Music videos featuring Fat-Bottom Girls (Rippers, Victories, etc)

[TBird1958]

Ampeg's repair service in Germany repaired it everytime!  But let's see what they will say this time.

 Maybe you could have them gut it and install a GK inside 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Don't start me with tube amps right now!!!     

My SVT has just broken down again, it always reliably does. I read these amazing stories about people and their SVTs, roadworn and same set of tubes for 20 years. Not mine. I bought it (new) around 2004 or so. It was the Anniversary series, and it has all its tubes exchanged twice already since then. It's never gigged (I'd never trust it to work going from A to B with the experiences I've had!), not very often played, it just sits in a perfectly dry and heated rehearsal room and does nothing most of the time. It wasn't even played for the last two years or so (I had left that particular band, the amp was still mothballed in their rehearsal space), still all I get now is distortion at very low volume and the master volume obviously not working at all (full gain and full master = you can barely hear the signal and it is all distorted, brittle and keeps cutting out). I know the symptom, it is always followed by full replacement of all tubes. I find two - very soon: three - complete tube replacements in an amp over a period of 12 years (with the amp being played once a week at the most) unreasonably much.

No other piece of equipment has ever done this to me. Not Dynacord, not H&H, not Reußenzehn, not Peavey, not Ashdown,  not Markbass, not Orange. That SVT is jinxed.

Rant over! 

Yours is a modern era, SLM produced SVT CL, and almost nothing like a vintage SVT aside from the name. I used to be an SLM service provider and tales like yours were not uncommon, mainly because their QC and parts quality could at times be abysmal in what were for the most part otherwise decent amps. I encountered a few SVT CL's and IIPro's that did the same things as yours and the fault had nothing to do with the tubes. Their protection circuitry had a tendency to become hypersensitive and short of completely redoing the output section and replacing it, the only reliable solution was to use output tubes requiring extremely low bias current or biasing them extremely cold and subsequently, most of those amps would never even come close to their rated output power.

You have a faulty amp being serviced by an incompetent tech, "certified" service center or not.

[Dave W]

You have a faulty amp being serviced by an incompetent tech, "certified" service center or not.

Yep.

Maybe you could have them gut it and install a GK inside 

 

[amptech]

It wasn't even played for the last two years or so (I had left that particular band, the amp was still mothballed in their rehearsal space), still all I get now is distortion at very low volume and the master volume obviously not working at all (full gain and full master = you can barely hear the signal and it is all distorted, brittle and keeps cutting out).

When people ask what they can do to prevent tube amps from breaking down, I say play them

Although probably not the case here, many a situation of 'it played great when I put it away 20 years ago, tried it yesterday and it blew up!' could be prevented if the amp was played a couple of times a year. Electrolytic capacitors can crystallize in a year, old or not. Presented with very high voltage in that shape they can fail. A good amp on the road usually gets tubes replaced now and then, and a tech looks throug it from time to time. So you get the 'forever lasting amp' stories - if a touring band takes a break a couple of years, the amp is checked before they power it up. It's kept clean, rebiased and those caps are checked/reformed - but not necessarily retubed.

As Dave said, you could send it up here (guess shipping these amps is expensive) and I look through it. You can get a special price if i can deliver personally and soil your EB-6 at the same time (the semiacoustic), still never got the chance to play one!

[uwe]

I'm sure there is something specific with that amp, a Montagsproduktion (lemon item), no doubt.

Thanks for the gracious offer, I'll give it one more try here.

Frankly, I'm not on the lookout for an old SVT, the sound does nothing for me (I've used old ones in the studio) and they tend to sound samey to me, whatever bass you use, you get an Ampeg sound. Kind of like a Marshall with a guitar. I don't want an amp with that much coloring. I bought my Ampeg rig back then because after decades of sophisticated biamping (tubes for the highs, solid state for the rumble, four different cabs with 10", 15" and 18"), I wanted to try an all-in-one solution (and, to be honest, I played in a Brit Pop band at the time and thought the Ampeg SVT plus fridge would look the part). Turned out I'm not an all-in-one guy at all , I only had the 8x10 fridge cab for a few weeks when I began to miss my 18" from the biamping days, so I added a 1x18" Ampeg cab, that much for "all-in-one".

I only use the Ampeg rig in the rehearsal room. I'll say that for it: It has a nice way of "immersing" a room in bass sound without being too loud or stepping on anybody's toes. Of course, playing live, "immersion" of the stage in bass sound is exactly what the sound engineer does not want. 

Someone here once quipped that if my desire is to have a rig that brings out the nuances of each and any bass, I should get a Glockenklang and be happy. I played one in a shop some time ago to test basses and I must say I immediately liked what I heard, no fiddling necessary. And the two basses I played (Epi Explorer Korina Ltd Ed and Gibson EB 5-er 2016) sounded radically different with the same settings, but both sounded good in their way.

[Pilgrim]

They should know that if it keeps eating tubes, it's not the tubes.

Ship it to amptech in Norway. He'll find out what's wrong.

Needs more lutefisk.

[patman]

One thing I've always liked about Ampeg was that with little EQ effort, it sounds like what I think a bass should sound like...

[uwe]

What EQ?!   

[patman]

Just gotta figure out how much bottom you want...

[uwe]

Subwoofish - the one you don't hear anymore, but that makes your bowels happy.

[bassilisk]

I guess he prefers those sounds ...
It's in moments like these I realize that I'm getting old, I like none of them!  80% of those demonstrated sounds would have me turn my head in anguish and go: "OMG, my rig just broke down!" 

I found this and had to add it into this thread. Someone finally got it right and built exactly what was needed.



Dr. No releases yet another invention to add to his unique unconventional collection of handmade Guitar Effects, the TURD Fuzz.

Dr. No Effects tried to be successful in bringing you the shittiest guitar pedal in the world of guitar effects. Unfortunately he partially failed in doing so… The TURD Fuzz is a turd shaped pedal making it a shitty pedal indeed made of soft foam material, that when stepped on engages the effect,  but this soft textured TURD Fuzz pedal houses a excellent fuzz effect, were the doctor is known for. The handmade circuit contains a pair of two NOS transistors that generate this nasty old fashioned fuzz tone, that works very well with guitar and bass guitar.

This TURD Fuzz is a collaboration with friend and artist Peter van Elderen, (Peter Pan Speedrock, Home Steel), who worked together on this smelly collaboration that resulted in this unique awesome sounding FUZZ.

The TURD Fuzz, has one single internal volume potentiometer, that can be tuned with a tiny flat screwdriver. The TURD Fuzz works on a 9v external 2.1mm power-supply.

Also on top of the TURD Fuzz a custom made Fly is added, that functions as a on/off indicator instead of a standard led indicator. The eyes of the fly light up when stepping on to the TURD Fuzz, and engaging the effect.

The TURD Fuzz is fully handmade in Dr. No’s lab from soft TURD enclosure and internal sonic design as well as the custom made and designed TURD Fuzz box.

I have nothing to add.

[gearHed289]

One thing I've always liked about Ampeg was that with little EQ effort, it sounds like what I think a bass should sound like...

That was the first thing that impressed me when I played through a '72 SVT for the first time. Still the best bass amp ever made for me personally, with the SVT III Pro a reasonable "light weight" alternative. And for extra light weight, I've been happy with my Genz Benz Streamliner 900.

[Basvarken]

One thing I've always liked about Ampeg was that with little EQ effort, it sounds like what I think a bass should sound like...

+1

My V4B always sounds exactly like I want it to sound, whatever the venue.
Whereas the Orange AD200 tends to sound different in different venues.

[uwe]

What's worse than a rig that works unreliably?

A rig that fails unreliably!!! 

Last week, in despair and distaste, I drenched my SVT with contact spray, inputs, outputs, tube sockets, switches, the controls (I know, very amateur hour ...), all in line with this forum's of fora credo that no hole (or crevice) should be left unfilled. Of course it didn't change a thing.

Initially. A couple of days later I was just about to take it to the shop for repair and before carrying it to the car plugged the bass in just in case ... And what does the fiendish device do?!!! It works with no apparent issues.  I then rehearsed with it for hours ... no failures. 

Today I snuck into the rehearsal room again, confiident that the satanic Ampeg's act of vile deception would - of course - not be repeated. And what did it do? Disappoint me yet again by working flawlessly.

HOW I HATE THAT RIG!!!   

[uwe]

I found this and had to add it into this thread. Someone finally got it right and built exactly what was needed.



Dr. No releases yet another invention to add to his unique unconventional collection of handmade Guitar Effects, the TURD Fuzz.

Dr. No Effects tried to be successful in bringing you the shittiest guitar pedal in the world of guitar effects. Unfortunately he partially failed in doing so… The TURD Fuzz is a turd shaped pedal making it a shitty pedal indeed made of soft foam material, that when stepped on engages the effect,  but this soft textured TURD Fuzz pedal houses a excellent fuzz effect, were the doctor is known for. The handmade circuit contains a pair of two NOS transistors that generate this nasty old fashioned fuzz tone, that works very well with guitar and bass guitar.

This TURD Fuzz is a collaboration with friend and artist Peter van Elderen, (Peter Pan Speedrock, Home Steel), who worked together on this smelly collaboration that resulted in this unique awesome sounding FUZZ.

The TURD Fuzz, has one single internal volume potentiometer, that can be tuned with a tiny flat screwdriver. The TURD Fuzz works on a 9v external 2.1mm power-supply.

Also on top of the TURD Fuzz a custom made Fly is added, that functions as a on/off indicator instead of a standard led indicator. The eyes of the fly light up when stepping on to the TURD Fuzz, and engaging the effect.

The TURD Fuzz is fully handmade in Dr. No’s lab from soft TURD enclosure and internal sonic design as well as the custom made and designed TURD Fuzz box.

I have nothing to add.

A++++ for originality and faithful implementation of an idea.  This is not just a spoof, but it actually exists?