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What are peoples opinions on Ampeg B Series heads and combo's?


alexisonfire
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... being solid state, are they a world apart from SVT tone or do they still have some charactristics of classic ampeg tone?

I've just bought a Sansamp BDDI off JimBob, so I'm guessing using that along side, I'll get that bit of grind/warmth? Is it a good base to build on using the Sansamp or would anyone recommend something different where I could achieve that dirty grindy tone?

I'm not too fussed on weight, and have a budget of £700ish, Im open to any sort of setup, not really after anything over 300w, and mostly playing in practice with a loud band looking to gig pretty soon.

Any help would be great guys,

++ Wheeeey first proper post haha. :)

Cheers

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I used an Ampeg B2R for about 4 years, with metal and hardcore bands and never had a problem with it. It seemed like an extremely solid amp and because it was solidstate there was no worry about having to change out valves etc.

I ran mine alongside an Ampeg Classic 4x10, which I still use.

Tonally I never had any issues getting the sound I wanted (but I like fairly clean mid heavy sound) and as far as im concerned they have the 'Ampeg tone'.

The only fault I had with it, was that it wasnt very loud, but that didnt matter half the time, unless I was having to play a mid sized venue without a DI (which only happened a couple of times)


Try and find somewhere to check one out, im sure there will be a music shop nearish you that stocks Ampeg.

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i was a little disapointed when i a/b one with the svt pro-6 but in fairness there a big price gap between the to.

i had a problem with how loud it is, as with my band id have been cranking it, but i agree it did have the ampeg tone but the pro's in my opion beat it as with the tube pre it just adds that little bit extra, but to be honest they aren't all bad, not like what alot of people make them out to be. infact ampeg aren't as bad as what people make them out to be.

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Thanks for the replys.

My house mate has a line 6 combo (one of the new ones with the SVT stickers all over it), it sound's ok but then I haven't played around with the settings, might have a go later, thanks for the heads up.

I've got my sansamp now, Im pretty damn impressed with it, weve got an AXL B60 (biggest piece of s**t I've played through) in the prac room, and using my MIA P Bass through the sansamp it's litterally worked a myricals with the tone, the only thing it can't handle is the top end, so if it improves the tone on the AXL I don't think I need to spend too much money on a new amp.

Im basically stuck between the Ashdown EVO 3 and the Ampeg B2R ... I hate not having an decent music shops near me to test out this stuff.

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So it might be worth waiting for another payday to maybe get something like an SVT3?

Sorry if I sound stupid ...

What do I need to look for in a cab, instinct tells me that a 4X10 is what I should go for ...
I used to have an Ashdown EB180, and I used to put the muddy tone down to having one 15" speaker.

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[quote name='alexisonfire' post='564245' date='Aug 9 2009, 04:58 PM']So it might be worth waiting for another payday to maybe get something like an SVT3?

Sorry if I sound stupid ...

What do I need to look for in a cab, instinct tells me that a 4X10 is what I should go for ...
I used to have an Ashdown EB180, and I used to put the muddy tone down to having one 15" speaker.[/quote]

I've always thought the SVT3 is rather blah - too little power for the cost/weight. The SVT2/4/5/6/8 are where it's at for Ampegs IMO but they are damned expensive new. If I was spending that much money on an amp I'd be looking at the various lighter weight and more high performance options from the less well known brands like Genz Benz, Markbass, Gallien Krueger, etc. For less money but more weight the Hartke LH500 has to be considered. For around £500 you can have an amazing amp head new, and less secondhand, especially heavier choices.

As with most speaker/acoustics related things, instinct is not to be trusted as most acoustic engineering is counter-intuitive. The muddy tone was due to the EB180 having a [b]cheap[/b] 15" speaker. If you want to try a good 15" join the 'Barefaced On Tour' schedule! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=53414&view=findpost&p=557968"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=557968[/url]

Alex

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The SVT Pro 3 does struggle, especially at 8 ohms. My friend has one, and as much as its quite a nice gruff Ampeg tone...it struggles with volume. Plus...it weighs a fair bit compared to one of the new lightweight heads that do exactly the same except are probably much 'louder' sounding. More so the Markbass....one hell of a low end for such a small amps.

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