SVT-2pro Or SVT-AV

[Jag_Bassist]

hiya guys this is my first post =]

i am going to be buying a new head unit for my bass cab which is being custom made as we speak ( 4x12 cab in red leather)

i have been quite lucky and found a offer on the internet fgor a svt-2pro for £800. but i have found someone locally who is selling a SVT-AV for the same price and i was wondering what everyones thoughts were on the two amps and which one is better on peoples opinions


let me know


cheers

[umph]

mesa 400+ or matamp

i wouldn't normally go for a newer svt but i guess the av would be the lesser of two evils.

Edited January 28, 2010 by umph

[Anders]

[quote name='umph' post='727166' date='Jan 28 2010, 03:38 AM']mesa 400+ or matamp

i wouldn't normally go for a newer svt but i guess the av would be the lesser of two evils.[/quote]
Doesn't Matamp and mesa 400+ sound the complete opposite way from SVT?
Perhaps the new bassier version of Matamp in that case?
I agree on not buying newer ampeg though.

[basshead56]

There is a certain amount of worry attached to newer Ampegs, as people are fraking out over quality.
There are loads of threads on talkbass about this.
Personally,I like the idea of an American made Ampeg (have a good few bits).
Though as far as I can tell, there is no difference in the higher end tube stuff, compared to the older US ones.
In terms of a choice, I´d go with the 2pro-less of a pain to lug around really, and way more versatile.

If you don´t want to take the AV, I´d be interested, seriously

[Jag_Bassist]

i might go for the av because it will hopefully give me more of a heavy vintage tone and it comes with a fan which is a big bonus cos ive heard the svt-2s overheat very quickly

[Jag_Bassist]

and just out of curiousity why is there such a hate towards new svt's?

[Anders]

[quote name='Jag_Bassist' post='728121' date='Jan 29 2010, 12:24 AM']and just out of curiousity why is there such a hate towards new svt's?[/quote]
I'm not sure it's hate.Just doubt about quality in the longrun.The newer are made in Korea or something in Asia,and the first ones atleast,made in Asia and not in USA had a few problems.
I think they have moved to a different factory in Asia now and i think things are looking up.
There are others with better info i'm sure.

Also,they might not use the same components as the 2005-ish and older ones made in USA.
I have heard people say the new ones sound the same as the USA made,but there are maybe some bad ones qualitywise.

I hope some owners of AV and Classic can tell you more,they don't have the same layout as far as i know with drive-knobs/gain.

I have an SVT IIpro USA made,myself.(just for info)

[basshead56]

[quote name='Jag_Bassist' post='728102' date='Jan 28 2010, 08:56 PM']i might go for the av because it will hopefully give me more of a heavy vintage tone and it comes with a fan which is a big bonus cos ive heard the svt-2s overheat very quickly[/quote]


I´ve not heard much about them overheating before.
I know someone who forgot to take the back cover of his rack and played a 3hour gig with an Ampeg (don´t know if it was a 2,3 or 4PRO though) and overheated it.
But all the higher end ones have heat protection circuits I think.
The AV/CL SVT´s are great but kind of 1 dimensional. The 2 PRO has a wider array of tones, I reckon anyways.

The problems associated with Asian made Ampegs stem from the first few runs of ´Vietnampegs´
Before Ampeg moved again, they were poorly assembled in Vietnam. Most of the range suffered a sharp dip in quality.
Prices in Europe dropped and so did confidence in the brand.
LOUD shifted Ampeg to Korea and pushed for higher quality. The current Ampegs are fine. Still excellent quality. However, there has been an increase in price again (2nd in 9months)
Many people (mostly old-school players, Americans and purists) are gutted that Ampeg is no longer a true american classic and are therefore rubbish.
While they are entitled to their opinions, I don´t agree. They are still Ampeg amps. Still sound great.
Also, I do not agree with the fact that they now cost the same (more in some stores) than when they were a US made brand. When they were in the US they could differentiate themselves in the market by claiming to be one of the last non-asian made amplifier producers and as brand heritage is important to their image, they could command a premium price. but I think price should be reflective of marketplace/consumer perception and cofidence (sorry, marketing is me background)
And the biggest insult is the fact that they will charge even more for the Heritage series this summer!

Anyways, to me, Ampeg is the daddy of bass amps. whatever about recent goings on (Fender and Gibson have QC issues too), they are great.
I would truly love if they moved back to St Louis again, but I´m not going to diss them based on being made in Asia-everything else is these days!

To quote the prophet Dick Valentine (Electric Six) "They call this Making Progress"

Edited January 29, 2010 by basshead56

[Jag_Bassist]

cheers for the advice

im gunna get in touch with the guy selling it seel if its a usa a model or a newer korean model


but all that aside is 800 for a svt-av good? i cant seem to find to much info on this head let alone people selling it

[Finbar]

[quote name='basshead56' post='728521' date='Jan 29 2010, 11:21 AM']I´ve not heard much about them overheating before.
I know someone who forgot to take the back cover of his rack and played a 3hour gig with an Ampeg (don´t know if it was a 2,3 or 4PRO though) and overheated it.[/quote]
How did he plug it in with the rear rack cover on?

[basshead56]

[quote name='Finbar' post='733472' date='Feb 2 2010, 08:54 PM']How did he plug it in with the rear rack cover on?[/quote]


sorry, meant one of those rack blanks with speaker outs/throughs mounted on it

[Anders]

[quote name='Jag_Bassist' post='732357' date='Feb 2 2010, 01:43 AM']cheers for the advice

im gunna get in touch with the guy selling it seel if its a usa a model or a newer korean model


but all that aside is 800 for a svt-av good? i cant seem to find to much info on this head let alone people selling it[/quote]
If you REALLY want to be sure it's an USA.Ask him to take a picture of the serialnumber on the back of it.Then you call ampeg and ask.I got a real quick answer when i did that,i was checking one out on ebay.
My not so professional opinion on the price is,if it's an USA -It's a very good price.
If not- it could be one of the first ones from Korea and they were much cheaper new than the USA ones.So ,maybe not so good price.