From Ampegs to.....

[danbowskill]

Grab it quick I say

 

[donslow]

1 hour ago, danbowskill said:

Grab it quick I say

 

Need to shift my SVT II Pro first.....hoping it goes quickly...

[chris_b]

2 hours ago, donslow said:

Need to shift my SVT II Pro first.....hoping it goes quickly...

What cab(s) are you using?

[donslow]

54 minutes ago, chris_b said:

What cab(s) are you using?

Was using an SVT Classic Series 6x10 but have since sold that and any time I’ve used the amp since have hired similar cabs, currently cabless...

Edited February 12, 2020 by donslow

[Beedster]

Nothing can replace an SVT-2, sorry. The PF-50 is great, but it’s a very small piece of chalk next to a very large piece of cheese by comparison 

[donslow]

3 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Nothing can replace an SVT-2, sorry. The PF-50 is great, but it’s a very small piece of chalk next to a very large piece of cheese by comparison 

That’s why I don’t want to get rid of it...

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, donslow said:

That’s why I don’t want to get rid of it...

Don’t then

[donslow]

21 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Don’t then

Ha ha the lugging is getting too much

[chris_b]

If you want to stay with big gear, I'd suggest a Barefaced 610 cab and a trolley for your amp.

https://barefacedbass.com/product-range/Retro-Six10.htm

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wolfcraft-heavy-duty-aluminium-folding-trolley-100kg/5140P?kpid=5140P&ds_kid=92700048793316002&ds_rl=1243324&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiqS195bN5wIVV-DtCh2cnAKsEAQYASABEgK0F_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Beedster]

13 minutes ago, chris_b said:

If you want to stay with big gear, I'd suggest a Barefaced 610 cab and a trolley for your amp.

https://barefacedbass.com/product-range/Retro-Six10.htm

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wolfcraft-heavy-duty-aluminium-folding-trolley-100kg/5140P?kpid=5140P&ds_kid=92700048793316002&ds_rl=1243324&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiqS195bN5wIVV-DtCh2cnAKsEAQYASABEgK0F_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I use an SVT-2 with a BF Super Twin and not only is the sound surreal but the portability of the latter compensates for the weight of the former 

[cattytown]

Where are you? Could you make the bass show in Manchester at the end of March? Should be a fair bit you could try including Line6, Ashdown, Bergantino, Mark, Laney, GK....

Have you considered going for a modelling solution? pick a used Helix up for 800 ish, something like a crown XLS 1502 han be had new for £300 ish. Together not a lot of weight...

 

Paul.

[police squad]

I used an Ampeg PF-500 for about 6 years and I loved it. Light, loud and it sounded like an ampeg

Just over a year ago I bought an Ashdown RM500 EVO II. Even lighter at 2.5Kgs. I love it. Bags of volume and balls. I like the compressor and the a little bit of the in-built overdrive. I bought it on black friday for £399. Awesome.

I kept the ampeg as a spare and use it in my practice room (the loft lol).

I wanted to go Ashdown as I think they are a great customer focused company, fantastic service etc. And it was Lozz who told me how good they were

[Lozz196]

Glad it worked out for you 😁

[dannybuoy]

On 08/02/2020 at 13:25, donslow said:

I have a micro cl which is ok and have tried gigging with it but there’s just something missing when I do so trying to have a mass clear out so I can start again, Had looked at the micro vr’s also, are they a giggable amp?

They're not massively loud unless you're using a lot of speaker area. But they don't pair well with the cabs they were designed to go with! If you plug a Micro VR into a pair of SVT210AV cabs it clips horribly like it's on the verge of exploding, even at milder volume levels. Big thread on Talkbass about it, as an owner of a pair of the cabs I took the plunge several years on hoping they might have sorted it, but had to return the amp.

[Beedster]

On 08/02/2020 at 13:10, donslow said:

i love the noise this amp makes, I like the clear, clean, bassy Thump that this puts out, and that it can blow your kecks off at 20 paces, I also like that I can crank the amp, turn down the master and still get decent tone out of relatively good living room levels with a smaller cab, I realise I won’t get that with anything other than an overweight SVT but what comes close?! What will kick you in the nadgers but remain clean and clear?

Just reread that and remembered why I sold - and then bought another - SVT-II. The answer to 'what comes close' in my experience is nothing, seriously, not even the SVT-VR and the rest of the Ampeg large tube amps range. I'm no tech so can't tell you why this is, but I can say that having sold my first SVT-II, and realising my mistake, I owned two SVT (US re-issues) before realising that none can do what this amp can do. I've also owned pretty much every large amp Mesa have made - 400+, Prodigy, Titan, M-Pulse, Big Block 750 and Buster, as well as a Aggie DB-750, some pretty nice pre-amp power amp combinations, including an Aggie DB-659 with an SVT-300 power amp (which got close), but nothing among that list makes me feel what the SVT-II makes me feel. And music for me is all about feeling, I'm not a great bass player by any means, but I love how I feel when I play bass on my own or with the band, and a huge part of that feeling for me is the tone, and the sheer psychoacoustic pleasure I get from this is irreplaceable. So for me, the SVT is an emotion machine, something that I can't quantify in mechanistic terms, but something that adds a huge amount of what is important to me into my experience of playing the bass. If I ever get to the point at which my back is too weak to carry it, I'd happily spend the £300 or so required to get a very high quality rack/trolley case for it, and if it meant a two person carry onto the stage, so be it. I use it even at small gigs, not because I need it, but because I like it (and unlike some tube amps it does quiet pretty well). 

In short, keep it, don't let GAS and various other ideas get to you. You'll regret it instantly if you sell it, and given these are getting harder and harder to find each year, that regret could last a while.

[donslow]

@Beedster @chris_b your both making very valid arguments, I’m starting to doubt my decision for selling it even more.....

[donslow]

4 hours ago, Beedster said:

Just reread that and remembered why I sold - and then bought another - SVT-II. The answer to 'what comes close' in my experience is nothing, seriously, not even the SVT-VR and the rest of the Ampeg large tube amps range. I'm no tech so can't tell you why this is, but I can say that having sold my first SVT-II, and realising my mistake, I owned two SVT (US re-issues) before realising that none can do what this amp can do. I've also owned pretty much every large amp Mesa have made - 400+, Prodigy, Titan, M-Pulse, Big Block 750 and Buster, as well as a Aggie DB-750, some pretty nice pre-amp power amp combinations, including an Aggie DB-659 with an SVT-300 power amp (which got close), but nothing among that list makes me feel what the SVT-II makes me feel. And music for me is all about feeling, I'm not a great bass player by any means, but I love how I feel when I play bass on my own or with the band, and a huge part of that feeling for me is the tone, and the sheer psychoacoustic pleasure I get from this is irreplaceable. So for me, the SVT is an emotion machine, something that I can't quantify in mechanistic terms, but something that adds a huge amount of what is important to me into my experience of playing the bass. If I ever get to the point at which my back is too weak to carry it, I'd happily spend the £300 or so required to get a very high quality rack/trolley case for it, and if it meant a two person carry onto the stage, so be it. I use it even at small gigs, not because I need it, but because I like it (and unlike some tube amps it does quiet pretty well). 

In short, keep it, don't let GAS and various other ideas get to you. You'll regret it instantly if you sell it, and given these are getting harder and harder to find each year, that regret could last a while.

THIS!!! In hindsight, this is the only amp that has made me grin like a Cheshire Cat And even given me a bit of a twitch every time it’s been used....it really is a beast of an amp

damn you @Beedster for making such comments....I’m coming round to the idea of sticking with it! You sir, also have a pm....

[roonjuice]

8 hours ago, Beedster said:

Just reread that and remembered why I sold - and then bought another - SVT-II. The answer to 'what comes close' in my experience is nothing, seriously, not even the SVT-VR and the rest of the Ampeg large tube amps range. I'm no tech so can't tell you why this is, but I can say that having sold my first SVT-II, and realising my mistake, I owned two SVT (US re-issues) before realising that none can do what this amp can do. I've also owned pretty much every large amp Mesa have made - 400+, Prodigy, Titan, M-Pulse, Big Block 750 and Buster, as well as a Aggie DB-750, some pretty nice pre-amp power amp combinations, including an Aggie DB-659 with an SVT-300 power amp (which got close), but nothing among that list makes me feel what the SVT-II makes me feel. And music for me is all about feeling, I'm not a great bass player by any means, but I love how I feel when I play bass on my own or with the band, and a huge part of that feeling for me is the tone, and the sheer psychoacoustic pleasure I get from this is irreplaceable. So for me, the SVT is an emotion machine, something that I can't quantify in mechanistic terms, but something that adds a huge amount of what is important to me into my experience of playing the bass. If I ever get to the point at which my back is too weak to carry it, I'd happily spend the £300 or so required to get a very high quality rack/trolley case for it, and if it meant a two person carry onto the stage, so be it. I use it even at small gigs, not because I need it, but because I like it (and unlike some tube amps it does quiet pretty well). 

In short, keep it, don't let GAS and various other ideas get to you. You'll regret it instantly if you sell it, and given these are getting harder and harder to find each year, that regret could last a while.

I quite literally feel ya...

[ern500evo]

As others have said, if you love the sound of it that much, I’d be looking at a lighter cab to offset the weight of gear you need to carry. We all want that tone that just works and makes us smile, if you’ve got that, then I’d be looking at a lightweight cab. I’ve been using a Barefaced Big Twin 2, since they first got introduced, and it’s an epic cab for something so small and light. The warmer more vintage voicing of their 10’s may suit you better, maybe a pair of Barefaced Retro 210’s? Good luck in your quest! 

Edited February 15, 2020 by ern500evo

[Wilson_51_]

i agree with the "get a lightweight cab" keep the heavy head idea. I use a barefaced two10 with a svt-cl and love it. i tried going down the front of a little head with a modeller but it just lacks that special something. I now get one of the guitarists to give me a hand lugging the head at gigs and rehearsals.

 

I find the hardest part is getting it into and out of the car rather than the carrying it a distance. trying not to twist and bend when lifting it is the issue

[Beedster]

4 minutes ago, simon88wilson said:

I find the hardest part is getting it into and out of the car rather than the carrying it a distance. trying not to twist and bend when lifting it is the issue

Some flight cases or even rack cases seem to have the handles in a place that helps, others in a place that hinders. What I love about the SVT-II are the two handles on the front panel that make it really easy to life in and out of a car boot. 

[Riverbassman]

I have SVTs and they sound awesome!  But when I’m a lazy git, I pull out my Ampeg PF 800. Fantastic tone, light weight and when needed an get loud enough to part your hair! 

[de003]

On 14/02/2020 at 14:53, Beedster said:

If I ever get to the point at which my back is too weak to carry it, I'd happily spend the £300 or so required to get a very high quality rack/trolley case for it, and if it meant a two person carry onto the stage, so be it. I use it even at small gigs, not because I need it, but because I like it (and unlike some tube amps it does quiet pretty well). 

For a long time my touring bass rig was 2x SVT-2 racked together in a 16U shockmount case with rack tuner and an Avalon VT-737 (for DI to PA).

That needed a ramp to get it in the back of the van. We could do it with 4 of us lifting it but it was fairly uncomfortable...;

 

[uk_lefty]

On 08/02/2020 at 20:43, Lozz196 said:

The RM500 EVO-II. It’s a great little amp, the - oh no, I’m going to use the H-word - heftiest small Class D amp I’ve used, very loud, great eq options and nice and lightweight. And as Dan Dare said, if there’s a problem Ashdown can fix them, most (if not all) of the parts are designed to be able to be changed. 

I use one of these and carry it around in a laptop bag. I'm not an Ampeg lover myself, having got rid of my P Bass, but the Ashdown RM amp is great for flexibility. Decent amp on its own, you can add in the valve simulated drive, or you can switch off its EQ and use pedals to simulate amp and cab combos. I even had a while switching off its EQ and using the inboard EQ on a Sire bass then sometimes bringing in different amp simulation effects from a Boss multi FX pedal. These days my Stingray and jazz often go straight to the amp with no pedal in between at all. There are "better" amps out there but if you want a lightweight, not too expensive, single box to do 80 percent of what you could ever need then I don't think you'd find many better. 

Ml

Edited September 3, 2020 by uk_lefty
I'm over six months late replying... Oh well.

[bassmachine2112]

Hiho,here,s my tupence worth-Orange bass terror 500.

I use the original fixed one,they fixed a few issues that the first batch had.they fitted better valves and fixed the hot DI.500 watts into 8 or 4 ohm that the reissue does not have.

More than enough volume.I use an OBC115 or a SP 212,A few times I have hooked up both cabs , it sounded fabulous but the volume and heft was insane, i loved it but band was bulldozered by Orange power.Not happy bunnies hee hee.