum_Tubes&hash=item3cb2a69607"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12AU7-ECC82-BRIMAR-UK-NOS-/260695299591?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Valves_Vacuum_Tubes&hash=item3cb2a69607[/url]

Yep I could probably have found them cheaper but I couldn't be arsed to look really. Just whacked on next day delivery too so hopefully they'll arrive in time for me to get the amp fixed for my gig tomorrow! Otherwise i'm gonna have to use my old Ashdown Mag 600

Yeah that's true I picked up some JJ's for a tenner a pop, not so bad!

The issue has now been found! 2 dead 12AU7's in the pre amp and a worn 12AU7 in the driver section. It would be the one type of valve I didn't try wouldn't it!

Just bought Ben's MXR M80 Di, great communication & smooth transaction, item was spotless! Great guy deal with confidence!

Ok so I've just tried changing all the 12ax7's one at a time in the pre amp, no change. Is it worth ordering a 12au7 and trying those or is it time to take it to a professional? Mr Foxen I guess it was a bad idea but it worked at the time

Ok so a bit of an update: I used the amp at rehearsal earlier this week, and I was getting some volume issues as well as the light distortion at times; the volume kept changing while i was playing, like it would seem really quiet so I'd crank it up on the volume knob to where normally it'd be rattling the windows and it would be just about usable, but then it would come back up to normal volume for a few seconds randomly in the middle of songs. Earlier on today I received the valve I ordered so I replaced the driver valve that I thought was the issue, then switched the thing on. It was quiet still but with no distortion. Then I put it in standby to go through my pedal board, switched back on and it was proper loud, but with the distortion. (no pedals were actually on at that point except I was going through the stageclix) Any ideas? Should I start on the pre amp valves?

Ok cheers for the advice guys, seeing as I'm sorting this out rather than taking to a tech I did a bit of homework on what is actually inside my amp (what a novel idea!) Turns out the valve that has been glowing brightly is one of the "driver" valves, a 12AX7. I've ordered a Harma Retro 12AX7 from Watford valves so I'll switch that out when it arrives and see if it fixes the problem. In the meantime, [quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1366621325' post='2054845'] Not an amp I'm familiar with, but if there is one, try feeding a signal, from an ipod or something like, into the FX return. if its still distorted your problems not in the pre amps. [/quote] Bill, if I try that little experiment with the FX loop will the driver valves come into play? They're after the pre amp but before the big 6550's in the power stage I believe.

How does compression make your tone more punchy? I'm rather ignorant on the matter of compression I'm afraid =/

I'm sure it's a pre amp valve as the distortion occurs no matter what volume I use the amp at, and I'm getting a fair bit of general white noise. Plus I only recently changed all the power valves to Sovtek 6550WE's. It's a 2007 SVT so I wouldn't expect much to be wrong with it; one of the pre valves has been running really bright since I bought it & now it's started to distort I guess I actually have to sort it out. I guess that's probs the best option then, I'll just buy some valves and swap the bright one out and see if it fixes it. cheers Johnny

Wow ok yeah just noticed the sticky about amp techs. But the question about still using the amp in this state remains valid.

Hey guys, Does anyone know where I can find someone to service my Ampeg SVT-VR? Probably needs a new pre amp valve so I thought it'd be a good time to get it serviced too. I emailed Surrey Amps but got no response so far. Also what's the general opinion on carrying on using the amp when one or more of the pre amp valves are on the way out? Is it a no go? Just sold my back-up amp too so great timing eh? =/ Cheers Johnny

I usually use the normal channel 1 on the VR, and yeah I've tried to link the "bright" channel 1 into the normal channel 2, you can get some different tonal options but no distortion I'm afraid. I haven't even tried to see at what point the VR starts to break up as it's just so damn loud. I don't think I've ever been past 10 o clock on the volume knob tbh.

Hey there, I currently own an SVT-VR and have briefly owned an SVT-CL (although I only played it through the Ashdown Mag cabs I had at the time). I'm sure more people will be able to explain the differences better than myself but I've found there's something special about the tone of the VR, there's nothing quite like it. I never thought that about the CL although as I mentioned I havent played it though a decent cab. My thoughts on the CL were that it was a solid amp with great tone and an evenness which alot of amps don't seem to nail, also a plus is that it has separate gain and master volume knobs so you can get some grit at decent volume levels; good luck trying to get anything other than clean out of the VR As I'm sure you're aware the CL is the current/modern take on the SVT while the VR is the vintage reissue of the original early 70's blueline SVT's. Johnny

Probably worth mentioning that the HE's are sealed cabinets, the 410hlf is ported and has a tweeter, the 115hlf has no tweeter however.

hmm, is one likely to pay much customs charges on a $280 order?

Just order it from US websites and pay a bit extra on postage. Just seen that I could save not far off £100 on a pedal I was looking at just by ordering from the States. =/

Had no idea the LBGS was so close, if I can find someone to drag along, I, too shall be attending on Sunday =O

Cheers man, not got many gigs booked yet but I'll defo let you know if we play near you! Lol I gotta learn all the harmonies for next fri =/

Hey guys, So I got a band together a few months ago and we just finished recording a few tracks, here's a link to the Soundcloud: [url="http://soundcloud.com/theoceansabove"]http://soundcloud.com/theoceansabove[/url] Would be cool to get some feedback, I know the sound quality isn't amazing but it's pretty decent for the first recordings of a new band. Cheers Johnny