Jimelliottbassist Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Been thinking of getting a U.S. Ampeg rig as I love the tone, but have been researching and have found that not all the cabs are made using plywood; some are made of Chipboard type of material. Has anyone had any experience with these rigs? Should it make any difference? Weight/tone etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave74200 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I owned a USA 810 and a Vietnamese one, sounded both the same. Recently had a Vietnamese 410 HLF which was also awesome. Only sold as I've gone lightweight. Fed up after years of shifting heavy stuff about!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 got a viet head and a us cab, sounds ace to me but not heard a us head so don't know how different/better they sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slap_it_hard Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 If it's made in China, forget it Gear released without checking it works properly & revisions prove it...SVT7 PRO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 owned a 610hlf for a long time awesome cab! andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Ampeg always seemed to maintain the "Ampeg sound" across their cabs and amps so I'd expect there to be no difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I had a 610HLF and it was the fasted cab I've moved on. I found it very un-musical. I bought without trying first and I'd not do that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 [quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1417719716' post='2623473'] I had a 610HLF and it was the fasted cab I've moved on. I found it very un-musical. I bought without trying first and I'd not do that again. [/quote] course its unmusical, its supposed to demolish small countries or something innit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I've got a US SVT 4 PRO and a US 610HLF - big sound, big heavy gear. Worth it though - headroom for miles. Never had a moment's grief with this rig other than weight (it's all cased). Played a US SVT II and 80's 810 a couple of times and I think it was the nicest tone I've ever had (in my head anyway, maybe I am romanticising it a bit) - Just P Bass and SVT. Played a support slot last Saturday night using the main band's backline, which included a Vietnampeg SVT VR, through a Chinese??? B series 410 - awful, awful sounding cab. Couldn't get a decent sound out of it all through soundcheck, sounded really 'thin' and rattled a bit. Maybe a speaker issue, not sure but I quickly went home after soundcheck and chucked my Mesa Scout Radiator 15 in the boot. I asked the other guy if he minded if I used my cab for our set and offered to let him use it for his. He said go for it but was happy with his sound so wanted to keep using the 4x10 - he didn't like 15's anyway, "too flappy". I plugged in the cab and it was right first time, no tweaking at all needed - I even used his eq settings the way they were for our set too, just turned the volume down a touch. I played our set and the VR was huge through the Mesa cab, amazingly clear, a touch of grit and big! First time in ages I've turned my VT pedal off - no need to simulate an SVT when playing through the genuine article! The other guys went on after us and all but emptied the venue; feedback, hiss, terrible timing (not sure the bass player and drummer had even met before!!!) bass was noisy and in & out in terms of clarity and the singer was a twat! I love the 'Ampeg sound', it's that growl that gets me. I like my Mesa M Pulse for its clarity and the Marshall VBA for sheer old-school valve goodness, but Ampeg SVT's just have 'that' sound. When I get this wedding out of the way I will definitely be going on the hunt for an SVT AV and matching 8x10 (this may take a while!) Anyway, I guess the heavier US stuff is better, at least in terms of cabs, in my limited experience of nowt much else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) I think it was just the last few years of USA production that they changed over to OSB (Oriented Strand Board) for their cabinets. Although the catalogue at the time I got my 610AV in 2006 said Baltic Birch Ply, on looking inside (as you do) I discovered it was OSB. Have not found it to be an issue tho'. I think when it went to the far east they resumed the ply construction. I did hear in the Marshall factory tour video that I watched last week (youtube) that the guy said they used OSB on their large bass cabs for some specific reason but didn't quite hear what it was. Edited December 5, 2014 by goingdownslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsgbass Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 I'm using a US made Ampeg Heritage SVT-410HLF, with a Fender Super Bassman on top. It balances out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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