Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head 

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

Before this head I have only played through all solidstate heads or combos. The tube preamp on this head kicks out warm tone untouchable by any solidstate preamp or modulator in my opinion. It also has an onboard compressor that is very useful. The bi-amp capability is great considering that I have 4/10 and 1/15 speaker enclosures. This beast has all the power I can ask for. The Ampeg SVT-4 PRO that I purchased is USA made so I am unsure about the quality of the Vietnam made amps.

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

I love the tone. I can basically get any tone i want out of the amp. I love how loud and punchy it can get, I really come through with my loud drummer and awesome lead guitarist. But this amp has SERIOUS grounding issues. Some places i can take it and it's just fine. Other places I take it and i can't even play it without the amp cutting out. I've done everything I could possibly think of without replacing the amp itself. I bought it and power amp b was already dead. Not too thrilled with this amp.. per the title, it's great!...when it works right.

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

OK, first of all, this head is a mindless monster. You have to know what your doing in order to get your Tone! The Bi-Amping capabities are fantastic. But you have to make sure your doing everyting right. This thing goes down to 900 watts per channel x 2 at 2 OHMS! But if you bridge it below 4 ohms you'll blow it up. This thing will blow the paper off the speakers of a 8x10 if you let it.
You can get the tone of a all tube SVT or any of the big power house heads of our day- Eden, GK, Fender, SWR.....But this head has a Darkside. It has Endless POWER. If your in a garage band, move along to something else.... but if your in a big time situation, this head is the end. The Answer to all things Bass. Mine is a Vietnam made. I have run it a full bore and it has not failed me yet.
I can see how if you dont hook up the speakers the right way it will blow up. You have to make sure your Ohms to wattage is correct. You have to make sure your buttons are set right or you'll lose tone. All in all, i havent heard a better sounding amp, or id buy it.

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

Where do i start??? If anybody has a proplem with this amp is probobly becaue your not hooking it up correcty. Gotta make sure you have the buttons all pushed in right. This is a complicated amp!! Make sure all your cabinets hook up right to wattage to oms. you dig?? This Amp rocks man. More power than you can ever need. TONE! The 3 12zxy's give you way more tone than you can imagine. The only complaint is you cant ovedrive this monster, but thats ok, just get a ovedrive unit.
I have a usa made and a veitnam made and they both rock. no difference. i use to own the all tube heads.... im 50 years old... cant handle the weight! if the SVT is a 10 then the SVT-4 is a 9.5.

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

If it wasn't for that monster ampeg sound I'd give it a 0 accross the board
This head definately can get any tone you want, and all the power you will need to push it. BUT it is the most unreliable head I've owned, and I'm a true Ampeg fan. I've had several different ampeg set ups and other brands as well. But there is something that just stands out with tone of a ampeg. I bought this head 3 years ago, at first for writing and rehearsing it was awesome. Then came the first live gig and was told by a soundman that I trust that there was noise in the Balanced line out. There is no ground lift on this head. So we took it back home and played around with different hook ups, still had noise. I got a new out of the box head and had the same problem. So I bought a direct box with ground lift, recorded, did several shows and the balanced lines quit working period. This is way TOO much money to spend on bad design, this the only model ampeg I've ever had problems with Im totally disapointed the unreliability factor!
Too much money for repeated problems, even when they gave me another head
No value to working musicians to go through repeated problems

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

Go buy another head or find an old USA made ampeg. The old USA made amps do live up to their name. If you want better quality and better sound for a cheaper price go find a Demeter pre amp and a power amp that fits your needs.
This is one of my favorite sounding heads that I have ever used as far as pure sound goes. The problem is that ever since ampeg moved their factory to Vietnam, the quality has dropped. I have owned this head for about a year now and it has been in the shop about 5 times now for various reasons. I play about 200 gigs a year and cannot trust this head for any of them. The sound cuts in and out, there are mute switch problems as well as other problems. These heads are way too expensive to have this many problems. I have had multiple other friends that all got rid of theirs because of the same problems. A friend of mine is a manager at guitar center and does some ordering for them. He told me that ampeg sends them duds all the time and they have to send them back until they finally get an amp that works properly.
I've lost all respect for this company. They have poor support and terrible products. They know that their quality has gone way down but they charge more than they did before.
Mine has gone out countless times. I know others that have had the same problem and all gotten rid of them. If you want great sound from an amp that you can't ever count on, this is the amp for you.
If these amps could produce the sound that they do reliably, this would be a perfect score. But they don't.

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

Sound, volume, mix cut, best of all contemporary amps. You won't get this sound from any "lightweight"
I spent months going from store to store trying everything available today that would replace
The Acoustic 360 I had in the 70's. Everything was a disappointment until I plugged into the SVT4.

Its clarity and tonal range are far better than all other amps available today. I was using an SVT410 HLF and felt it was a little lacking in the bottom so I added a SVT115..and perfection!

If you have the money, this one will do it all, any venue with the possible exception of a baseball stadium. The tone you crave lives here.
Good Quality throughout. Solidly made pro gear
High priced....what things "top of the line" aren't?

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

I've been using this amp for a few weeks now and I love it.I can get any tone imaginable, it has tons of features and is a monster when it comes to power. I haven't even had the need to monobridge it yet, When i play it in my house it rattles pictures off the walls ans vinrates the entire house, all without compromising any tone and clarity.. I have this paired with the Ampeg Svt 410 Hlf Cab. I reccomend this setup to everyone

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

I have owned my svt4pro for 4 years now and its the best amp made for bass. As a long time guitar player that plays bass as fill in work, I knew I had to spend a few bucks to get solid , loud, bass tone. The svt 4 pro will do the job with tone and volume to spare. Now I have a problem with tube snobs, and I agree they are best for 6 sting guitar, BUT Listen up!!. I have been at the music game for 40 years and played all the great amps ever made. I also worked in several music stores and averaged 1 mil a year sales at 27% margin. Again...I have played everything EVER MADE !!After deciding to buy the best (Ampeg), I did a side by side with ALL their heads and cabs. (Easy because we had a patch bay router).Little or no diffrence between the svt cl, svt vr, and the svt 4 pro. Sonically they are IDENTICAL. Tube snobs are snobs, and will always be snobs. The big difference oddly enough was in the cabs. Now I know the "Bomb" is supposed to be the 8 10 cab right ? WRONG ! Its nothing more than a grandfathered re-issue of the old cab from decades ago. NO IMPROVEMENTS AT ALL IN 30+ YEARS ???Not on my dime! The 6 10 cab blew the 8 10 cab out of the water period. The 6 10 is acoustically designed by computer software. It is ported. It has an adjustable horn. It has WHEELS and a dolly type handle .! IT SMOKES THE 8 10 ! Again....snobs are snobs.In a pinch, I would play any of the amps mentioned, but if your BUYING, save $700 to $1000 in cash on the retail price, and the cash your going to drop on tubes and biasing yearly and get the svt 4 pro.The only reason Im not giving it a solid 5 rating across the board is that they will overheat in a rack due to the placement of side fans as opposed to rear fans. Mine has NEVER OVERHEATED OR TRIPPEDin 4 years. I also have a problem with the price point on the svt vr seeing how its made over seas, an has had many problems with bad soldering joints and inferior components. Especially tubes.Buy the svt 4 pro and the 6 10 cab, save a cool thousand dollars, and have better sounding rig to boot. BTW ...after hearing me play live with the svt 4 pro and 6 10 cab , several of my cl, and vr tube snob, and 8 10 cab snob friends have asked me to loan them my rig for live shows and for recording !I charge them ..........for being snobs !

Comments about Ampeg SVT-4 PRO Series Bass Head:

I just recently purchased this amp after deciding to upgrade from my SVT-3PRO on the basis of needing more horsepower for live gigs. I am so impressed with this thing. I have been able to get such a great tone out of this amp with only minor adjustments on the tone knobs. I got it out of the box on a Thursday and had it ready for a gig on Friday. The compliments on my tone just keep coming as I spend a little more time adjusting. All the output options are nothing short of incredible. I have just barely scratched the surface of all the things this bad boy can do. My one quip is that Ampeg made a huge error by supplying a cable with a Neutrik speakon-to-1/4in cable. In my opinion, since it is designed for high output applications it should have been Speakon-to-Speakon. Other than that it is fantastic.