New head for 810E :)

[Musicman20]

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Decent Basses -check, new cab - check, sansamp - check

Right...ive got my awesome Ampeg 810E....****ing love it. Immaculate construction, such a beast, and those tens...well

So...ive had quarter life crisis about getting it around n forgotten about that.

Now...Ive got a great Trace Elliot GP12 400SMX Series Bass Head. 400W, clear tone, great trace sound to it. I love it and im keeping it.

Next is a new head to rock the 810 like it should be. I go for Fender P's, Stingrays etc. I like a bright snappy and snarly tone, but with tons of oommmppphhhh.

Heads im thinking of:

Ampeg SVT-CL Classic Series Bass Head (obviously)

Ampeg SVT2 Pro Bass Head

Ampeg SVT4 Pro Bass Head

Ampeg SVT8PRO Bass Head

Im starting to properly research these heads now, so excuse my lack of knowledge!

Anyone got any suggestions?

[coasterbass]

Nice selection.

Is weight/transportability an issue (I'm guessing not if you have an 810!) ?

I had an SVT4 for quite some time. Lovely amp, but always missed something. The CL and SVT2 have the 'missing piece' of the jigsaw IMO. But.... make sure you have good health insurance before you start lifting them... (but that goes for the SVT4 as well really).

If weight is a concern, but you want the tone of the Ampeg, then get a good lightweight poweramp and connect it to an SVP-preamp. (Jury is still out on whether its quite the same as the SVT2/CL though)

[thumbo]

check out the Orange AD200B. very ballsy to say the least!

[Musicman20]

Hey

Thanks!

Yeah I was thinking the SVT- CL...

Ive also been told to check out the GK - 800 RB, or a Mesa 400+...where can we get these over here in the UK?

And yeah those Orange heads are awesome...well they look awesome...anyone tried one out?

[Noisyjon]

IMO the Mesa 400+ is a beast of an amp and would go luverly with the 8x10!
Don't think they're made any more, but they do turn up second hand now and again.

Good luck on your quest!

[coasterbass]

Yeah - i was just looking at the 400+ and came back to post that as a suggestion. They crop up on the 2nd hand board here quite often.

They aren't made any more, and are BEASTS, so the same goes for transport as for the SVT2, but they are amazing

[Musicman20]

Ill have a look about.

Do Mesa make a new equivalent?

[chris_b]

I've used an 810 with the CL, which sounded great, but also with an SVT3PRO and I was surprised how good that combination sounded.

[thumbo]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='280970' date='Sep 10 2008, 11:08 AM']And yeah those Orange heads are awesome...well they look awesome...anyone tried one out?[/quote]

I've been using one with a Bergantino 6x10 for a few weeks. Very fat sound, you can real dirt out of it. I like to run it so the pre-amp is just breaking up a little and I use a Fulltone Bassdrive to break the pre-amp up more mixed with the Fulltone's drive for overdriven sounds.
The AD200 definitely needs to be tried out before buying though, it's a very specific kind of sound that some people [i]really[/i] don't get on with. I didn't get on with the sound of it until I plugged it into my 6x10 I fully recommend trying to get your hands on one and having a go with your 8x10.
It might not be your cup of tea, but I'm pretty sure Nate from Converge used an AD200 on the recording of You Fail Me. To my ears that recording sounds just like an AD200 with the gain cranked fairly high. I don't know that for sure but that's how it sounds and I know that he's been using an AD200 for a while now.

Edited September 10, 2008 by thumbo

[Musicman20]

I think you are right about the Converge bassist. I saw him play in July...he was using an 8 10E, with an Orange Head and Im sure he had some sort of Ampeg head sat next to it for some reason.

Thanks for the info....im gonna go to some big stockists and try a few different heads

I am a massive fan of the modern Cave-In bass sound....its so meaty and thuderous! But on the other hand I love the twang of Nofx-style bass sound.

Check my band

www.myspace.com/thedepartedgyhc

THANKSSSSSS

[Musicman20]

Anyone know a good stockist where i can try out an 810 with one of the ampegs/orange/mesa heads and blow the shop to pieces?

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='281115' date='Sep 10 2008, 02:33 PM']Anyone know a good stockist where i can try out an 810 with one of the ampegs/orange/mesa heads and blow the shop to pieces?[/quote]

Seen this?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=22630"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=22630[/url]

[thumbo]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='281115' date='Sep 10 2008, 02:33 PM']Anyone know a good stockist where i can try out an 810 with one of the ampegs/orange/mesa heads and blow the shop to pieces?[/quote]

Where abouts are ya?

[yorick]

You want to try the TECH 21 heads. Sound awesome, but not valve.

[Bigwan]

Ashdown ABM. easier on the back and the wallet... Although I'd say with an Ampeg 8x10 you're not too worried about your back!

[alexclaber]

One nice thing about the 810 is it's so damn loud you hardly need any power. The world is your oyster!

Alex

[ashevans09]

Heard the orange through an 810E when I saw Alkaline Trio at the Koko a couple weeks back. It sounded immense. You cannot go wrong with it

[mike257]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='281102' date='Sep 10 2008, 02:12 PM']I am a massive fan of the modern Cave-In bass sound....its so meaty and thuderous![/quote]

If I could nail that sound, I'd never GAS again :wub:

[cetera]

[quote name='yorick' post='281133' date='Sep 10 2008, 02:59 PM']You want to try the TECH 21 heads. Sound awesome, but not valve.[/quote]

+1,000,000 to that....

My Tech21 Landmark 600 sounds amazing, has 2 channels which can be run seperately or together to create monster tones and is incredibly versatile!

[Musicman20]

Cheers everyone!

Im in the Lincolnshire area....so probably Electro music is best. Theyve done excellent deals for me before...but I know as with most shops, stocking all valve heads to just go in and try is sometimes difficult. I dont mind waiting on ordering one...cos im still saving at the moment, but id like to try an Ampeg SVT CL, a Mesa 400+, an Orange and a Gk all together.

Anyone tried the Ampeg SVT - VR and got any comparisons with a SVT - CL?

[url="http://www.ampeg.com/products/classic/svtvr/index.html"]http://www.ampeg.com/products/classic/svtvr/index.html[/url]

My 810 is the classic black. I looked at a 'silver' one in Electro and found in looked a little shiny in the light...the black just looks like exactly what it sounds like.

[jensenmann]

Forget about transistor amps with the SVT8x10". The only transistor amps which I found to work with my 8x10 cab were SWR Baby Blue (yes) or SWR SM400s. Everything else I tried sounded just plain wrong. Tubes are the deal. Check if you find an old SVT or get the SVT classic. Boogie 400 sounds nice, too, a little cleaner as the tube ampegs. If you want it to sound harder and more agressive than the usual creamy-mid Ampegsound then go for an old Hiwatt Custom 100. Then there was a 150W tube Marshall basshead a long time ago which sounded not bad, but it´s supposed to be an maintenance nightmare. That´s why I never bought one though it sounded cool. A comination a friend swears on is the Fender Bassman 135 + SVT8x10.

[rodl2005]

I can say that the FENDER 300PRO sounds SUPERB thru an Ampeg 810 also. The OD channel blended w/ the clean sounds SO punchy thru the 8x10"s. ANY of the big tube amps, (Fender, Orange, Mesa, SVT-VR/CL/II/IIPRO) or evenb the 100w AMPEG V4/B/BH sound great thru it also!