watchman Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 No issues at all with my two or three year-old SVT 15E cab. Rather well made, if anything. And although RRP was £500 or something comical it became £220 very fast when I started dealing. Cheap and good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbluestew Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Have used Ampeg on and off for nearly 40 years..............back in the day it WAS just fantastic but had no real competition ( apart from Fender, which was/is a different beast ) in quality specifically bass only gear. Then up popped Acoustic, then Trace and Dynacord and HH et al, Ampeg survived on reputation and quality. Then the reputations of the other companies grew, Trace became extremely popular, then up popped Hartke, EBS et al and the market just seemed to boom and boutique brands apperared. We now have SO much more choice and some will inevitably find something that suits them better than Ampeg. That just wasn't possible back in the day. Those pictures are a shocker but IMHumbleO say more about the shop than Ampeg. As has already been voiced many times, they should never have been accepted by the retailer - do you think Ampeg would like to see these pics, I think not. Would you have accepted these in that condition if it was your shop or if you had ordered from a distance seller, again I think not. As it happens I still have newish Ampeg gear which I use regularly. Both amp and cab are under 3 years old and I have no idea if they are US or China built. I have never bothered to look. They work as they should, are well built and robust and sound great so I'm happy. I agree that it'd be wrong to write Ampeg off, hopefully they will be made aware of these quality issues and rectify them. In the meantime enjoy the choice, us oldies could only dream of this choice when I was a lad !!!! Oh and I didn't live in a shoebox in middle t'road. Stewart p.s the above list of manufacturers is not meant to be exhaustive, just an indication of a time line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimefred Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 just my 2p worth. I bought a USA SVT410HLF from a guy on here and was in prestine condition when i had it. I have done a fair bit of gigging with it and lugging in and out of cars, studios etc and now the tolex is really starting to take a battering. It tears, unsticks dents with the smallest of contacts. I have had a good few other brands of cabs and my old Trace 8x10 took a far more battering than the ampeg and didnt even rip once. basically, i think even the USA made stuff (well my cab at least) is crap at being used! sounds awsome and i want the bigger 6x10 but i want it to last and not look like a peice of crap! SORT IT OUT AMPEG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 [quote name='bassbluestew' post='1180755' date='Mar 29 2011, 01:37 PM']Have used Ampeg on and off for nearly 40 years..............back in the day it WAS just fantastic but had no real competition ( apart from Fender, which was/is a different beast ) in quality specifically bass only gear. Then up popped Acoustic, then Trace and Dynacord and HH et al, Ampeg survived on reputation and quality. Then the reputations of the other companies grew, Trace became extremely popular, then up popped Hartke, EBS et al and the market just seemed to boom and boutique brands apperared. We now have SO much more choice and some will inevitably find something that suits them better than Ampeg. That just wasn't possible back in the day. Those pictures are a shocker but IMHumbleO say more about the shop than Ampeg. As has already been voiced many times, they should never have been accepted by the retailer - do you think Ampeg would like to see these pics, I think not. Would you have accepted these in that condition if it was your shop or if you had ordered from a distance seller, again I think not. As it happens I still have newish Ampeg gear which I use regularly. Both amp and cab are under 3 years old and I have no idea if they are US or China built. I have never bothered to look. They work as they should, are well built and robust and sound great so I'm happy. I agree that it'd be wrong to write Ampeg off, hopefully they will be made aware of these quality issues and rectify them. In the meantime enjoy the choice, us oldies could only dream of this choice when I was a lad !!!! Oh and I didn't live in a shoebox in middle t'road. Stewart p.s the above list of manufacturers is not meant to be exhaustive, just an indication of a time line.[/quote] +1 I love the sound of the SVT but there's no way I'm ever going to lug one of those things about. Thank god we've all got a bit more choice nowadays, something Ampeg would do well to remember. And on the subject of choice, if I remember correctly Phatbass787 is an absolutely MAHOOSIVE Ashdown fan. He should get Ashdown to give him a job in their marketing department! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy67 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 My 4 year old B410hlf still going strong and recently I bought another SVT 3pro - Korean made - and it is of good quality. Ampeg do have issues though, not quite sure what they are or how they fit but all those endorsed artists leaving them is a bit scary. However maybe the fellow on talkbass is right about some of them throwing the toys out because they cannot command any freebies anymore...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS73 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 [quote name='longtimefred' post='1180780' date='Mar 29 2011, 01:59 PM']just my 2p worth. I bought a USA SVT410HLF from a guy on here and was in prestine condition when i had it. I have done a fair bit of gigging with it and lugging in and out of cars, studios etc and now the tolex is really starting to take a battering. It tears, unsticks dents with the smallest of contacts. I have had a good few other brands of cabs and my old Trace 8x10 took a far more battering than the ampeg and didnt even rip once. basically, i think even the USA made stuff (well my cab at least) is crap at being used! sounds awsome and i want the bigger 6x10 but i want it to last and not look like a peice of crap! SORT IT OUT AMPEG![/quote] You're right about the tolex, my 210av's seem to just rip at the slightest contact, if the missus got the nails in it would look like it was wearin tassels. On the Trace 810's though, I've seen more with no wheels as they're floating around in the cab, sh..y old MDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I personally think Ampeg have been living off their reputation for way too long...and that reputation, I agree, was formed mainly on the back of limted competition anyway. Now there is so much more better stuff about in every respect and the only foothold they still retain is high power valve amps. Personally I prefer Boogie soundwise, but only soundwise..!!! They (Ampeg) are still very active in placing their product on high profile stages but even that position is tenuous and I'd reckon they would loose most of that IF the player had to buy that kit. You might say that about a lot of endorsees though, but Ampeg is all about the big valve amp sound. The rest of their product line is average, IMO. If you had a poll of what backline kit would be supplied for bass players if budget and availability was not the issue, you might see a very diferent pciture. Ampeg used to be the first choice on the kit rider as it was the most widely available and a known choice. The Ampeg amps I have used relatively recently have woeful EQ stages, ...esp anything involving the SVT pro type pre amp, IMO. The valve amps still have that big hump though... Still iconic but its star has faded. If they stop with the big valve amps, I'd say game over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I was using one of the lower non tube amps a few weeks back for touring gigs, and it was AWFUL. The guitarists dont understand quality DIs for bass, thinking rigs mean everything to a band, but I would have gone fully DI through the THammer or Sansamp in a second if they werent whinging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 [quote name='longtimefred' post='1180780' date='Mar 29 2011, 01:59 PM']just my 2p worth. I bought a USA SVT410HLF from a guy on here and was in prestine condition when i had it. I have done a fair bit of gigging with it and lugging in and out of cars, studios etc and now the tolex is really starting to take a battering. It tears, unsticks dents with the smallest of contacts. I have had a good few other brands of cabs and my old Trace 8x10 took a far more battering than the ampeg and didnt even rip once. basically, i think even the USA made stuff (well my cab at least) is crap at being used! sounds awsome and i want the bigger 6x10 but i want it to last and not look like a peice of crap! SORT IT OUT AMPEG![/quote] my 610hlf awesome and it has sliders on the back so its not as subject to bangs etc but i still got a cover for it. get one there awesome! andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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