Do I need a fridge?

[Lozz196]

Great idea to add in another Compact. I`d def be wary of putting a heavy - as in SVT2 weight - on top of two of these though, stick to the light amps. Topple city methings. Soundwise I reckon it would be great though.

[Shaggy]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1445523061' post='2892125']
Simply buy an old Cortina estate, load the Fridge into the back, throw a tartan rug over it and park it out of sight round the corner.

The Mrs will never know.
[/quote]

Rumbled........ I thought I was the only one who'd done that!

Have to admit I've never tried an 8x10, but have had on/off affairs with Mesa 1516's over the years, which have a mass roughly equal to the sun - still have one
Modern cabs are fab, but nothing seems to move air like a big old-school cab......

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1445536535' post='2892278']
Great idea to add in another Compact. I`d def be wary of putting a heavy - as in SVT2 weight - on top of two of these though, stick to the light amps. Topple city methings. Soundwise I reckon it would be great though.
[/quote]

Nah, the Ampeg head will stop the BF cabs blowing away in the breeze at outdoor gigs!

[JTUK]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1445530634' post='2892215']
The small pub version of this rig is to get a couple of Ampeg SVT210AV cabs - cheap and light and takes up about 1 square foot of space when stacked vertically, which results in a tower of power roughly equivalent to half a fridge. Amp-wise I would recommend the Tech21 VT Bass amp to go with it - not the Ampeg Micro VR that was designed to go with the cabs ironically, since it it goes snap crackle and pop when hooked up to two of these cabs! Or if you have a decent micro amp already just add a VT Bass pedal for that SVT flavour.
[/quote]

hmmmm

someone..?? surely..??

[Roger2611]

[quote name='Shaggy' timestamp='1445537123' post='2892288']
Rumbled........ I thought I was the only one who'd done that!

Have to admit I've never tried an 8x10, but have had on/off affairs with Mesa 1516's over the years, which have a mass roughly equal to the sun - still have one
Modern cabs are fab, but nothing seems to move air like a big old-school cab......
[/quote]

Totally agree I really miss my 1516 cab (other than the weight of the damn thing!) it didn't matter what stage I played on, what the acoustics were I could always hear every note I played, much as I like the weight of my Markbass setup it doesn't sound as good as the Mesa did.

True story...one of my first bass cabs was an H + H 8x10 which as with every other 8x10 of the time weighed at least a ton, I kept it in the garage at home, the only way I could get it in the car was flat on its back with the seats down.....not concentrating fully I went over a new fangled speed hump a bit too fast launching the cab into the air....landing with an almighty crash, I thought nothing of it and continued to the rehearsal....for some reason the cab no longer worked, I took it into my local guitar shop who checked it over and confirmed I had killed all eight speakers in one go, I can't remember what I did with the remains but that was the last 8x10 I ever owned, after that it was 1x15 and 4x10 cabs until I acquired the Mesa 1516

[0175westwood29]

something for my just worked when i played thru an 810 for the first time, something about the sealed cab and the way its built just works for me, ive tried alot of rigs but my ashdown is the one that stuck around (i know this thread is about ampegs but my mag is a sealed 810) that works with the way i play, yes there are lighter and more efficient cabs out there but for me its the 810.

and if you have decent band mates and a reasonable car the moving around really isnt to bad.

Andy

[tauzero]

Funnily enough, we rehearsed at a place with a SVT-350 (the SS one) and a fridge, and I thought the sound was absolutely dreadful with no depth, all mids, vastly inferior to my own gear using two 1x12s.

[steve-bbb]

could always go for two 4x10s and store them in different locations and if challenged by SWMBO you could claim there is only one - as for the head, SWMBO will not know what is inside the hard rack case unless she takes the cover lid off ....

[phil.c60]

Mmm.... not sure about that, Steve - she's quite savvy. As I currently leave the house with my Compact in one hand and my LM3 tucked under my arm, the sight of me sweating (swearing?) my way out of the house with and SVT would not go unnoticed! She really wouldn't mind if I bought one, but although she doesn't mind at all about having bass guitars or even my DB (which I haven't even really started with yet) or my spare Ampeg B200r dottted around the house but I think the fridge stuck in the sitting room might be a bridge too far. The previously mentioned Cortina estate however........now there's an idea!

[discreet]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1445677371' post='2893260']
Funnily enough, we rehearsed at a place with a SVT-350 (the SS one) and a fridge, and I thought the sound was absolutely dreadful with no depth, all mids, vastly inferior to my own gear using two 1x12s.
[/quote]

It [i]is [/i]funny... I did an audition a month or two ago with an SVT350H and an Ampeg 8X10 and it sounded totally amazing. I also did yet another audition where the supplied rig was an SVT350 with an Ampeg 410HLF and that was also totally amazing. In fact, as a direct result of these experiences, I bought an Ampeg SVT350H... so there you go, one man's sparkly diamonds are another man's bucket of spew. No accounting for taste, there's nowt as queer as folk, it would be a dull world if we all liked the same thing, yadda yadda.

Edit: You [i]were [/i]using a P bass, right..?

Edited October 24, 2015 by discreet

[Marvin]

I've only played through a fridge once (an Ashdown MAG 810 in a rehearsal room). It was great fun. The presence of the sound was what got me.

Fridges are awesome!

....until you have to move one. Even wheeling it across the rehearsal room wasn't much fun. I think it weighed more than me. :-/

Edited October 24, 2015 by Marvin

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1445679223' post='2893284']
Mmm.... not sure about that, Steve - she's quite savvy. As I currently leave the house with my Compact in one hand and my LM3 tucked under my arm, the sight of me sweating (swearing?) my way out of the house with and SVT would not go unnoticed! She really wouldn't mind if I bought one, but although she doesn't mind at all about having bass guitars or even my DB (which I haven't even really started with yet) or my spare Ampeg B200r dottted around the house but I think the fridge stuck in the sitting room might be a bridge too far. The previously mentioned Cortina estate however........now there's an idea!
[/quote]

disguise the cabs as a coffee table with cunning use of smoked glass and fancy trinkets

edit - and perhaps leave a suitably distracting coffee table book on the aforementioned cunningly disguised coffee table

Edited October 24, 2015 by steve-bbb

[phil.c60]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1445680523' post='2893307']
It [i]is [/i]funny... I did an audition a month or two ago with an SVT350H and an Ampeg 8X10 and it sounded totally amazing. I also did yet another audition where the supplied rig was an SVT350 with an Ampeg 410HLF and that was also totally amazing. In fact, as a direct result of these experiences, I bought an Ampeg SVT350H... so there you go, one man's sparkly diamonds are another man's bucket of spew. No accounting for taste, there's nowt as queer as folk, it would be a dull world if we all liked the same thing, yadda yadda.

Edit: You [i]were [/i]using a P bass, right..?
[/quote]

I don't think the input on an SVT accepts anything else, does it? I've also been told that they don't work unless you're using flats!

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1445680780' post='2893315']
disguise the cabs as a coffee table with cunning use of smoked glass and fancy trinkets

edit - and perhaps leave a suitably distracting coffee table book on the aforementioned cunningly disguised coffee table

[/quote]

How did you know we need a new coffee table?

[discreet]

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1445681254' post='2893323']
I don't think the input on an SVT accepts anything else, does it? I've also been told that they don't work unless you're using flats!
[/quote]

They work very well using flats, but an all-tube SVT on full song through an 8X10 using a P with rounds is a very beautiful experience.

[ubit]

I've compromised and have an SVT2 pro with a Barefaced super twin and dare I say.... What a sound!

[discreet]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1445683899' post='2893366']
I've compromised and have an SVT2 pro with a Barefaced super twin and dare I say... What a sound!
[/quote]

Yes, that'll work.
I've had quite serious GAS for a Super Twin lately, but thankfully my 21012L has come up trumps.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1445520150' post='2892098']
Played with some new guys at a new (to me) rehearsal room last night, and guess what: there, lurking in the corner was the supplied bass rig, an Ampeg 8x10 with an Ampeg amp perched on the top. Stupidly, I didn't look at the amp model number. Set it all flat, plugged in my trusty Hot Rod P, and away I went. Oh My Dear Lord, what a sound. I have never had the opportunity to play through one of these before, but did I say - Oh My Dear Lord what a sound.
I play mostly smallish pub gigs with my Barefaced Compact and LM3, which is plenty. But.......I am wandering around at work thinking "can I fit it in my car? Would it be [i]that [/i]outrageous to turn up with it? Can I actually lift an SVT and plonk it on the top at my age?" not to mention how to sneak (!) it into the house (disguised as a fridge, perhaps?).
Can anybody help me?
[/quote]

If you get a chance to try it again, try to work out exactly what it is about it that you liked, is it the way it overdrives ?, headroom ?, a difference in the frequency response ?, speakers pointing directly at your ears etc. Chances are you can emulate some of those characteristics at least partially without radical change to your current gear if you can classify what the improvements are more specifically. One way to help with this would be to try swapping amps and speakers e.g. trying your LM through the ampeg cab and the SVT through the compact, a kind of elimination process.

Edited October 24, 2015 by bassman7755

[ubit]

I briefly used a Genz Benz 6x10 which isn't a kick in the arse off fridge size wise and I loved it purely for the fact the speakers were at ear level ( more or less) it was the enormous weight that stopped me from using it. The sound was lovely right enough , but I'm more than happy with the super twin. I reckon it's the speaker height that's the deal breaker with big speaker enclosures!

[Number6]

Not having to keep bending over to pick up your in gig beverage is very important.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1445685322' post='2893386']
I briefly used a Genz Benz 6x10 which isn't a kick in the arse off fridge size wise and I loved it purely for the fact the speakers were at ear level
[/quote]

Yes that makes a big difference, you can get some good results by tilting back a smaller can IME though. Every small/medium cab owner should have one of these in their gig bag http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stagg-Foldable-Monitor-Floor-Stand/dp/B000YL952E

Edited October 24, 2015 by bassman7755

[discreet]

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1445685322' post='2893386']
I briefly used a Genz Benz 6x10 which isn't a kick in the arse off fridge size wise and I loved it purely for the fact the speakers were at ear level ( more or less)...
[/quote]

I'd say 'less'. Quite a lot less. But if you're vertically challenged, I apologise unreservedly.

[discreet]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1445686289' post='2893396']
...you can get some good results by tilting back a smaller can IME though. Every small/medium cab owner should have one of these in their gig bag [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stagg-Foldable-Monitor-Floor-Stand/dp/B000YL952E"]http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/B000YL952E[/url]
[/quote]

I agree about cab-tilting. I have one of [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/accessories-c2/stands-and-hangers-c70/stagg-stagg-low-professional-amp-monitor-floor-stand-p6954"]these[/url] which has served me well and has a footprint smaller than the cab. The problem is, if you tilt the cab to an angle where you can hear it properly then that pretty much precludes putting a heavy amp on top. If there's room you can put it on the floor of course, or under the cab if you use the appropriate stand, but it's not ideal.

[JTUK]

My feeling would be that the SVTll power stage rescues the Ampeg EQ stage...which I'm not at all fussed about as
an EQ section. As in, I wouldn't buy the SVTlll pro or the pre amp for the EQ myself.

I think the Ampeg sound has been hijacked by Aguilar who have moved it on, IMO but there
is still something about the Big valve block and the EQ part is largely irrellevant or doesn't have to work
very hard. In the same was as the DB750 EQ is subtle and frankly, needs no more than that anyway.

It is all about the output stage...plus the 810 is a great match.
This is why I thought the comment about the simulation kit was totally missing the point.

The TH500 can get close to a DB amp but if you can't tell the difference, I'd really worry..?

I get why people want the light solution, but you should still hear the difference.
That is not a criticism. I think this thread largely agrees with that point..ie, the SVTll plus 810
is totally impractical and pretty basic but it works.
It is harder to get a 'great' sound...as opposed to the sheer presense of the sound which makes it...
than it is to get a bad sound. Maybe that is half its appeal as well.

Edited October 24, 2015 by JTUK

[discreet]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1445688062' post='2893416']
My feeling would be that the SVTll power stage rescues the Ampeg EQ stage...which I'm not at all fussed about as
an EQ section. As in, I wouldn't buy the SVTlll pro or the pre amp for the EQ myself.
[/quote]

I would agree that power stages are generally underrated when it comes to assessing bass tone. A big valve power stage has a lot to do with 'that' Ampeg valve sound and I believe big iron transformers have a lot to do with the perceived slam and heft. Which is why, though SS power stages are thought to be unimportant, I currently prefer Class A/B power stages with large (usually toroidal) transformers in them.

Also, I bought an Ampeg SVP 5-valve rack preamp a while back (which I believe is similar to the SVT Pro series preamp and EQ) and used it with a big SS power amp. I couldn't get a single sound out of it that I liked and it had to go.

[dannybuoy]

If you do go the all-valve route, you should probably look at the Ampeg V4B instead of the SVT. 100W vs 300W - not only cheaper and lighter, but let's you get the sound of pushed tubes at useable volumes. You would blow the roof off of most small venues with an SVT + 810 if you wanted those power tubes cooking nicely!