Ampeg V7

[Bungo Mike]

This thing is really catching my eye....... BUT

 

I've owned 3-4 Ampegs over the last 25 years and every one has failed in some way which is really putting me off buying

another

 

What are your thoughts on this amp????

 

Thanks

Mike

[Supernaut]

Amps & Cabs section? 

[Russ]

Ampeg - love the tone. Love the heritage. Hate the unreliability. 

 

Had a couple of SVT-3s back in the day, and they sounded amazing and were basically bulletproof. Got an SVT-7 about 11 years ago which also sounded amazing, but died in the middle of the first song at a gig. Got it fixed, but I was spooked at that point and sold it on. I dabbled with Ampeg again a couple of years back - got hold of a Portaflex 800, and, again, sounded great, but kept cutting out at a gig. It didn't completely die like the SVT-7, but that was enough for me to send it back. 

 

Like many, I've been tempted by the Venture series, and hoping that, under the new Yamaha regime, they'd have solved the reliability issues. Did a gig just before Xmas with a band whose bassist had just bought the V3 earlier that week, and it crapped out during the third song. He ended up finishing the set with my Ashdown RM-800. 

 

I really wish they'd sort their issues out. Ampeg are legendary, and these issues have eroded their reputation to the point where anyone who has researched them are staying away. 

[Terry M.]

3 hours ago, Russ said:

Ampeg - love the tone. Love the heritage. Got an SVT-7 about 11 years ago which also sounded amazing, but died in the middle of the first song at a gig. Got it fixed, but I was spooked at that point and sold it on. 

 

I really wish they'd sort their issues out. Ampeg are legendary, and these issues have eroded their reputation to the point where anyone who has researched them are staying away. 

This was pretty much my experience with an SVT7-PRO from about 2012 and I've not touched the brand ever since.