Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

so i've tracked down and 'hand-shaked' a deal on a 1968 SVT as well as a 75-79 V9.

the V9 will be a little cheaper, only keeping one. i understand that the power section of the V9 is the same as the SVT, the difference being the pre. voicing and the inclusion of reverb and dist.

is there a significant is the "sound" of the V9 and the SVT?

if the "voicing" (caps, resistors) is different-yes.

Think Marshall Super 100 & Super Bass 100.

Are you getting both amps then, or are you asking which one to get? If you can afford it, the SVT will be better. They are designed for bass, and have active tone controls on channel 1 that really help in dialing in your sound. I am almost positive that a '68 SVT should have 6146 tubes instead of 6550's, but either tube will work fine, although the 6146 amps have more mids and more power. If the caps haven't been replaced in either amp, they should be by now as they're getting old. Its pretty easy to do though and really improves the sound. If you're thinking of working on these yourself, be VERY careful! They have 700v inside them, and enough current to kill too. They usually are very dirty inside due to the fan also. If you play bass, the vintage SVT (with matching 8x10 cabinet) is the holy grail.

great. thanks Greg.

i believe the SVT owner also has the 8x10 cab, w/ 6/8 speakers working. he said he'd throw it in for an extra $100. only trouble is, i need to get it to Canada.

Well I have no idea about getting it to Canada and duties and all of that, but maybe you can figure something out. If its a vintage SVT 8x10 from the same era as the amp, then its got CTS 10 inch speakers in it, which are VERY nice. Ted Weber at webervst is working on a reissue of those and I'll be getting some for my SVT once they're available. In the meantime, I believe Ted could recone the speakers that are bad in that cabinet for a reasonable amount. He's the best around at reconing. If you decide to get it, then I'd shoot him an email and ask about recones, and the new CTS copies he's doing. www.tedweber.com .

Good luck!

thanks Greg! would you believe that my drummer is working for a stereo repair outfit that specializes in re-coning speakers? if he is unable to repair them, i'll be in touch with ted.

Bryce; If that does not work for you, there is a co. in Toronto, where I get recones done and they do those cts ones for about 80. bucks..Santon audio..905 475 2038....R

The advantage of having Ted recone speakers is that he fully demagnetizes them, cleans out the gap, recones the speakers, then remagnetizes them to the max they can handle, which makes them like new. I don't know of any other reconers who demag/remag speakers, or who use correct cones like Ted does. Most other reconers use cones from (I think this is the name) Walden which are not correct and don't sound the same as the speakers did originally. You could always have your reconer get cones from Ted, and use them instead of the generic ones everyone else uses, and while not demagging and remagging, it would go a long way towards getting the correct sound out of those CTS speakers. Ted is also cheaper than most....I believe $50 each for a 10 inch speaker.

I think that Orange County Speaker (http://www.orangecountyspeaker.com) uses factory recone kits where available. I've had a couple of D-series JBLs reconed there and they did a great job.

wow - thanks for all the leads.

now i just have to figure out how to get it up here.

Yah, Orange County is great too, especially for JBL stuff. I don't know if Orange County demags/remags or not. Ted at Webervst will not use factory recone kits unless you supply it, but his kits are often as good or better than the factory ones, whereas the generic Walden kits that most shops use aren't even remotely close to factory stuff in most cases. The amount of doping on the speaker makes a huge difference too, and most independant reconers will way over-dope a speaker because they don't want you coming back complaining of ghost notes.

i won the V-9. it was on ebay, the SVT deal is still pending, just waiting for pics and shipping from the owner.

will be nice to have them both in my possession to compare. i know Ginger Lee plays through a V9, tone sounds great.

just have to find some vintage style grill cloth to have it looking like it should.

Hah, good luck on the vintage grill cloth!

Congratulations on the V9...hope you get the SVT too. I sold a '67 Sunn 200S and 2x15 JBL cabinet in perfect shape about 10 years ago to get my SVT head and haven't regretted it at all. (well on most days I don't anyway!) The Sunn sounded great, and I have another Sunn 200S now, but the SVT is the one I use the most.

I'll add again though, if you intend to work on it yourself or poke around in it yourself, be VERY VERY careful. Especially if the SVT is using the 6146 tubes with the plate caps. There are a couple necessary safety rules when working on high voltage equipment that you need to follow or some very bad things can result, including death!

thanks for trying to keep me alive Greg! i'll probably just leave it with the drummer to look over as he does such things for a living. and if he dies, well; as i said, he's just the drummer.

hi-voltage inside!