Ampeg 7pro

[bass sic]

Any bass players here using the 7pro? Things only 15 lbs and 1000 watts. I was thinking if it's comparable to my 4pro I may upgrade to the lighter 7. Not that I'm gigging anymore, but maybe someday.

[CowboyJakeB]

I have a buddy who has one, had it a week and it broke, been in the shop since

[RacerX]

Jake would never put an amp "in the shop." You must be Hemisaurus, but if that's the case, the shop must work for free, given your rep as a cheap Scotsman.

[Corey Y]

Bass builder John K did a thread on Talkbass on the 7PRO. He compared it with an Ampeg SVT VR and the Genz-Benz Streamliner 900, provided a lot of sound clips. Seems like it gets about 90% of the way to a tube SVT sound. I could tell the difference in a blind clip comparison pretty quickly, though some couldn't, but to be fair it was really close. I thought the SVT VR had a little more low end OOMF, but it certainly got that SVT mid character/growl down. Enough to pass in a mix in recording, not sure about live. There's a certain low end punch in the room that doesn't really translate, even on a good recording. I think it's probably worth the price to be that much in the ballpark at that weight.

I almost bought one, but there have been a lot of warranty issues with them. They're at revision C00 and still getting the same reports the A versions had, thermal shutdowns cutting in and out occasionally. Some people swear they've had no issues and it's all resolved now, other people call them crap. Seems like they definitely sound great, especially for the price and the weight. Of course if you buy one new, it WILL have a warranty. So if you do have an issue I'm sure Ampeg would take care of it, it just depends on if you're willing to deal with that if it's the case. It's difficult to cut through the BS and ulterior motives when it comes to people arguing issues with a brand like Ampeg. Most likely there are some problems, but the people who aren't having them don't start scathing internet threads. So what percentage of the amps produced actually have the issue, who knows?

Here's the thread in question, if you want to peruse it and find the sound clips:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/nad-svt7-pro-also-comparing-my-streamliner-900-a-877128/

[Mr. Foxen]

If the 7pro is more expensive than a Sansamp VT bass pedal, and power supply, a Peavey IPR power amp, a patch lead and some double sided tape, get those things instead.

[Corey Y]

The 7PRO (1000W @ 4 ohm) is about $800 new. Peavey IPR 3000 (~840W/side @ 4 ohm) is about $450, VT Deluxe is about $270. With cables and such, it's probably pretty close. Hard to say how apples to apples the power comparison may be. The IPR can be bridged, but that's at 2 ohm and the 7PRO is only 4 ohm stable. You could probably get a 7PRO used for $500-600. Haven't seen the IPR power amps used much, but the VT Deluxe can certainly be had used for around $200 usually, seen them go or less.

Sort of a toss up really. Though if you went with the pre/power setup you could always swap components out later, use another cab (with another preamp even). There's also a lot of different IPR models, so you could scale up and down in price and power pretty easily. Whether it sounds the same I couldn't say. It's not a real clear advantage one way or the other, price wise.

[Mr. Foxen]

Going for the deluxe gives you three or four channels though, I was thinking on the plain one. The IPR is ridiculous light though.

[Lumpy]

Add in the cost of an SKB/Gator road case for the power amp - I'd guess 60 to 100ish dollars (used/new).

[bass sic]

Thanks for the link Corey Y. They seem to be leaning towards the 7pro at least compared to the streamline. My buddy has been playing his for over a year and slightly prefers it to his 4pro, but only for weight. Said if he had a roadie he would stick to the heavier of the two. I know it goes against majority opinion here but I love my tone with the 4pro, but just looking to ease some back pain if I do gig again.

[Mr. Foxen]

Add in the cost of an SKB/Gator road case for the power amp - I'd guess 60 to 100ish dollars (used/new).

The 7pro is a rackmount too, so evens there. Not sure you can take the ears of the Peavey though.

[Hemisaurus]

Figured I'd revive this one, my buddy bought one, he no live in US and has limited choices, though we all advised him against it.

The first one, had horrible buzzing all the time, he checked all his grounding, called Ampeg, who referred him to his local distributor who after a while agreed to replace the amp.

His second amp seemed OK, then earlier this week he turned it on to check his bass, turned it off, there was a buzzing and a loud POP which shook the neighborhood.

The amp persisted in buzzing from then on, every time he turned it off, he got nervous and contacted Ampeg, who again referred him to his local distributor. So today he turned it on, no amp, he can hear it in his headphones and from the DI out, but the rest is gone. Either he's blown the head, or the head blew the fancy new Ampeg 4x10 he bought alongside it.

Either way, not built like a tank, unless the tank was built by Chrysler on one of their off days.

[bass sic]

I've been snooping on other forums and seeing lots of stories like this. Seems that thing is a lemon.

[Hemisaurus]

I am surprised, switch-mode supplies aren't that new a technology, maybe Ampeg need to start stealing R&D from Behringer

Seriously though, my buddy is seriously pissed that he sold his Markbass rig to buy this.

[themusketking]

Buy the Orange Terror Bass head. I have one. I bought it, plugged it into my Ampeg 6x10 cab and sold my sorry ass SVT4PRO a few days later.

[Hemisaurus]

Cool. That one came up in his list of possibles, passed it on.

[Mr. Foxen]

If you want clean headroom from a Bass Terror, benefits from swapping an ECC81 or two into it.