Ampeg SVT 350H

This is a very recent 2004 or 03 production. I think that this amp is very versatile, this amp has a limiter circuit that helps prevent the blubber (distortion) you can get when go at it too hard on the E or low B. Has all the features that I require,The features have been covered quite well,

I am playing a Spector Q5 five string and a Carvin B5 five string both have active pickups I play R&B Rock, Modern Country, Southern Rock, 80's and so on70's Use some slap, playing with fingers, this amp handles it all very well. Amp is very quite, I am using an Ampeg BXT410, it is a 4 OHM cab, so that should be 350 watts. It seems to stay very clean unless you bypass the limiter circuit. Ithink this amp has a very warm sound, without the tubes.

Like all the Ampegs I have had in the past, I expect no trouble

Called the factory about the application and a cabinet recommendation, very friendly rep,

Been playing bass and guitar off and on 35 years, I have had too many diff amps Ampegs, Yamaha, Peavey, Gallien-Krueger,Fender, Ok I will stop.. I have looked at many diff amps this time, and in the price range I am not at all sorry on this one, if it were stolen I would buy another one. I wish it had came with a cover to protect the tolex, there really is nothing that I do not like about this amp.

recent model 350 svt classic head, non tube, mosfet solid state power amp - yeah! standard features, general eq, gain and master volume, limiter, graphic eq option. std outputs, line level mixing avail. on this one, up to 4 ohms handling - 350 big watts.

p or humbucking basses, awesome for hard rock and funk. very clean, quiet, fan cooled but reliable solid wall of thunder. can distort but only an idiot would want to blow up their nice 8x10 cabinet.

just got it but i never had an ampeg go bad, EVER. i've tried almost all of their other heads.

don't have to call if it ain't broke.

had many power amps for bass, swr overheated tho it had good sound, hartke was the best tube hybrid, better than an svt classic tube type, this is tons of hammerin, solid reliable power. bass amps sound best to me when they're non tube. and this thing has a textured feel so it adds 'tube-like' characteristics to keep your sound dynamic. i love it, it hammers hard. cookiestyle!

Too many! I don't use the EQ, I get the sound I like using the "rock" preset from the owners manual (see ampeg.com). XLR out is great, I use the preamp out for a tuner send. On stage, you can turn the volume on your bass on just enough to get your tuner to start working. It BARELY comes out the FOH. Plenty of power. I had an SWR bass 350 and it was very quiet in comparison, even though they are rated the same for power. It's big, but looks cool as hell. Plus, you can fit all kinds of stuff in the back. And the sound, by the way, is totally classic. Sure, the SVT classic is going to sound better, but who can afford one, and who can afford to retube one?

Ibanez SR-405, Crate 4 x 10" cab. I know, Crate, but it sounds great with this amp! I'll be honest, I haven't really tried to find a lot of sounds with it. I like to sound one way, and that's it. I play in a wedding band, so I don't need to change my sound ever. It sounds so good! I get compliments on my sound. I didn't with the SWR.

If you set the gain properly, which is riding a low note pretty hard and turning up the gain until it barely starts flashing, it will rock you. Then, using string dynamics, you can go from smooth country to heavy rock without touching a knob. But be sure your send to the PA is post EQ, or you will sound pretty smooth out front in comparison to rockin' out on your cab. And for God's sake, learn to play with your fingers.

Built like a tank. When I bought it, and another Ampeg amp in the past, the input jacks shorted on both. Easy fix. the jack mounts right on a PC board behind the front panel. Stress on the cord: stress on the jack, solder joints come loose. Take it to any repair shop, and have them put a metal jack on it with wires running to the PC board. I did it myself. Easy. Now that the jack is fixed, I will gig without a backup. I read in one of the other reviews that the fan quit and had to be replaced. I checked the part nmber on mine and checked the web. $26 for a new fan. So if mine ever goes, that too is an easy fix.

I bought it at a pawn shop, no warranty from Ampeg.

I had an SWR and didn't like it. I really wanted to like it, but couldn't even come close. I tried amps at every store in town. I tried to find my sound for months, using compressors, tube preamps, sonic maximizers on this amp and other amps. The best sound I found for me was plugging my bass directly into the SVT-350 and into a 4 x 10" cab. No effects, no preamp, just old fashioned plug-it-in.

Billy Sheehan says he uses Ampeg because their amps are the standard by which all others are judged. I found that out for myself. Watch TV. When you see a band playing anywhere on MTV, late night, whatever- look at the bass rig. More often than not, it's an Ampeg head with a 8 x 10" cab. That tells me something. By the way, I'm getting an 8 x 10" cab next.

I'm done trying to find my sound. I love it. If it was stolen, I'd go buy another one just like it. Or maybe one of the b- series rackmount amps. But then again, they look all modern and don't have cord storage. With this one, nobody knows if my amp is new or 25 years old. I kind of like that.

This is a new Ampeg SVT-350H, built in 2002, bought in early 2003. One channel, one input (with pad switch), input gain, bass, "ultra mid" and treble, master volume, and a switchable nine-band graphic EQ. 100% solid state. It has some kind of special switchable limiter ("Octapussy" or "Octacoupler" or something), but I've yet to make that LED blink... I think you've got to be cranked pretty loud for it to kick in. There's an effects loop (no blend control), preamp in and out, and an excellent XLR send with pre-post eq switch and a pad switch.

This is meant to be like a "classic" (old?) Ampeg head, and maybe that's why they went light on the features. Personally, I feel that once they added modern touches like an XLR out and an effects loop, they could have gone ahead and included some of the other stuff that we take for granted on most amps (headphone jack, tuner send). What would have been REALLY COOL would have been a footswitch jack for the graphic EQ... that would save having to walk back to the amp and push the button when switching from fretted to fretless basses.

But, this amp is not about bells and whistles, it's all about tone, and it's got that in great greasy gobs (see below).

I'm using an Ampeg SVT 410HLF 4 ohm cabinet, and the 350 watts this head cranks into it is WAY more than enough power for my use. I play lots of styles with my praise and worship group (rock, folk, contemporary pop, blues/gospel, reggae, even Afro-Caribbean stuff, we're pretty inventive for a church band!), and our church is large and plagued with atrocious acoustics. But this amp/cab combo does the trick, it always sound full and punchy, and present all the way out to the very last pew. I never run the master volume past 4.

I should preface my comments here by acknowledging that I only know what this amp can do through the cabinet I use, an Ampeg SVT-410HLF. I have no idea how it would sound through an Eden or Aguilar cab. Probably different.

I should also mention that I am a total traditionalist when it comes to bass. I do not slap or pop, except when a specific song chosen by our director forces me to do so. I absolutely never use a pick, and I never try to squeeze distortion out of my bass rig. I like a big, round, voluptuous, warm, punchy bass sound, which suits my role as a member of the rhythm section and a support to the folks in the limelight (singers, instrumental soloists, whatever). I am a huge fan of Victor Wooten, but I have no desire to play our sound like him. I don't play in a progressive jazz-rock fusion band, I play popular music styles in mainstream settings. Being able to get a variety of traditional sounds (and play a wide variety of styles) gets me lots of pickup gigs, so that's where I concentrate my energy.

Enough with the disclaimers, man, how does the damb thing sound?!?!?

I play a Conklin GT-5 with all-Bartolini pickups and active electronics, and a Pedulla Pentabuzz with the same (yes, I love Bartolini). These fairly "modern" sounding basses combined with my very traditional sounding Ampeg rig afford me a whole lot of variety when it comes to tone. The Conklin gets me everything from rumbling reggae tones a la Robbie Shakespeare, to more sparkling, present tones for FM-pop stuff. The Pedulla will do the Jaco "mwaahh" with incredible finesse, but can also get me close to an upright acoustic tone.

The SVT-350H handles all of this really, really well. The usable frequency response of the 410HLF is down to 28Hz, which is the equivalent of organ pedal tones, and the 350H takes advantage of this subharmonic capability, delivering rich, smooth tone all the way down to an open B string. Running the bass knob at 3 o'clock and adding a little nudge on the 40Hz graphic EQ slider will cause structural damage to most buildings. The "ultra mid" knob is actually a midrange contour control. Rolling it left gives you a mid-scooped sound appropriate for slap styles, and rolling it right dials in a funky, retro mid-range honk that will cut through the densest mix. The treble knob is a treble knob, to be used with prudence.

What I like best about this head is that it is dead simple to dial in an utterly gorgeous tone. I have compared the 350H head side-by-side with the all-tube SVT Classic. Is there an audible difference? Yup. The tube head definitely has smoother high-end transients, it is buttery in the treble frequencies. Below about 5kHz, though, I can't tell much difference between the two. Certainly not enough to warrant the Classic's price tag (almost triple the 350H), or its $300 annual retubing, or its prodigious heft (100 lbs, versus 45 for the 350H). The 350's mosfet circuitry works, delivering the goods in the warmth department, there's abundant headroom, and as I've said, getting great tone is childsplay. Hell, just leave everything flat and it sounds great.

I think if you really like a distorted bass sound, you need a tube amp or some kind of stomp box. I have inadvertently distorted the preamp on this thing when I accidentally depressed the pad switch (which I normally have engaged so I can run the preamp gain around 8), and the resultant clipping was not pretty to my ears.

With a different cab, this head might be fine for slap bass. But with the 410HLF I think the low end is perhaps too warm (you Aguilar and Eden fans would probably call this "unfocused"). And I'm not sure why someone would buy a "classic" style head unless they were going to match it with an equally "classic" looking cabinet, but you never know. As I mentioned, I haven't tried it with a different cab, so your mileage may vary.

Oh, the noise thing: the signal f

I've had this head for about 8 months. The first time I switched it on, the fan kicked on and the whole thing started resonating with this odd sort of howl! Turns out the screws that hold the chassis into the head cabinet had not been tightened down at the factory. That's been my only issue thusfar. I also have an Ampeg PortaBass head and cabinet that I use for electric upright bass, and I have had absolutely no problems with either. Ampeg seems to have earned their reputation for reliability.

I bring the PortaBass head to gigs, just because I'm paranoid and I embarrass easily.

I've never dealt with them.

I've been playing guitar for thirty years. I played my first bass gig almost twenty years ago (on a borrowed Fender J-bass through a borrowed SVT stack). I have been playing bass as my primary instrument for around four years.

In that four years, I have owned SWR, GK and Ampeg rigs. The SWR gave me that razor-blades-and-shards-of-glass hi-fi brilliance, which I thought I needed but ended up hating. The GK stuff sounded better than the SWR, but after two heads burst into flames (literally), I gave up. I have also auditioned Eden, Aguilar, Tech21, and Mesa heads. Yup, these four all sound gorgeous, but at the end of the day (and after paying for the mortgage and the car leases and the utilities and clothes for the kids and groceries and....) I just couldn't justify their boutique price tags.

I love my Ampeg rig, it gives me the warm traditional tone that I crave, and I am totally confident that when I switch it on, it's going to work, no muss no fuss. My band loves my sound, our sound tech loves my sound, and my whole rig cost less than I would have spent on one of those super-high-end heads. I even like the 70's look (and I'm not an "emo kid"... I'm so old, I don't even know what that is).

So it's all good.

Yes, I would replace it if lost or stolen.

Footswitchable EQ would be the bomb, though....

It's close to "the" sound. That's not to say that other amps out there don't do just as well at emulating that SVT sound, but it does a pretty decent job of it. That is not really why you would buy this amp, though. You buy it for looks. It looks like an SVT, but without the tubes (or cost). That would be the only reason to buy it over a B-2R, which is slightly cheaper.

The amp itself is simple, standard layout. No fancy eq or contour knobs. Just a simple three knob eq and a pad switch.

Heavy as all get out for a transistor box!

I played a Stingray and a Lakland 44-02 (a beautiful sounding bass, try it) through it using the classic 4x10 enclosure. It does not give you a spot on SVT sound, because it's not a real SVT. It has no valves to speak of.

The amp is limited in that it just doesn't get loud enough. As a result, to play loud enough to clear drums well, you loose your headroom and not in a good way. I can't see doing any serious gigs with this for that reason.

No clue, I know alot of people who like ampeg. Can't be worse than GK.

No clue.

I've played bass for over 7 years. I've used Hartke's, SWRs, GKs (I still use it, but it sucks), and Ampegs in limited capacities.

I can say that I couldn't really recommend this amp. This is more for the emo kids who want to look cool, not for any true tone fanatic. If you're bent on a cheap Ampeg, go with the B-2R. It's the same circuit for less and it weighs alot less and can be rack mounted.

Personally, the best tones you'd get for this money would be a power amp and a pre amp (Line 6 or Tech 21 are my personal favs). You'd get much more volume and get a better approximation of that SVT sound. It's not a bad amp, just a sad amp.

This is like buying a poor man's Ampeg. But if looks are your thing...

I bought the amp used 4 months ago. I don't know it's exact age, I'd guess at 5 years or so. These days I pretty much only play in praise bands at a few churches and a little blues, and this is more than enough amp for those applications. I don't think I've ever had it up past 3 while playing or at rehersal yet. One input, no channel switching and it has an effects loop that I don't use. I have a couple other amps I use a Bass Pod with, but this unit is definitely a plug and play amp. I like the features it has but I'd like to see maybe a little compression on it so I at least had that option.

I am currently using an '84 Fender P bass converted to 5 string by Ross Teigen. It has an 18 volt EMG P/J setup with their BTC system mounted under a concentric pot. I play with both a pick and fingers and this system keeps the pick from sounding doinky. I have A Hartke transporter cabinet with a 15" Eminence Delta and a Peavey P.A. subwoofer with an 18" Eminence Pro in it. I changed the originals out because the Hartke's sound too tiney and have a low power rating and Black Widows sound too clean and crappy when you step on them. I really like Eminence speakers for bass application. With the combination of pickups and the amp's EQ the bottom end is similar to that of a rock concert. I don't say that to exagerate, but to point out that if you have a guitar player playing through a Fender Bassman and he keeps the EQ down low, it can interfere with the range I'm playing at.
What I most noticed is how responsive it is when I play hard on my fingertips to accent. After 35 years this is the closest I have been to having the tone we all hear in our heads.(but never
really find, do we)?



on the amp the bottom end tone resembles the bass frequency at a rock concert. I'm not saying that to exagerate, but to point out that if you get a guitar player using a Fender Bassman, and he keeps the EQ down low, it can sometimes interfere with the frequency that I am near. Add the slight growl that Ampegs have, and I am very close to having the tone that we all hear in our heads. (but never totally find, do we)?


after 35 years I am very close to having the tone that I hear in my head. (but we
never really totally find,do we)? I think the biggets difference I noticed in this amp is when I play hard on the fingertips to accent the Ampeg is more responsive than even my vintage Acoustic 370.

This unit has been dependable so far. I bought it on E-bay and it came with a problem with the input being worked loose. It had a flat spot where it would cut out. I took it to an electronics tech who fixed it fairily easily. I don't carry a backup, this one is heavy enough!

The warranty is 5 years on these. Considering the older versions last forever, if this one lasts half of forever that'll be okay! I know that the closest dealership in in the panhandle, around 6 or so hours away, but like I said earlier, electronics repair isn't brain surgery. A good local tech should be able to take care of most stuff. As far as warranty work, well I have to send my acoustic to Atlanta to have it serviced, so ship it, Fed Ex works great!

I started playing in '68 when I was 11 years old. That doesn't mean I'm good, just that it takes me longer to learn. Ive owned a 35 watt Supro(my first amp), Vox, Kustom K-100(I really miss the tucked naugahyde), West, several Peaveys(bulletproof but no personality) Acoustic 370 and Ampeg. The Supro and West were tube amps. I can say without hesitation that this is the best sounding and most versatile amp I've owned. I used flat wound strings on the first amps, because that was the thing then, so I don't know what bearing that might have had on the outcome. If it were lost I would probably at least try an Ampeg Classic, but I don't do this for a living, the 350H never needs retubing, is not as tempermental as a tube amp, and sounds great! I only have one question, what is a guy that's only been playing for 6 months doing rating anything but video games?

i got this head used in lansing, michigan. having the eq is really great, making it a little more versitile than the standard svt tube. i don't really ever use the limiter, it doesn't seem to do a whole lot. this amp has plenty of power for my applications, which are mostly just practice and small gigs. i've been using it for about two and a half years now and its holding up like a brick, has that great classic rock ampeg tone. 350 solid state mosfet watts. i play it through a 8 ohm trace elliot 4x10, my bass is a fender zone active.

Great ampeg tone. i play rock and blues. sounds great. can get big and powerful. suits me wonderfully. it's only very mildly noisy at higher volumes, but it might be the fault of my ancient beat up trace elliot speakers. has a delicious crunch at high gain. almost overdriven wonderful hard rock, solid bass tone. has a little more fan noise than i'd prefer, but i still record open mic with it and you'd never really know. very close to acheiving tube feel in a solid state.

considering i bought it used about 3 years ago i'm very impressed with its durability thus far. i've hauled it around to several gigs, abusing it all the while, and you'd never know. i haven't yet had to service it at all. i feel very confident in its reliability.

havent had to deal with any of this

awesome rocking amp. great for classic rock, hard rock, blues. powerful and full of classic tone. great eq. really shakes the house. bothers the neighbors. roars like a bassy beast. growls with primal authority. i'm fully satisfied with this amp and don't see the need for a new amp for many years to come. especially great for live rock shows, a tad noisy for recording, but not really. deliciously powerful live. buy my bands cd to hear me play through this amp: www.geocities.com/interfaceband.

I bought mine used four years ago. I love the sounds I get out of it. It's a bummer that it's as big as a horse's ass... but then, I can't complain when I fill that rear storage cavity with cables, wireless system, tuner, etc. I adore the EQ. I wish it did have a Tuner input jack. I use this for medium size gigs, bars, etc. I only wish it had more wattage; 200W into an 8 ohm cab is just marginal for my needs. Basically, I use the cab as a stage monitor, but I supplement the volume by XLR into our FOH P.A.

God invented bass for its big, clean foundation, and that's what my job is, laying out a simple, chest-pounding low-end groove. I sometimes toy with some of those impressive-but-useless music store slapping aerobics, and the 350h has more than enough high-end capability for that stuff. I've never played it hard enough for it to distort.

The big idea here is, how well does your audience like your sound, and I get compliments all the time. That's where it counts.

Other than knowing I can go right into our P.A. is my Ampeg smokes, I never think about a backup. My backup would've been a Carvin, and it's busted!

A year ago, very rarely, I'd turn on the 350's power switch, and it would blow the basement circuit breaker. I figured it was the power switch going out, so I replaced that. It got worse, to the point where I kept a flashlight by my amp so I could find my way to the circuit panel. Finally, an electrician pointed out that I was stupid, it just had a weak breaker in my panel. Fixed. No problems yet with this possibly 6-7 year old amp. (knock on wood.)

If it would just bristle with 300W into 8 ohms, I'd be delighted. It plays well with my G&L 5-string, Low B really booms. Playing through a Peavey 4X10 (older rear-ported), and together, they sing. If it were stolen, I'd definitely go buy it back from our local pawn shop.

Had been borrowing an Ampeg B2-R and liked the sound. Has "that sound". Ampeg said this is the same circuitry, only in a head. Bought one new. Seemed like the right amount of knobs. Channel switching wasn't important to me. I was looking for a instrument-cord-amp sound. My only gripe is it could use a bit more power.

Using a stock Fender Jazz. Going for a Geddy Lee tone, but my band has a bluesy feel. It fits pretty well as we're a trio. Have to do more of a Lead Bass thing.

Still pretty new but I don't expect problems.

The first one I got apparently got dropped. The cabinet joint was broken as well as the signal cutting out. The box showed no signs of grief. They are shipped on their sides, which doesn't seem like the best idea to me. Lots of weight to stress the cabinet if dropped. Musician's Friend was very good about getting me another (closest dealer is 100 miles away). I've called and e-mailed the company about other things and response has always been prompt, helpful and friendly.

Using an Ampeg SVT-410HE and Sonic 1-15" with a JBL-G135. This amp replaces my Peavey Mark IV; a workhorse and faithful companion since 1985. I may slave the Peavey in to my second Sonic 1-15" (Black Widow) for outdoor gigs. If I upgrade the amp, I will definately stick with Ampeg, but may move up to a tube unit.

Plenty of Features. Almost too many features for someone who knows as little about bass amps as I do. 9-band eq, balanced line out, effects loop. Alot of stuff to mess with.

I play a Music Man Stingray 4 string 3 eq bass. That bass sounds better through this amp than my Fender P-Bass did. This amp is plenty loud enough, but I can't seem to get anywhere near the sound I want out of it. I can get alot of different tones out of it, just not what I want at all. I can't get it to sound round enough. It's either too thin or too thick.

Because it doesn't use tubes and uses the MOSFET instead, it's plenty reliable. But I would personally rather have the tubes to get the sound to be rounder and fatter. I've never had a problem with it not working well, but it seems everytime I turn this amp on it sounds different.

Never had to call Ampeg

I've only been playing bass for about 6 months. If this got lost or stolen, I would probably invest my money in an SWR or a Mesa/Boogie. This amp is very reliable and can produce alot of sounds, but I can't get it to sound anywhere close to what I want out of it. I can crank it and try pushing it all I want, but it just doesn't sound right. I normally play out of a Yorkville cab, but I've tried playing it out of other cabinets and it still doesn't sound right. I know it's not this particular amp that isn't getting the sound I want, because I've played other SVT 350h's to see, and I still couldn't get the sound I wanted. I only got this amp because I got an awesome deal on it...but I'm going to trade it and get another amp.