tonewheels Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Having a masssive dilemma. Getting on a bit in years and decided that humping my 1974 SVT and 8x10 to gigs, rehearsals and even duo gigs was getting a bit silly. Quite impressed with Barefaced attitude and tech competence and went with a 2x12 Super Twin with a GK MB Fusion 500 head. Quite nice! Went for the One10 too because it's so cute and good for rehearsals. Got the SVT stack out of storage to sell and made the huge mistake of plugging in to check that it was working. Oh, bloody hell that sounds good. Playing with the idea of Getting rid of the 8x10, the BF 2x12 and 1x10 (both cloth of course) and getting a a BF Retro 210 which I can partner with the SVT or the GK. And, of course, the SVT can drive into 2 ohms so I can get another for more welly if necessary. Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 As long as carting the SVT about isn`t an issue, as it`s the sound you like, I reckon the SVT and the Retro 210 would be good, but [u]two[/u] Barefaced Retro 210s I`d bet would be awesome. And you can get a splitter cable/box to enable use of the two 210s with the GK. That said, I`d only buy the one Retro 210 to start off with, it may well be plenty for what you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Mark Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I recently made the mistake(?) of dragging my (relatively) heavy weight ceramic magnet speaker loaded Bergantino HT112ER and EX112ER cabs out of storage and trying them with my Bugera SVT copy and was amazed how great it all sounded. Tubes plus ceramic wins hands down in my recent experience but my back says MB LM3 plus my Bergs is my gigging rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonewheels Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thanks chaps. And then there's the rather genius idea of keeping the One10 as part of a really portable rig and partnering with the 2x10 to give 2 or 3 db more output with the Retro 210 when necessary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 The SVT and 8x10 is absolute garbage. I wouldn't waste another second dwelling on it. PM me your address and leave it on the curb and I will fly north and cart it off for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 If you can't lift it it doesn't matter how good it sounds. Don't torment yourself. I believe Ashdown valve amps sound pretty good with Barefaced cabs. . . and there's always a Retro410, 610 or 810. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheth Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1444203003' post='2880998'] If you can't lift it it doesn't matter how good it sounds. Don't torment yourself. I believe Ashdown valve amps sound pretty good with Barefaced cabs. . . and there's always a Retro410, 610 or 810. [/quote] They do indeed, I love mine with my Supercompact. Edited October 7, 2015 by Fisheth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1444203003' post='2880998'] If you can't lift it it doesn't matter how good it sounds. Don't torment yourself. [/quote] There is wisdom there, it takes a second to injure your back and a lifetime to live with that injury. Whilst I'm a huge Ampeg fan (I've a B-15 and V4-B, neither at SVT power or weight), aTech 21 VT Bass though a lightweight rig will get you close enough for most audiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I`ve found that the SVT3-PRO - with a change of pre-amp valves for more gain - is pretty near the full SVT, and is much more doable. Pairs nicely with a Barefaced Super 12 as well. The heft of the sound is nicely there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Well, at least you know what you might be giving up as it sounds the business to you. For me, 'bloody hell, that sounds good' trumps 'quiet nice' but there are practicalities to consider. I'd keep the big rig as there isn't anything like a big rig with Iron in it..IMO..and that is your No 1 to come out on special occasions or really discerning gigs where you can get help with the load-in... and use the B rig for all else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I have some wonderful amplification stuff in my studio including full-on valve (Matamp) and valve preamp (Demeter) plus top-end solid state power (Digam). I love the sound it all makes, and I love playing through it. Back in the real world of The King's Head and The Red Lion, Survival Studios and my own garage, my newly-acquired Tonehammer 350 (thanks Lozz) plus first-generation Barefaced Midget is more than adequate for anything I've done this year. Sad, but true. The Tonehammer weighs about as much as the book I'll be reading tonight. The Midget weighs more than my bass (in a gigbag), but only because I use very lightweight basses. YMMV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonewheels Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 Well, I've pulled the trigger on a Tech 21 VT Bass DI pedal so we're going to have a merry day trying various permutations of pedal, GK Class D and Ashdown ABM heads, SVT head and Ampeg 8x10 and Barefaced 2x12 and 2 x One10 cabs. Will report back with samples. May Youtube it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tdw Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Why not just sell the 8 x 10. The svt and barefaced 212 should be a good "full" rig for special occasions, and you could just use the fusion plus either cab for smaller gigs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonewheels Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Had an interesting day trying various combinations. First conclusion is that the SVT is just too bloody heavy to consider using at my age (heading towards my 7th decade) Second conclusion is that the Tech 21 VT bass pedal is just a fuzz box. Returned The GK sounds great, definitely a keeper. Tonehammer TH350 amp loaned to us was, again, a bit of a fuzz box. The Super Twin sounds fantastic but not in the near field when it's on the floor The greatest advantage of the 8x10 is its vertical size giving good ground/floor boudary bass extension and ear level punch. Playing around with One10 gave bass extension on the ground and punch raised to chest level. Going to start a thread on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jensenmann Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Way back in my giggin´days I played larger gigs with my SVT+8x10". For smaller gigs I left my 8x10" in our tourbus and carried the SVT with me, using a single Boogie 2x10". Later I went through several other amps to go with my smaller cabs but in the end nothing came close to the SVT+8x10" combination. Today it resides in my studio and honestly I´m glad if the bands I record like my B15 or Bassman 135 rigs more. The sound/volume ratio is a lot better with these. But then... still nothing comes close if you want that sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Yep, saw a band on Sat using the classic Precision/SVT/810 combination. The depth of sound was unreal, yet no booming at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonewheels Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 [quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1444206053' post='2881026'] There is wisdom there, it takes a second to injure your back and a lifetime to live with that injury. [/quote] Wise words indeed. I've realised I'm too old for the SVT. Even sadder, the Hammond and two Leslies have got to go. Sound like God but I struggled just to get them off the trolley into the van. An end to my Hammond playing days I'm afraid. The digital clonewheels out there are, without exception, sh*te. It'll be the Twin Reverb next...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1444211321' post='2881084'] I`ve found that the SVT3-PRO - with a change of pre-amp valves for more gain - is pretty near the full SVT, and is much more doable. Pairs nicely with a Barefaced Super 12 as well. The heft of the sound is nicely there. [/quote] My exact rig - and mightily trouser flapping it is too. Sits just right on the top as well, so it doesn't look like a noisy mushroom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 I rather think the technical 'faults' of the Ampeg cab are what makes it sound great to a lot of people. All that beaming of upper frequencies/comb filtering/mid bass peakiness/cone break up/lack of true deep bass gives you a speaker that delivers sound to the bassist if they are in line but gives a sound that is warm and sits nicely in the mix to the audience. Lot's of cheap speakers gives you high efficiency so the amps don't work too hard and all that cone area means you aren't going to run out of cone excursion. You live in Surrey and like Barefaced so why not take a trip down to Brighton with your SVT and see if they can give you a sound you like as much as the fridge before you start parting with any money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 The reason that 810's got their foothold is because they could go loud on stages where monitoring wasn't always so great so the cab was a sound source for the bass and also the band. The fact that you didn't have to EQ it and it wasn't offensive sounding in terms of the wrong frequencies made it friendly to soundmen as well. It is still the benchmark today. even tho it only needs to be a bass monitor. It will not be mic'd though, 99% of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingChrome Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I got a svt2pro + h&k 810 for practice against 2x peavey5150. For gigging a traynor yba200 + eden 410xst + a sansamp vtdi for the ampeg tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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