Ampeg SVT-VR

Ampeg SVT-VR

Chris using the SVT-VR during the recording of The Resistance

The 'Ampeg SVT-VR is a vintage reissue of the Ampeg SVT, one of the classic bass amps, produced by US bass amplification manufacturer, Ampeg. The SVT stands for Super Valve Technology. The original SVT was produced in the late 1960s, designed by Ampeg's chief engineer Bill Hughes, after bigger concerts got more and more popular and the need for higher powered bass amps became increasingly big. The Ampeg SVT produced 300 watts of power, which was considerably more than most bass amplifiers of that era. Because of that, the SVT instantly became a classic, used by artists such as The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Bootsy Collins. The production of the SVT later evolved into Ampeg producing the SVT-CL Heritage, a more modern version of the SVT.

In 2006, Ampeg revealed the Ampeg SVT-VR, which was, as mentioned above, a vintage reissue of the classic blue-line SVT from the 1970s. In contrast with the CL, Ampeg tried to bring back the classic SVT sound with this amp. As a result, the preamp stage, power section, and even the rocker switches of the new SVT-VR emulate the exact signal path, tone, and vibe of the original amp. Because of it being almost identical to it, the SVT-VR is considered to be the closest thing to any original SVT models produced by Ampeg. The SVT-VR is still being produced and sold today. The SVT-VR has also been reproduced by many plugin manufacturers such as IK Multimedia and Brainworx.

Wolstenholme was seen using the Ampeg SVT-VR in the studio on The Resistance, The 2nd Law, Drones and Simulation Theory. It's used as one of the clean bass amps (depending on the song), providing the low-end to the two distortion bass amps (usually two Marshall DBS 7400s), used in paralel with the SVT-VR.

Specifications

• 300 Watt RMS of power
• 2 or 4 Ohms of impedance
• 2 channels: "Bright" and "Normal"
• 2 inputs per-channel
• Channel one controls: One volume knob and three tone knobs (treble, mid and bass)
• Channel two controls: One volume knob, one treble and one bass knob
• Ultra high and ultra low switches on both channels
• 3-Position rocker switch for midrange filter on channel one
• Balanced line-out
• Preamp output & Power amp input
• Neutrik Speaker Twist and jack speaker outputs

See also

• Ampeg SVT-VR on the Ampeg website
• Ampeg SVT-II Pro
• Ampeg PR-1832HE Bass Cab

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