Ampeg V9 - for bass?

brycycle · Post by **brycycle** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:36 pm

yeah! that's him!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:07 pm

The first SVT's were made in 1969 and all had 6146B tubes until the middle of 1970 unless they have been converted which many were, there are no 1968 SVT's in existence. 69's are very rare also, and are called Blue lines (nickname) they were not printed blue or silk screened, they had a piece of blue plastic which used to light up on older Ampegs under an aluminum template with the letters and holes cut out of it so they never faded or wore off. They never used that light feature on an SVT, I had one of them and it had 6550's so it had to have been at least a late 70 head. The originals also had Rotron fans which had to be oiled periodically and had a little cap in the middle of the fan which screwed out so you could put machine oil in them, many of these burnt out as many people didn't oil them.
I think SVT's are voiced more for bass and probably sound a lot more solid, jazz heads would like the V-9's as they were just big giant guitar heads, but then again I've never heard or tried a V-9 but they were definitely aimed at guitar players though, I remember them when they were new.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:13 pm

I've also recapped a few SVT's and did not find it so simple especially as the original cans are not available and you have to rewire it, it takes at least some electrical knowledge, you wouldn't want to blow up an electrolytic cap with 700 V on it. I will agree however at least for me they are the best sounding bass amp going bar none, I've used them now for over thirty years.

brycycle · Post by **brycycle** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:18 pm

Bob - the seller must be mistaken on the '68 designation. he is supposed to send photos, i'll post them to confirm whether it is in fact a Blue line. is there anyway of accurately dating (to the year)the amp per serial number?

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:18 am

Ampegs are pretty hard to date accurately sometimes. You can date by the pot codes sometimes. You should get the Ampeg book by Bill Moore. It tells you all about vintage Ampegs and is very helpful when trying to find out about your amp.

http://www.amazon.com/Ampeg-Story-Behind-Gregg-Hopkins/dp/0793579511

Yes Bob, you're right about recapping and having an issue with the values of the caps. Its not THAT hard though....it just takes some intelligence and patience to get things worked out.

Maybe your drummer has shocked himself too many times....thats why he's a drummer?

brycycle · Post by **brycycle** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 4:57 pm

great. now the svt owner want to pull out due to local interest. what happened to the days when "deal" meant, well - deal?

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 6:36 pm

Well that sucks Bryce! If you keep looking you can find an SVT though. They come up for sale on ebay every once in awhile. You can't get him to stick to his deal with you?

If you go looking for another one, the key is to make sure its from '69 to '79, or '81 to '85. The earlier era are the USA made ones, from the original Ampeg company, and from the Magnavox-owned Ampeg company. The later ones from '81 to '85 were the MTI made ones, which were made in Japan. They used Japanese transformers and components for the most part, and at some point they switched to 12AX7's instead of 12DW7's, but they still sound great and are the original circuit. The one I have is a very early MTI-made one with American transformers and 12DW7's, so its just like the Magnavox era ones that Bob has, with the exception of the Japanese caps and resistors in mine. The MTI-era ones are usually a little cheaper than the others, but not as cheap as the modern ones.

brycycle · Post by **brycycle** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:57 pm

well the v9 is on the way. i'll see what i think of it. but - i put out a plea for the svt owner to hold to the deal, offering another $100 as well. we'll see what happens...

thanks for the tips on the years to look for. i take it the new 'anniversary' models is just a retro/aesthetic ploy, w no difference in components from the current svt run?

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:35 am

Good luck on the SVT....the guy should stick to his deal.

The new SVT amps are nothing like the originals, and while they sound good, the originals sound better. There was an "anniversery" model that St. Louis Music came out with right after they bought Ampeg from MTI in '86, and this was only offered for the one year in a limited run of 100 I think, and these are the last ones there were the original SVT circuit.

Get that Ampeg book I mentioned earlier...it tells you all about Ampegs and their history, and is a GREAT resource.

Also, if you're using an SVT, its very important for the sound to have an 8x10 cabinet. (Or an identical cabinet, but with 4x10's and 1x15 in it like I custom made for myself) The way the cabinet is made, and the speakers used, is what gives the SVT it's punchy sound. I used Eminence speakers because the original CTS weren't available, and mine doesn't sound as good as a vintage cabinet, but it does sound very good, with a little more bottom end than your standard SVT cabinet, and maybe a little less punch.

brycycle · Post by **brycycle** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:48 pm

huh, the guy sold the svt to someone else. always disappointing when people go back on their word...

anyone have any leads of where to find a vintage svt other than ebay?

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:24 pm

Make up a voodoo doll of the guy and nuke it I guess? What a jerk!

Other than ebay, you might get lucky and look on Craig's list or find one in a local store. Once you've played one, there is no substitute to the power. (If you only knew the POWER of the dark side of the force.....)

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:15 pm

hey give the guy negative feedback!

Varmit!

brycycle · Post by **brycycle** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:41 pm

the svt was through craigslist, the v9 which should be here in a day or two, was off ebay.

would there be anyway of making a v9 more bass-cific w/o major modification?

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 6:12 pm

Well I'd have to look at the schematic to see, but usually its just a matter of changing cap values to something larger. Like a guitar amp may use a .022uf as a coupling cap, whereas a bass amp would use a .22uf. You just change all the cap values in the preamp to the same value as in an SVT, but sometimes you may want the smaller cap too. It will probably sound pretty good as is, but could be tweaked to sound better.

ben_brown · Post by **ben_brown** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 7:43 pm

Toronto Craigslist

Ampeg SVT - Vintage 1969 - $2800
http://toronto.craigslist.org/msg/239230839.html

VINTAGE 1970'S AMPEG SVT BASS AMP AND CABINET - $2500
http://toronto.craigslist.org/msg/238535576.html

1975 Ampeg SVT amp head and cabinet - $2500
http://toronto.craigslist.org/msg/232824778.html

Ampeg SVT-CL head - $1150
http://toronto.craigslist.org/msg/223833502.html

Vancouver Craigslist

AMPEG SVT Classic and Cabinet - $1750
http://vancouver.craigslist.org/msg/227677140.html