Noobish Ampeg SVT-4pro questions

[peavey_impact]

Hello everyone

 

I'm a total bass amp noob. My bassist is probably an even bigger noob than I am tech-wise, and he just bought an ampeg svt-4pro halfstack (SVT 4x10 cab).

 

I have a few questions. The cab is 8 ohms and rated at 500w. Since this is the only cab he is running, should the amp be run in mono bridged mode? I'm unsure because the specs make it look like the amp will be pumping some serious wattage in that mode.

 

 

We fired it up last night set to stereo output and it sounded good but I was expecting it to move more air than it was. Also, the peak and limit lights were blinking freely, is this normal? The amp wasn't even really cranked yet it was still peaking.

 

As a final question, is the dial on the back of the cab just a tweeter level control? What is a "typical" setting for the dial?

[Craig Vecchione]

I had one of these for a year or so. It's nowhere near as loud as the specs would indicate. No idea why, but it's a common comment I've heard from others. My present SVT-CL blows it away.

 

At any rate, I used it during that time in bridged mono, into a 600w PR-410HLF. I didn't push it much or often, and it was fine.

 

The peak shouldn't be on like that. Lower the gain until it doesn't. If the bass is active (has a battery preamp), obviously use the active input jack. The limiter light is only showing that you've reached maximum output and anything more gets reduced by the limiter. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it tends to add some ugly compression distortion.

 

Note that if you use bridge mono, the little tiny pushbutton switch on the back panel has to be depressed below, not flush with, the panel. Use a pencil or thin tool to do this. If you forget, the amp will have almost no output and it'll be distorted, so you'll know right away. Pay attention to the pinouts for the Speakons, as they use different pins for bridged mono.

 

It's a versatile amp and I liked it for a while, but found that I didn't need most of the features, and preferred the authentic Ampeg growl of the SVT-CL.

[jackcheez]

Looking at the specs

RMS Power Output: 300-Watts x 2 / 900 (mono-bridged @ 8 Ohms)

it looks like mono-bridged you're sending 900 watts @ 8 ohms to that 500 watt cab. I would not run it mono-bridged unless it just doesn't have enough power otherwise. If it's lacking in power, then I'd try mono-bridged. Carefully. Note that Craigv above said he didn't push when running it that way.

 

The control in the back of the cab is the tweeter level control. For me, a typical setting is all the way off. That's a "season to taste" kind of thing.

My experience is that those 4 x 10 cabs don't move a lot of air anyways. They have a tighter sound. In most band situations, I've always used more speaker than that. Again, opinions will differ on that.

[peavey_impact]

 

I had one of these for a year or so. It's nowhere near as loud as the specs would indicate. No idea why, but it's a common comment I've heard from others. My present SVT-CL blows it away. At any rate, I used it during that time in bridged mono, into a 600w PR-410HLF. I didn't push it much or often, and it was fine.

 

 

Thanks man, you rock!

 

To be honest, when I went over to check out his new amp I was a bit disappointed to find out that the thing has a SS power section.

 

 

 

If I'm understanding you correctly, he should be able to run his cab in bridged mode as long as he doesn't get too crazy with the volume, right?

[peavey_impact]

The control in the back of the cab is the tweeter level control. For me, a typical setting is all the way off. That's a "season to taste" kind of thing. My experience is that those 4 x 10 cabs don't move a lot of air anyways. They have a tighter sound. In most band situations, I've always used more speaker than that. Again, opinions will differ on that.

 

Thanks man. I see what you're saying.

 

Before he fired it up I set the tweeter level to 1 because I didn't know how sensitive the driver is. Frankly the thing had a ton of top end with it on 1 so I guess there isn't much reason to go higher with it

[Craig Vecchione]

 

Thanks man, you rock! To be honest, when I went over to check out his new amp I was a bit disappointed to find out that the thing has a SS power section. If I'm understanding you correctly, he should be able to run his cab in bridged mode as long as he doesn't get too crazy with the volume, right?

 

 

Yes, correct. Keep in mind that one man's calm is another's crazy, or visa-versa. Or the other way 'round. I forget.

 

The stock preamp tube(s) is a Groove Tube. If he wants more growl, he could try hotter 12AX7's than this. I never bothered...I traded my year-old -4PRO plus $200 for a new -CL. In other words, they gave me what I paid for it. This was at GC, but in fairness, I spent well over 10-grand there on PA gear so they were always *really* accomodating on prices and trade-ins.