I sold my Ampeg SVT Classic head a couple years ago. It is still the best bass sound I’ve ever had but just got too heavy for me since I’m no longer a “spring chicken.” However, I forget how awesome this head is until I get end up playing one again.
Last night I did a gig at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. For their bass backline they have an SVT CL bass rig that included the SVT 8×10 bass cabinet. It sounded amazing and was the perfect blend of warmth and grit. It was excellent at cutting through the two guitar and keyboards mix and it takes a fraction of a second to get a good sound from.
What I miss about the Ampeg bass head is that warmth you get from those tubes. The tone is fat and juicy and I get that rock and roll grit that is harder to get with a solid-state amp. I’m using a Markbass Mini Mark II mostly nowadays and have gotten close to that sound but it still just doesn’t have the juicy, wet and authoritative sound you get from the Ampeg. Some guys like the transparent transistor-like sound you get from an SWR or Eden bass amp. I can’t stand that sound because I’m not a slap player and I like to sit and drive growly bass notes. The Ampeg rules in this.
With two rock guitars and a keyboard player it can get hard for a bass player to find a place in the mix. You end up battling for frequencies in the low-end. With the Ampeg Classic I found my spot in the mix quickly. I was able to support and didn’t have to compete so much. Again I believe the tubes help to deliver a sweet spot of projection, support and drive that is sometimes harder to get from a solid-state amp.
I’m not a fan of bass amps with many control knobs. I just don’t have the patience for it because it changes from room to room which frequencies you boost or pull back. That is what a graphic or parametric EQ helps you do. I just don’t like working with them. Getting a good strong tone quickly and easily is all I want to do. I can remember two of my friends that had SVT rigs before I got mine. The knobs and EQ was ridiculously simple on these amps. No matter where I saw these guys play, their sound was always killing. And that was with an Ampeg 8×10 or Ampeg 410 cabinet. It didn’t matter if it was a club with carpet on the walls or a hockey rink. They sounded monstrous and they never had to do much knob twittering. This is the brilliance of the Ampeg SVT bass rig. A couple twists of a few knobs and you are done. Same thing happened for me at the House of Blues in Anaheim last night. I spent 30 seconds dialing in a sound and didn’t touch my amp again for the rest of the night. I love that!
I still have my Ampeg 6×10 bass cabinet and I still like it better than the Ampeg 810. The 610 is tighter sounding to my ear but still gritty. While I did enjoy playing the 810, I’m glad not to be lifting it around. It is surprisingly more to deal with than the 610 with its extra weight and bulk.
So if you are seeking an awesome sounding bass rig and can handle the heavy lifting, start with the Ampeg SVT Classic bass head. You will get the warmth, grit, mix cutting sound to die for faster than any other bass rig I’ve ever dealt with.