mik900 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 My Ampeg SVT3 pro is about 7 years old. I gig every week with it, I can't say I notice any problems, but should I bother with getting a re valve done or wait until I hear any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacey Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Having had a run of bad luck with the SVT 7pro I would say stick with the 3, far better quality, the 7 cuts out mid gig like clockwork, so did the replacment they sent and I even tried a new cab with it, still the same, gets very hot and click. The 3 is the epitaph IMO, it just fking works ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72deluxe Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I heard that the SVT 7Pro also has problems on power up. This is due to an inrush current problem where it draws too much current and can trip circuit breakers (such as your entire house). One way around this is an inrush current limiter that forces the SVT7 to fill its capacitors slowly, thereby stopping the inrush and stopping the trips. You can get one to go between the plug on the wall and the amp, but it would be good if Ampeg could just sort the problem out in the amp in the first place (and put a circuit in to do this perhaps???) With regard to cutting out, I think there is a problem with the internal filtering that is meant to stop square waves hitting the class D amp section but this filter doesn't work properly and some square waves can get through, thereby forcing the class D to go bonkers and go into protect mode (hence the cut out). They've been through a few revisions with that amp apparently. I went and tried one out and was surprised how insanely heavy it was for a class D - more like a class A/B! I plumped for a Genz Benz instead - much lighter and with no "cutting out" problems but with a ECC83 in the preamp stage just like the SVT7 Pro. Shame about the SVT7 Pro really - I am sure it would be a great amp if it wasn't for the complete unreliability of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Power valves are the ones that usually need changing over time, and seeing as the Pro 3 is a solid state back end you don't have that issue. If there are no issues with the amp, then I'd leave it as be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) Can't say I've heard of any circuit breaker issues with the SVT7, I've read that the 4 and 6 can do it but not the 7. I had the 3pro for a while, it needed the mosfets biasing on one occasion but if the valves are working fine then I'd say leave them be. as an aside, my SVT7pro has been completely reliable. Edited April 10, 2014 by kennyrodg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 [quote name='mik900' timestamp='1397134904' post='2421006'] My Ampeg SVT3 pro is about 7 years old. I gig every week with it, I can't say I notice any problems, but should I bother with getting a re valve done or wait until I hear any issues. [/quote] No need for a revalve. Your 3Pro only has pre-amp valves, which only need to be replaced if they go faulty. It is power amp valves which have a much more limited lifetime. Many, many amps built in the 60's still have all their original preamp valves as they can last many decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 My 3Pro is also 7 years old and still on original valves. The only thing I have done to mine is adjust the bias on the Mosfets, sounded like a different amp after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.