Ampeg SVT-IV Pro

All I need and much more. My favorite feature on this power monster is the many different setup modes. I often use my mine biamped to send all of the lows to 1x15" SWR Son of Bertha while keeping my 4x10" SWR Goliath III 4x10" full-range when playing in more quiet settings, but when I play loud, I rock it in dual mono (full range through both cabs) Also, I really dig the tube/solid state aspect.

I absolutely love the sound I am getting. The SVT-4 gives any player the ability to tune into virtually any tone imaginable. From bassy lows to hyper-bright pop, the SVT-4's got it. The only amp I would like to try out before giving this head a 10 is the SWR SM-1500 (I love their cabs, but I haven't really gotten the chance to try out any of their larger heads along with my SWR cabs.)

Here's where I have a problem. One night while playing a very coveted and important gig, one whole channel simply conched out leaving me with just one side of the amp operating correctly. The guy running my band's sound told me that he immediately noticed something wrong about the same time that I did. Luckily, it was late into the gig and I only had 2 or 3 songs left for the night, but as you could imaging, I was highly pissed. After taking the cab to a certified Ampeg technician, I found out that two of the mosfets in channel B had shorted out. I had it repaired for about $200.00 and since then(about 5 months ago), she has worked just fine. However I must say in Ampeg's defense, the club in which I was playing that night obviously had some electrical grounding issues. I say this because during some of the heavier songs my band played that night, the lights in the club were dimming and I was not using a surge protector or a power conditioner (I know,... dumb). Still, because of this incident I am constantly nervous while playing loud ever since.

Immediately after the aforementioned incident, I called Ampeg's customer service department and they gave me the name of the certified technician who performed the repair needed. The guy i spoke with was obviously Jamaican and was pretty cool, but then again, I obviously would like to never need customer support.

I've been playing for about 13 years and this is my favorite amp so far. However, if it were stolen, I would definitely look into the SWR SM-1500 since I love their products.

Ampeg SVT 4 Pro made in USA.
It has 2 power amps and 1 all tube preamp.
All kinds of EQ, mid selector, Ultra LOW, Ultra HIGH, BRIGHT just about everything you need if you're a serious knob tweaker (I am not)
It has a mute button effects loop and so many outs its not even funny.
The power rating is said to be 1600 watts max - I belive that... I play some pretty large shows (over 2000 people) and if I had another cab, I may not even need the PA's help.... yea.... it loud...

I used 2 different basses mainly; a Musicman Sabre and a custom vintage Fender P bass. Both sound great through this thing. A lot of people ***** and moan about ampeg amps coloring the sound, and I would have to say yes they do... Guess what though... it colors the sound BRILIANTLY... yes... Its fat, meaty, and yet defined. It could be slightly more transparent, but I'm tellin you, that sound you've been looking for? Yeah, this has it... that wonderful Ampeg in-your-face punch... I play roots based music (blues/jazz/funk) with modern twists. I run this though an SVT 610HLF and every note sounds great. Would probably sound better through an 810, but a 610 will actually fit into my car, whereas an 810 you need a helicopter to move around...

It's an Ampeg man... You can light it on fire, throw it down a staircase (I actually knew someone who threw theirs down a staircase), and it will still work like nothing happened... Made in the USA does mean something still...

I've never dealt with customer service. I've had this amp for almost five years now and not even a preamp tube has gone bad. I play out at least twice a week and practice at home nearly everyday. Nothing bad so far (knock on wood).

Ampeg just makes great sounding, reliable gear, period. Anyone who would complain about the SVT 4 pro either A) does not know what he/she is doing (probably some former guitar player) or B) sux so bad that even ampeg can't make them sound good... A lot of your sound comes from your hands people... its not ampegs fault!!! Overall, if something happened to this amp, I might try something lighter (it is almost 50lbs!). All in all however, I would probably end up buying another one. Heres a tip; buy one used if you can find one, they are reliable as hell.

THIS THING IS A MONSTER, I PLAY EVERYTHING FROM METAL TO SMOOTH JAZZ. I RUN TWO OF THESE THINGS WITH SONIC MAXIMISERS. THEY POWER 16 10s and 2 15s ALL AMPEG CABINETS OF COURSE. I ALSO RUN IT MONO BRIDGED AND IT MAKES THUNDER. EVERYTHING IS RACK MOUNTED WITH ROAD READY FANS.

THE SOUND IS AWESOME, I PLAY FENDERS, SCHECLERS, AND MUSIC MAN BASSES. EVERYTHING SOUNDS AWESOME. DEPENDING ON WHAT YOUR PLAYING, YOU CAN DIAL THIS AMP VERY WARM FOR THAT SMOOTH JAZZ SOUND OR YOU CAN PUNCH IT FOR THAT METAL SOUND, AND TRUST ME..YOU WILL HEAR EVERY NOTE.

ITS AN AMPEG......

NEVER NEEDED IT

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR YEARS, WHEN I FIRST STARTED PLAYING IN THE 70s I USED A SUNN, THEN SWITCHED TO GALLEN KUGGER. THEY ARE GOOD AMPS ALSO, BUT WHEN I USED AN AMPEG IN THE STUDIO, I WAS HOOKED. I LOVE THIS AMP, DONT LISTEN TO NEG. COMMENTS, GO TO YOUR MUSIC STORE AND PLUG ONE IN. GO WITH WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, IT MAY NOT BE AMPEG, BUT ITS WHAT WORKS FOR ME.

2006- all kinds of shit on this amp...

I use a fender areodyne bass in "c".
has the low end for sure and the power. I use it in mono/bridge with a 8-10AV and i have to say it over heats like as ass..even though the manual says to run it mono with an 8-10..needs to be stero with 2 8-10's and i think it would sound better and not cut out nor shut down.i can get i dirty sound buti need to put the gain on 2:00 oclock and the master on about 11:00..but the gain cannot go any louder...starts to cut out.

I am getting rid of it after only 3 months use..why?? over heats and shuts down.. Played 3 shows and it would shut down for about 10 sec and play then again shut down...I'm lookin into the sct classin or vr 70's instead...I like the dirty sound of tunes and shoud of went with a all tune head...oh did i mention that i was told by git techs to take it out of the flight case becuase of the over heatin..its a rack mount head??hello..its supposed to be in a case..i was pissed that the air grills are on the side. were no air flow is casue if the case..stupid..i think ampeg needs to make the fan front to back..

i'm dealin with a dealer..for a trade in..going to lose some money on it since i paid 1400 new .now its months old..they will take as a trade in.

been playing bass over 10 years..all kinds of bands..punk,rock,,hard-core.this amp has the power..just need to deal with the coolin of this amp(i.e. buy a fan and mount on it)if this amp was lost or stolen..good...to many problems not the sound i wanted
i love that this thing can make you crap your pants with all the power but sound is just ok...
If your lookin at buying this amp make sure to play it loud and long to make sure it wont shut down..also i think its more for funk/jazz/players not rock/heavey ass music.
I regret buyin this amp..for the couple hundred dollars more you can get the classic and for a couple hundred more you can get the 70's vr
you pay for what you get..and thats the truth!!

If you're reading this, you know all the features. More than you'll ever really need, but once you get it, you'll spend a few days playing with all the buttons and knobs and learn to love them all. The bi-amp is awesome once you figure it out. If you've got the right cabs, it's amazing the difference it can make. The mute button rocks. Nice thing to have. Personally, if I were to redesign it, I'd put the tubes in front and light them up. They are in there somewhere, but I can't see em!

Ahhh, gentlemen. Welcome to paradise.

This thing rocks. I've been playing for around 15 years and played through a LOT of stuff. I've tried it all at one point or another, from exotic to cheap and crappy. It's one of those things where us bass players always are looking for THAT sound. It's like golfers who always want to try new clubs. We're guys, thats what we do. We always think the grass is greener somewhere else.

And I was like that with bass equipment. I went through over a dozen different basses over the years till I found The Red Ric (my demon possessed red Rickenbacker 4003). For me, that bass is the last one I'll ever buy. If found The Sound. No need to even look any more.

And last night, I got my hands on the SVT 4Pro. I played an outdoors gig at a big ranch this morning and that was it. I found it.

This thing just plain overwhelms you. The sound is so sweet and fat that when you play at normal bearable levels that you dont think it can eat you alive. Then you get it outside and crank it up and... get the hell out of the way. It's a beast. It punches you in the chest and makes your head swim. It takes over everything and rumbles with no mercy.

I loved the sound of my Ric before on a fairly powerful but cheapo amp (dont ask) until the Thrown Together In China amp blew it's own brains out at a gig. But when I really let the SVT-4 cut loose, then I discovered what it really means to feel every note you play. To hell with monitors. To hell with PA. This thing punches you in the chest with every note. You adjust your playing style to a lighter touch, knowing every minute movement will thump you good.

The features really came in handy. I liked the fact that I could plug directly into the board and then adjust my output level from the head. Very cool.

I play through an Ampeg vintage SVT 410 and an SVT 118. I never see anyone use a 1-18, but I love mine. I figured out how to bi-amp the signal and cut the lower signal to the 18 and adjust the crossover to the 4-10. Once you find the best cutoff, you can then adjust the level balance between the two. VERY nice to be able to do that. I got a sound that was huge, deep, fat and punchy, all at the same time. Not an easy thing to do. I looked at getting into the Ampeg 810 and selling my current cabs, but I measured my car and figured it wouldnt fit. I can pick up both my cabs so it's probably better to stick to what I have. And who knows if anything can get as deep as that 18. It's off the charts deep and the SVT can whip it like a bad dog.

Guys, if you want a totally amazing bass playing experience, plug a 410 and a 118 into an SVT4. You may never produce children again, but who cares. You cant go wrong with this amp! All hail Ampeg!

Just bought it used. Paid $800 for it and it looks to be in perfect shape. I played for 3 hours at high volume today in Texas and it was flawless. We'll see.

No personal experience with Ampeg yet.

This is The Amp. Period. No need to try anything else again. Lot's of amps sound nice in the store, but when you get into a situation where you've got a lot of people in front of you in a huge, open air area and you want to punch them with a big, fat, wet wallop of bass, you need the SVT4.

I tried the SVT-CL and really liked it. I liked the old school looks and history and such, but the 80 lbs of heft on my old back and the $300 retube costs made me give the SVT4 a serious look. But once I compared the two together, over the same cabs, I like the sound of the SVT4 better. Not to mention the cool features, the lower cost and the 40 pound savings. For the money, I dont think you can find a better amp.

I mean, once you really let this thing cut loose, it's a little scary. For the first time, I had to wear earplugs because of my bass. Not the guitar or harmonica or drums. I needed plugs beacuse of the BASS. And even with ear plugs, I heard every nuance of every note with big, gut punching power.

Go buy one. And Ampeg should send me a free t-shirt for being so eloquent about thier equipment!

MY amp was made in 1991. I love the fre adjustment i like number 5 the best. You can do what ever you want with this amp

I use a shector elite. It hase emg hz's inside and I have got lot of complaments on my tone. i use the compression at first and then deciced to turn it of to give my bass lines more dinamics. After doing this the amp became way louder.

I do not have a back up for this amp. If you set it up right it will last for years. First do not get a skb case for it or any kind of plastic case. Get a old wooden rack case. The reason you need wood is there are no vent in the back or the front of the amp. I have holes drilled in the side of my case right next to the vents. If you have over heating problems this is probaly why. It is very reliable. I work in a pawn shop and I had a man come in to buy a bck up head for his svt. I asked why do you need a back up. he had ran over his svt with his suburban after a show and guess what it still worked and he needed a back up for peace of mind

never had to talk to ampeg

I have been playing for about 10 years and this amp rocks. I really hate how heavy this beast is. If it was stolen I would try to get a new one but I work in a pawn shop so I would honestly let fate decide

This amp was made in 2006 and bought new.
I won't bore you with the exact details of what it does because you probably already know it specs. If not go to Ampeg.com and read up on it. About the only feature I wish it had is a wet/dry mix control for the effects loop. You can bypass the effects loop which is great but just make sure you experiment with this because the volume may be different with it on verses off.

I use an Ampeg 410HLF speaker cabinet which has the extended frequency range and this amp can drive the lower notes with east, even down to D or C if you want to go that low. However I found out the supplied speaker cable with the map is used for by-amp mode only which means I???m using 1200 watts into my 500 watt speaker cabinet. Can you say overkill not to mention the possibility of damage to your speaker cabinet!

I had to go and get a ???Speakon??? cable (highly recommended) for the non-biamp side or Side ???A??? if you will. The 4PRO has 2 amps??? side A @ 490 watts and side B @ 490 watts (for stereo or mono if you only use one side), and in bi-amp mode (mono only) will produce 1200 watts continuous. If you get the speaker cable for stereo side A or B you will have greater control over the amps volume if you are running into a speaker cabinet that can???t handle 1200 watts that this thing can dish out.

This amp has tube preamp with Mosfet solid state power amp and it sounds very tight. I have used this in a room about 50x120 in a church with high ceilings and loads of carpet and big bean-bags (high school room) and there is ???no way??? I can turn it up or I???m rattling the rafters. I play at about 30-35% volume in that room and I can cut through all three guitarists and drums without ???booming??? the place.

I have an Ibanez SR 800 and it sounds really nice through this amp. I have not use any other basses so I can???t comment on that aspect. I did play this setup at Guitar Center with other basses but you all should know by now how terrible that type of atmosphere can be to try out basses or amps. I did like, however, how a fretless sounded through it at GC for what that???s worth. The variable fan on the amp seems a bit loud when you are next to it but I don???t know of anyone who will be sitting next to the fan output when my band is playing so it???s really a non-issue. I have played very bright for some funky sounds and very warm and mellow when I???m trying to emulate a fretless sound on my fretted bass.

The bypass for the effects is great because I can get rid of the slight hiss coming from my pedals when I???m not using them. I can also set my EQ to a different sound quality and turn it on and off via foot pedal during a song to change my sound which happens in some chorus sections when I want to boost up and brighten my sound. I have pushed the limits of my speaker cabinet and the sound has stayed clean all the way to the top but more important to me is how clean it sounds and low volumes. I also play cords and harmonics with is easy to hear and doesn???t get muddy sounding. So for you guys who like to tap, hammer and thumb you will be pleased.

I have also layered loads of sounds using my Lexicon Jamman and stomp boxes and the sound stayed clean and tight. However, part of that is the wide frequency range of my Ampeg 410HLF cabinet.

I can???t say much about reliability because I???ve only had this amp for 2 months. Nuff said.

I can???t say anything about customer support because I have not needed it. <grin> I received the standard factory warranty. Just so you all know, your receipt is your factory warrenty.

So after 2 whole months I???m very happy, my guitarists are happy because I have a clean sound and our sound guy is happy because he can take a direct out to our mixer or house amp and control my levels if needed. But they can also hear my mistakes now.

Just so you know, I started with a Bassman 100 (1972) and it was nice but a beast to haul around. It also didn???t give me very much flexibility in my sound but it was warmer sound. I then got a SWR Workingman???s 12 for a practice amp. The tweater blew in no time and it never gave me the sound I was looking for even when miked through a mixer or house amp. I use a Bass squeeze, Bass chorus, Bass digidelay, Digitech BP8, and a Lexicon Jamman.

Overall this is a very nice amp, but please when you compare this to other amps, always remember the amp is only a part of the equation for YOUR overall sound. I took my personal bass into GC to test this amp and speaker and then tested other combinations of amps and speakers. I was not interested in a combo so I didn???t go that route. Then I went to several bass amp dealers and tried there stuff out and took my lead guitarist with me. He played my bass so I could step back and hear from a distance.

If ever stolen, I'll catch the idiot, then use all 1200 watts to fry his hearing before I call the police. Then calmly I will take my amp drop it on his head... oops and then get a new one.

For me this rates a 10 for features - tube preamp, solid state power amp, great semi parametric mid, switchable graphic, compression (I rarely use), bi-amp capable with adjustable crossover, pre or post pre-amp low impedance output for recording. If you like load stage sound, ya won't need to run this into the house sound at gigs. This prevents the sound guy from screwin' up yer sound and making it all muddy like.

Some have said it does not have enough power or does not have as much as the SVT all-tube deal. This is pure nonsense. I have a well maintained 1969 SVT (blue front panel markings) and it is deafening with enough speakers connected to it. However this SVT IV Pro kicks the living s__t out of it provided there are enough high quality cabinets connected at the correct resistance and the graphic is set up to match the cabinets frequency range. This last item is real important since this thing is capable of a much wider frequency range than most single cabinets can handle.

I have 9 basses but the ones I use the most through this are a Spector Euro CR-4 (with EMG's & the tone pump thing), 2000 Fender Jazz US, Fender Jazz 5 with preamp, 1973 Fender Precision and a 1990 Kubicki ExFactor fretless. All of them sound great through this head. For cabinets I use 2 SWR Goliath III's or, for lower volume practicing, a single Avatar B210 with Delta 10B's. I play mostly rock & blues based rock.

Some have complained about the sound quality from this unit. You cannot run this through some POS cabinet and get good sound. If you are going to use professional grade equipment, the whole sound chain has to be professional grade, not just the head. Otherwise it's sorta like having an impacted rectum - lots of pressure but nothing much comes out :-P. I use 2 SWR Goliath III's because the Ampeg refrigerators are a PIA to transport however, they sound really awesome - better than my SWR's - with this unit.

As I mentioned under "Features", you need to adjust the graphic to match the cab's frequency range. My 2 SWR cab's low end tapers off pretty steeply at around 55 or 60 cycles. This head will put out right down to only a few cycles per second and there is no sense putting that into the cabinets. Besides, you can't hear it (below audible range) so it's just wasting power and killing the speakers. F'rinstance, if I turn up the gain a little and pull the E string on my bass back and forth at about 4 or 5 cycles per second, the speakers will follow the string movement. If I turn it up a little more I can bring the speakers to the end of their cone travel (XMax). While this is OK at lower volumes, I find that by cutting the 33hz slider and boosting the 80hz slider, I get thunderous, weapons-of-mass-destruction type power while maintaining high quality sound. It also mixes much better with the band and people can actually hear what notes I play. Of course, to some, this may be a disadvantage :-)

This amp has never let me down and I like to play chest-pounding loud stage volumes. Even when practicing at home, my furniture moves around. I keep this in an Ampeg rack case with both sides vented. The amp is still in excellent condition but case is pretty marked up. The only maintenance I have done is to open the top and blow the dust out of the case.

I've had this for about 3 years and decided to not review it right away because of all the negative reviews. Now I have to conclude that those reviews are due to either buying a previously miss-used head or the reviewer did not have enough sense to keep the air vents unblocked and run proper speaker cabinet/load configurations. The only thing I can fault Ampeg for is not realizing the uh,...how you say?...non-cerebralness of some customers and not putting flashing neon signs on the case warning not to block the air vents and read the instructions regarding speaker load. So I have to give it a 9.

I have only dealt with Ampeg after they were bought by Loud Technologies. I had emailed a question about my 69 SVT and I got a helpful response very quickly. I have never had to get the SVT IV Pro repaired so in all fairness I don't have an opinion about customer support. Having said that, don't you think customer support starts with building a good product to begin with?

I've been playing bass about 38 years and have gone through a lot of amps. This is the best in my opinion. It is not exactly the same sound as my '69 SVT but it is real close. The main difference is that the '69 starts to break up in the power amp at high volumes and clips off the low frequencies, this thing does not. If you like Ampeg's SVT sound and want huge volume, I highly recommend this head with the following caveats:
1) Don't buy used, get a new unit. The previous owner may not have been able to figure it out.
2) Read the manual. Learn for yourself about electrical resistance (ohms), there is plenty of stuff on the internet. I have come across lots of musicians and techs that claim they understand but do not.

Stacks of features that we all know about. I believe this amp was made within the last couple of years.
1600 watts? I'm not so sure about that but its as loud as an SVT2PRO.

A wide range of music and styles.
If you've used Ampeg before then you know what this amp sounds like.
BUT....there is a huge lack of punch no matter what cabs or speaker configuration I use. Plenty of power yes but sometimes this thing does'nt cut through and can sound soggy.

Has been a very reliable backup when my main amp has been in the shop.

I used to rate SLM very highly but my very recent dealings with them convinces me that they really don't care about their overseas customer base.

25yr plus career. I've used amps by all the major manufacturers.
Ampeg has definitely started to slide into bad territory in opinion.
I could by a ten year old Ampeg that would cream what they make today, and the customer service back then was up there too.
Instead of looking for ways to save money (ie by sourcing the electronics manufacture to China etc)they should be getting their house in order back home.

Stacks and stacks, way too many for my use.

Having used every tube head Ampeg ever made, I was curious as to how this thing would sound.
Well you definitely know your using an Ampeg but one with a modern glassy slant on the tone.
Despite all its features and no matter what combination of speakers I put this amp through, there is a lack of basic punch in its sound.
As for people saying its not loud enough....Its not going to produce 1600 watts through a 2x10 or 4x10 is it?
Plenty of volume in this amp.

I've used this lots whilst my Boogie 400+ was in the repair shop.
No problems at all.

My opinion of Ampeg customer support was once very high but due to an issue with some other Ampeg gear I own, they can now f**k off.
I've spent months going round in circles with these people.
Its not good enough.

25 years plus playing time.
I love my big tube amps but this little thing will do for a spare.

I presently own two 4-Pro's. I have owned several 70's SVT's including a '69 an '70 "Blueline", 3-Pro's, SVT-II's and countless other tube and hybrid amps. I am not going to go into all of the 4-Pro spec's as I am sure they have been covered to death in the other reviews.

Suffice to say I have some experience gigging and recording using Ampeg products over the past 38 years. I cannot say enough about the 4-Pro. I have sold all of my other amps and retain just two 4-Pro's. They do it all and they do it well. I have read numerous reviews that bash the 4-Pro for all kinds of issues from overheating to not having enough power. In my opinion the problem was not with the amp but with the user or a prior user if the amp was bought used. This amp has many different ways of operating. It can run from 8 down to 2 ohms on each power amp in dual or single mono but many people I am sure run it at 2 ohms using the mono-bridge which is not a recommended option and then complain when it overheats. I also read forums where users are complaining about the lack of volume and then you read on and find out they don't have a clue as to how to properly connect it to the cabinets. The amp has numerous speaker options and sorry, but you actually need to read the manual.

If you are thinking of getting a 4-Pro and some of the other reviews scare you, remember that some folks are writing after they switched teams and Ampeg is no longer their team so according to them, their new amp rocks and Ampegs don't. Others used it improperly and when it shut down to protect itself they were outraged!! lol. Some bought theirs sight unseen and used on eBay and the previous owner already hurt it. The amp is a solid performer. Don't be afraid...

The tone on this is second to none. You either like the Ampeg sound or you don't. Many brands of amps have their characteristic sound. Eden, EBS, Mesa and other good amps have a fundamental sound that seems to always be a part of the tone regardless of the settings. I like the Ampeg tone. I can dial in the piano bright tone with plenty of punch or get it Motown bassy. It has tons of headroom...when you use it correctly. The graphic EQ and parametric EQ work well together. The compressor is very basic but useful. Again, you'll hear that others find the compressor useless. It's a compressor...not an effects pedal.

So far... no problems. I have mine racked. I have no extra air holes in the sides of the rack but the Road Ready rack I use provides about an inch and a half clearance between the amp and the rack walls. Of course if you stick yours in a rack that is right up against the amp vent holes ...duh! Mine gets only warm to the touch. I normally run it in dual mono at 8 ohms per side. I have run it at 4 ohms per side with similar results...it only gets warm but then ALL amps get warm to the touch...especially if there are some tubes involved.

Ampeg is excellent on the phone when you have a question. The rare times I need repair work I bring it to my local tech. It's faster and the local shop is very good.

I am playing 38 years. I am using Classic SVT cabinets. I have two SVT410HE cabs and two SVT15E cabs. I usually use one of each for local bars. My rack has a Furman power conditioner/strip, BBE Sonic Maximizer, Sabine tuner and one 4-Pro. The other 4-Pro is in a 4 space rack alone with a vent grill over the extra rack space (the 4-Pro uses only 3 spaces). I use an Alembic Essence and a Warwick Corvette Double Buck... both short scale 4 strings. I also have a new Fender Mustang hot-rodded with an Alembic P-J setup.

The 4-Pro gives me the tone, clean volume, headroom and the flexibility for mono or bi-amp all in one package. Don't be afraid to get one. Just make sure the previous owner didn't hurt it and READ THE MANUAL!

This two channel amp offers a lot of tone shaping and connection options. Very flexible. It also boasts 1200 watts of power @ 4ohms (900 @ 8) when bridged via a small switch in the back.

It sounds like an Ampeg. You either like it or hate it. It also goes up louder than a Classic without break up (it's SS after all)

Don't know yet. It is a very well put together amp. It should last. it also has a 5 yr warranty.

No idea.

I got a good deal on this amp. It has enough power to really wake up my SWR Goliath III. I love it.

Amazing headroom power(I have been reprimanded by band mates that I'm too loud - can you imagine that?!)
Multiple tone shaping features
Built in compressor
-15 db switch great for ACTIVE and PASSIVE basses
On-board direct using XLR input/output
THIS IS NOT A ONE TRICK AMP!!

I play active and passiver Fender P and J basses using the SVT 4 PRO and the PR410HLF(Ampegs BEST kept secret)
Just as I stated, this amp has many tone shaping features that allows me to dial in any tone for any style music, all while using a PORTED cabinet. I truly don't understand the negative comments toward this head. I play in a VARIETY band covering SANATRA,ALICIA KEYS, VAH HALEN and THE KILLERS. I also play in a CLASSIC ROCK band. This head and amp combo is absoluteyl VERSATILE AND FLEXIBLE. I can punch in the classic tone and the modern tone. In fact, 3 different soundmen that I've worked with stated the tone is very warm and deep.

Simply put, I've had this amp for 3 years and have not experienced ONE problem!! That is the VERY TRUTH of the matter.

I don't know, I've never had to service it yet

Sorry you Negative Nellies. I LOVE THIS AMP! I am tremendously impressed with the versatile tone shaping ability, the POWER, and the reliability of this amp. The folks at AMPEG did their homework and built a winner!
I am giving it a 9+ because I have had not yet dealt with the service department. I hear horror stories, but I hear the opposite as well. As in life, there is never a 100% solution to anything is there.

Made in early 00's
Versatile - Yes
Styles...psh
Don't wish for features, just reliability
Enough power - Yes, use it on tour, studio, etc.

Ernie Ball 2000 StingRay 3 band EQ with fingers
Sounds great

Amps purchased new out of the box are supposed to work, mine sure did not. I picked this up at a popular local music store, got home, read the user?s manual, and hooked the thing up. The excitement was almost unbearable?waiting for the LED lights to appear?I was on my way to...being aggravated and annoyed. I could not get this amp to make a sound other than an annoying squelchy little whine that a Polaroid camera makes coming from inside the amp; that even eventually died out as well. I took it back and the duder that sold it to me had no better luck than I. Said duder got one out of the back, in the box of course, and we commenced trying it out in the store; it sounded okay but, sure enough, I got it back home only to find that power amp B did not work. This amp has been nothing but a frustration and a hassle; sure, they sound like God, but this is a mute point given that they barely work. Two versions of the exact same amp is a heck of a coincidence. HELLO...quality control!?

Customer Support referred me to lots of people in my area who would not fix it under warranty: ?There?s no money in it?.

Played for 15 years, also own SWR 350 head from mid 90's NEVER had a problem with it. If the SVT was stolen I would invest my money in a reliable amp even if I doesn't sound as good. Love the sound of it, hate the frustration of it.

Had this amp for 4 years and still running like a champ!

This amp has pretty much all the bells and whistles to tailor any sound you want!

A nice little feature is the built it compressor...simple, but does the job.

This amp has 1600 watts but that's only when you can use a cab that handles 1200 watts. This amp is loud but you do have to crank it a bit. Like most Ampeg solid state amps.

It has 3 12ax7 preamp tubes to warm up the sound. I changed them to a JJecc83, Sovtek LPS, and a Chinise. The sound has certainly become more livelier and has sweeter sound.

Like I said it can get any sound you want out of this amp. The EQ is extremely flexible to dial in your jones for tones! The amp is very quiet but, will get a bit of noise because of the tubes.

Unfortunately it seems like a hit or miss with this amp with reliablity issues from the other reviewers. I haven't had any problems with mine. It's been a workhorse!

If the SVT 4pro was that bad of an amp. Ampeg would certainly have discontinue it. I've had the SVT 3 and it sounds just as good as the SVT 4 except that it's not as loud. Both have been extremely reliable. I've tried out other amps and by far ampeg has won my vote!

got lots of different features get ost any tone you need

I've use with a classic 8/10 cabinet, a swr goliath III, Hartke 4/10 and every time I was please with the tone .you need to take time and let some one adjust the knobs and you'll have the tone you need.Plenty of power.I don't understand with these people are doing wrong saying it doesn't have enough.

i never had a problem except one time and it was my error.

?????? no clue

it's a great head ....I've am glad I bought it. I got it when Mars was going out of business

this head actually has too many features for me. i had absolutely no use for a biamp, but i couldn't turn down the offer i got on the head. i find bi-amps very confusing. i ran it mono, as i had only one 8x10 cabinet. i do like the tuner out and mute button so you can tune or switch instruments silently. the tube preamp rules. you can get a nice rich tone.

i own 2 fender '57 reissues (made in usa of course), and they sounded great with the amp. i play classic and modern punk, and this amp was suitable. i did however have a problem with power, as many others have. i was running everything right, in fact an ampeg rep. set up the amp for me! the tone is good, but you really have to push it to get good volume. i was very unimpressed. i really had it cranked, and it tends to pop a little at the volumes i played it at. i owned an svt classic for a while, and i LOVED that amp, but it broke down on me too many times so i had to cut it loose. i thought this amp would compare, but i was wrong. it had way less balls. don't be fooled by the supposed 1600 watts. i did use the direct out for the house pa in most clubs and that sounds incredible. i ended up cranking monitors for my stage sound instead of relying on the amp at all. a good sounding amp, but just didn't cut through.

never broke down on me. i did replace it with a more powerful amp, but she was good to me, solid as a rock. toured extensively with it without a backup. i will eventually get another svt classic, and hopefully i will get lucky this time...

i've dealt with ampeg and they are awesome. my svt classic was a nightmare because i bought it at guitar center and they insisted that it go to THEIR repair man instead of back to ampeg, and it came back not functioning twice, so i insisted that they give me my money back. try to contact ampeg directly if you have a problem.

i've been playing for 15 years and have heard just about every bass tone. the ampeg svt classic is my favorite. my fender through an svt classic and 8x10 cabinet is my dream sound. after all the problems with my svt classic i was forced to buy something more reliable, as i was touring constantly, so i picked up the svt4. due to the lack of balls i sold her off and recently picked up a tech 21 landmark 600 head and have been totally blown away by it (see my review of it). i would say if you don't need a biamp, don't get one. if you need lots of headroom, don't get this amp. i will get another classic now that i'm not touring as much, but i will always carry a backup. the svt 4 is reliable and has a good tone, but the lack of power was really a problem for me.

This amp actually has more features than I need. I have used it in dual mono mode with two D410XLT cabs, but I'm only play clubs these days, so I only use one side or mono bridged with one cab. Speakons are a nice touch, but the only one that actually works is the mono bridge jack. The compressor is a nice option, but overdone. What good are features if the amp is in the shop?

I use vintage p-basses and an early 90's Stingray. The amp is loud but I can't get the real-deal SVT sound of it. I've used it with the Ampeg 810 cab and it still falls short. I'm going for a vintage 60's/70's tone and this amp doesn't pull it off. I can get richer, well rounded bass tones of my old Traynor that cost me $250.

This amp has let me down on a gig too many times. It's going. Ampeg has really gone downhill since the 70's. During the warranty period, it worked fine, but it has been burning up on gigs for the past year. I opened the case to switch out the 12AX7's because it was making too much noise while it warmed up, only to find that the insides looked like a wreck. The transformer is dented and some of the metal brackets are bent. I'm pretty sure that this amp was reconditioned and sold to me as new without my knowledge. What a heap of junk. I paid top dollar for this jalopy.

Ampeg was hard to get on the phone, and then would not engage in a conversation about using reconditioned transformers in "new" amps.

I've been playing over 20 years, currently use old amps with modern cabs because modern amps are built like compact north-american cars... disposable. If this amp were stolen I'd find the guy who took it and buy him a Digitech BP-8 and mexican Fender to go with it. Then he'd have a perfectly matched heap of overhyped, overpriced, underperforming junk.

Bass Player Magazine hyped this amp like it was the best thing since sliced Beatles. The person who wrote that review must have been doubling as the advertising sales manager.

My model is a few years old, i use it for heavy rock and jazz and it performs exceptionally for this. The EQ is a great feature, i like to find a "sweet spot" between styles on the EQ and let my instrument controls do the rest...the 4PRO lets me do this. i run mono bridge dry out to an SVT 810 Classic for big houses and a GK Backline for the smaller places. i run no other rack effects, a couple of pedals (bass wah and bass comp.). power? heh heh....does ANYONE out there have a complaint about that?? the clip LED is a good feature as well. its seems to be more about power and tone than about bells and whistles...suits me fine.

So far ive used only EMG pickups with this head, this thing is a monster! Ive owned many amps over 25 years, for rock, i wont use anything other than Ampeg. for jazz, its great but i think its more suited to rock and pop. for the power that it has its very quiet...and we have flourescents at the studio too...the shielding in there is great. the natural distortion is sweet....this catagory gets high ratings from me.

I have never had a problem with this amp, i have used it for several years live and on record and its just as gritty and warm as day one. truth be told, i have been lazy about changing the tubes...i havent done it yet, the amp has forgiven me tenfold for this sin.

never needed to call them....thats a good thing, right? it only had one previous owner and i know he never needed to call them.

If someone ganked my 4PRO, me and a few jars of fire ants would go try to get it back...if not, then i would buy the exact same model. I love my 4PRO, you just cant mess with 1600 watts, the tone, the looks...its a great amp. only complaint i have is its a backbreaker to move, i had to buy one of those SKB rolling racks to move it...but, if you want the power, its going to be heavy. overall, its a great system and i would recommend it to anyone who plays rock or pop.

Great features! I dont even use half of them but its nice to know that they are there. I have updated my setup and reconfigured it several times and no matter what I wanna do the 4 pro can handle it. Effects loop works great. EQ is awesome! Very usefull when playing many different clubs so you can tailor your sound to the room. The only reason I dont give it a 10 is because for my sound I run a dual mono type setup and another channel would have really helped....o well thats what my BSP is for.

I cant say enough about the sound. I can get just about any sound out of this useing the EQ. Ive played in a metal band and in a rock band, this works great in bolth. Blues, funk and even when I jam some classical music, it all sounds great!

Again, the only reason for an unperfect score is that in my constant search for better tone I use another preamp alongside this one... just for some extra freedom of sound.

It actually did break down on me.....my fault completely. Well first off I had it in a little car I had at the time and my cab somehow smacked it and broke a knob.... no biggie... still works, easy fix. The only real problem I have had is that after about a year of haveing it the mute switch went bad. Again, most likely my fault as I didnt have it in a rack or anything untill recently. It has taken much abuse and has held up well. Still I give it an 8 because it sucked for that one gig it was broken.

N/A

Ive been playing for about 4 years now. I run this with a dean bass [soon to be a Warrior bass :)] in a dual mono setup with the ampeg BSP an alesis 3630 compressor and two Ampeg 410HE cabs. When I run the full stack, you better bolt down your seat cause this thing will blow you away!!

I love the versitility of the head...and ampeg in general. I can play a nice acoustic show or a rip-your-face-off metal show and everything in between and still sound good.

I purchased this amp in 01 after the namm convention. I got a smoking deal on it. I love the felxability and power it gives me. I use just about every feature it has on it and with the right modes you can get a great sound out of it!

The sound on this is awsome, if you know what you're doing. The tone is so warm and deep. I get total bottom end and excellent tone. I have an Ibanez 5 string, played out of an 810 cab. I always get a fat bottom end and bitchen tone end!!! For those of you who dont know how to use it......read a book!!!

I have my 4 pro head in a 4 space Grundorff case. The reliabilty is excellent. Its never let me down. Works every time. These things were built for the road! Ive given this thing hell. I used to have an SWR that had great tone, but kept breaking down on me, even while in the case.

I havent had any problems with my 4 pro head in the 2 years ive had it. So i have no need for customer support! Iv called about some footswitch settings and cab. control to make sure it dont blow out the cabs but all in all, i didnt have any problems with the support. They are stright to the point when you call!

Ive had a fair share of amps and nothing comes close to an SVT-4PRO. As for the price, its worth the money that I paid for it, but the sale price and list price is way too much!!!

I bought my SVT IV Pro new in October of '03, it is VERY versatile, variable midrange pre-sets, ultra low boost, ultra high boost and a bright switch backed by a 9 bang graphic EQ give me all of the tonal control I would ever need for pretty much any style of music. You can go to Ampegs website for all the little details, but trust me, if you want it, it is there.

I am currently using a couple of Spector basses, a NS4 and a Rex Brown (not the Rex 2000), both of these basses sound unbelievably smooth and punchy, a Senneheiser digital 1000 wireless, two Ampeg PR410HLF cabinets and hookin' it all up with Monster Cable. And of course the SVT4Pro. I play in a mostly (some orig.) cover band covering bands like Nickel Back, Creed, Puddle of Mud, 3 Doors Down, Staind, shit like that, playing mostly in drop-D tuning and I play LOUD. My master volume is set at max and my gain is usually at the 11-12 o'clock position with the EQ level at about 65% and the amp remains clean and NEVER gets hot (kept in a Anvil 6 space shock rack) and I still have head room. I keep the low boost on at all times for that big bottom end. I have been playing Mesa Boogie for years and just recently got rid of my Powerhouse 1516 & Powerhouse 1000 and MPulse 600 (lack of balls and power) and went with all Ampeg. I have read all of the reviews on this head and can't believe some people aren't getting enough power for stage volume (especially the jazz player; not knockin' ya' man, just can't see it), maybe the problem isn't the head but the gear (cabinets, basses, wireless systems, type of cables ect.) these guys are using, you need to have a cabinet(s) that will handle this massive power easily to eliminate the distortion (as a side note, if you have an ACTIVE bass the -15db cut is a must to use to avoid distortion, you have to cut that input level down to get high gains). My cabinets are rated at 1200 watts each and I push 'em as hard as I want and don't need to run through the PA for medium sized venues (run through slightly just to even out tone, 90% is stage volume) the 1600 watts is all you could ever need! And as far as I am concerned, and as we all know this is only one persons opinion, anything more is just over kill.

O.K., the down side (and there always is), in two months time I went through two of these heads. On each one one of the two power amps had gone out on me. I took it back to Guitar Center where it was orig. purchased and they gave me a new one each time, no questions asked. I HIGHLY recommend that you shop (or purchase) from someone that has a 30 day no question refund policy like Guitar Center just in case. Ampeg does have a 5 year warranty, but if the store you got it at won't give you a loaner you are probably screwed for a few weeks. I have had no problems with the last head I got, it has worked flawlessly every weekend. But then again, for $1300 I never shoud have had a problem to begin with.

As I mentioned earlier I had a couple blow on me. After I took the second one back, the Guitar Center manager (in Indianapolis, In.) Called the Ampeg rep. on a Sunday and asked him if he could talk to me about the problem (assuming I was dicking something up). Well, the rep. was shopping near by and came in, with his three kids in tow to talk to me. How cool is that. The company is eager to help in any way that they can to rectify any problems. He stayed for over an hour on his day off with his kids with him, working with the store manager to work things out for me. A great credit to AMPEG and GUITAR CENTER!!

All in all, the Ampeg SVT4PRO head has been awesome, I have never had a problem with the Ampeg cabinets. The perfect balance of tone and power. I just think someone in quality control needs to lay off the two hour lunch breaks!

What I thought I was getting was the Cadillac of Bass amps when, in fact, it was the Ford Vega of amps.

Very noisy when trying to use a wireless system. Although music store sold me a wireless system, they later told me that they don't recommend using a wireless, because the amp is just too powerful. I have been a professional bassist for 25 years. I thought I had heard everything. The fan is noisy and still have to use an extra fan to keep the thing cool.

Channel A would fizzle out after about 20 minutes of playing. A giant pain in the butt, but hey, it was only $1,100.00.

They have the best warrenty in the business, but you have to verbally beat the hell out of them to convince the store to give you your money back. Expect a good screwing without the perverbial kiss. I am so glad that I got out from under this stink beetle.

Ampeg has really gone downhill over the years. If by Pro they mean "Perpetually Repairable Object" then I guess that's an accurate statement. Pure unreliable peice of crap. Would make a great anchor.
Don't waste your hard earned money.

I purchased it new in April 2003. It has plenty of power with 1600 watts into 4 ohms. It has a worthless built-in compressor, so I use a dbx 160A compressor rackmount with it instead. The limiter doesn't seem to be doing a good job, because it farts and pops everytime I push it too hard (I play very loud -- gain set to 1:00 and master at 3:00). You need to purchase patch cables in order to use the bi-amp feature which is sort of annoying. They should have had an internal wiring configuration that enables bi-amping like the GK 800RB does. I don't use the bi-amp feature anyway. The eq is nice for tone shaping and boosting your sound. I avoid using the tone buttons (ultra high, ultra low, and bright) because they are too extreme and take away from the natural tones of my basses. I have the treble set at 2:00, mid at 10:00, and bass at 3:00. It seems to be the best settings for me.

I play mostly modern and hard rock, and I play MusicMan, Warwick, and Fender basses. I have two Ampeg SVT 8x10 classic cabs, which I love. The sound of the amp is loud, but the tone is not too impressive. I sounds very flat and hollow. I think if it wasn't for my 8x10 cabs, it would sound like total crap. It lacks the warmth and clarity of tube heads. It sounds a lot like the SWR heads, which I don't really care for (very "metallic" sounding). The best sounding head I've ever played through is Mesa Boogie 400+ (which I regretfully sold to get the SVT IV Pro). I got a louder, cleaner tone from the 400+ than I get with the SVT IV Pro. I like to play very loud, and I seem to get lost in the mix when I play with my guitarist and drummer. I have to boost the treble to hear myself, which ruins the warmer, fuller tone I'm am trying to get.

No problems in the reliability department. I play very loud, and the amp takes the beating. I never gets too hot either. I switched to solid state because I prefer the reliability of solid state over tube heads.

I've called before about purchasing accessories. They were very helpful.

I decent amp, but not worth what I paid for it. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably look into alternate heads. It great for power, but not for tone. I may look into a pre-amp (like the Sansamp RBI), bypass Ampeg's preamp, and use only the power section of this amp instead.

1600 Watts of power (according to Ampeg), graphic EQ, effects loop, tuner mute switch, Tube pre-amp, 2 mosfet power amps, Capable of running mono, stereo, bi-amped or bridged.

I ran this through an SVT810E. I play Fender, Warwick and Musicman basses. This amp sounds like shit with all of them. If you are looking for that vintage SVT sound, this amp is not for you. It also seems to be very under powered. I tried another 4Pro and had the same problem. I then compared it side by side with an SVT Classic 300 watt all tube head. The classic had much better tone was louder. I traded the 4Pro for the classic head and love it.

Didn't have it long enough to comment.

I contacted customer support about the apparent lack of balls with this head. They were helpful and answered all my questions.

I would not recommend this head to anyone. I love Ampeg and have always used them but this head is a piece of shit. I play in a 4 piece blues band (guitar,bass, keys, drums) I set the gain so the clip light comes on only at the strongest signals as recommended by Ampeg and I still had to turn the master up to 3/4 in order to hear myself. By comparison I tried my buddies Gallien Krueger 800RB and only had to turn that up about 1/3 to 1/2 of the volume. With my SVT Classic I run at about 1/4 to 1/2 volume depending on the room. I also play large outdoor venues around the country and the SVT Classic sound awesome and has more than enough power.

Tube pre amp with mosfet power amps. This head has 2 seperate power amps which allows you to run mono,stereo or biamped. You can also bridge the power amps to get 1600 watts of power. Effects loop, tuner in with mute switch, direct out, 9 band graphic equalizer.

Sound was O.K. Didn't seem to have the power I expected from 1600 watts. I ran it bridged through Ampeg SVT 810E cabinets and was disappointed with the tone and volume. I play in a blues band and I had the gain set to just before the clip light came on (as directed in the owner's manual) and had the master up to 3/4 and still had trouble hearing myself. We are not a very loud band. My Gallien Krueger 800RB was much louder and clearer than this head.

I didn't keep it long so I can't comment on the reliabilty.

I contacted customer support and they were very helpful. They suggested that the head might be defective and that I should return it and exchange it.

I didn't like this head at all. I took it back thinking that maybe it was defective but had the same trouble. I ended up trading for an SVT Classic all tube head which I love. For comparison, I took the SVT4Pro and the SVT Classic side by side. I set the tone controls flat on both and set the gains and masters the same. The all tube SVT Classic had much better tone and was at least 1/3 louder. I gradually increased the master volume on each head and found the SVT Classic to be louder and clearer throughout the range of the master.

I bought this amp 5 years ago. I believe it was about 3 years old when I got it off a internet auction. It has all you could ask for in the feature department. Like so many amps these days it's almost too much. I play alternative / metal and tone wise it worked out (at low volume) but volume was another story. The louder you try to go the worse this thing sounds.

Now to the volume issue. This thing is so under powered. I'm using a Rick bass (non active) with a old ampeg 4x12 (8 ohms) and a Sunn 2x15 (8 ohms). I got this thing so cheap I couldn't say no to it but it never did get used in a live situation. In fact, I couldn't use it for anything othe rthan a practice amp. I couldn't get over the drums. To be completely honest I hated this amp. I mean Ampeg really gave people the shaft on this particular model. Over priced and under powered. As you crank the volume up you would start to get alot of noise and loose your tone.

Oh yes there is more bad news about this amp. It gets hot and it shuts down. Luckily I sell electronics and one of my customers is the authorised Ampeg repair station. I turned it over to him. They went through that thing frontwards, backwards and sideways and found it to be perfect. The man told me my best option was to sell it to someone I didn't know. How comforting...

Ampeg is the big name in bass equipment and they will handle any problems or questions you have about their products. Have to give em credit in this department.

I have been playing 14 years. I currently use a Sunn 300t stack. For smaller venues i use a Carvin r600 solid state. I wouldn't recomend the Ampeg SVT Pro-4 solid state to anyone. i just couldnt use it for anything more than jamming at home alone or playing to a record. It's live aplication just never happened. if you are looking for power look somewhere else. I sold the thing for basically what i had in it($400.00). The guy who uses it now had the same problems so he bought a 1000 watt power amp to push his 8X10 Ampeg. He doesn't have any complaints once he did that. But at what this head would normally cost. It's just not worth it.

This a message to the last entry - Acme's only come in 4 or 8 ohm impedances.

What this means is that if you are currently running an 8 ohm cab, adding an 8 ohm cab in parallel (unless you are re-wiring, thats what you are doing) makes the amp see a 4 Ohm load.

If you are adding a 4 ohm cab in parallel, the amp sees a 2.667 Ohm load. Well below recommended rating, thus causing the thermal shutdown and damaging your amp.

I purchased this amp new about 4 plus years ago. I have played in at least one but useually two busy cover bands playing Beatles to Godsmack and just about every style in between. This amp has just about all the features you'd ever want. Built in compression is nice (and rare) but I would like a bit more control as there's just one knob. The effect of the compressor is VERY subtle.

The only other feature I would LOVE is if they built in a tuner on the face of the amp. But it seams no manufacturer ever gets it completely right.

I have been powering a very inificient but incredible sounding 8 ohm Acme B-4. Recently I added an Acme Low B-2 which has dropped the impedence to 5.6 ohms. I'll address this issue in the reliabilty section.

I mainly play two Dingwall 5-strings as well as a G&L L2000 4-string and a Charvel neckthrough 4-string for slap. The Ampeg has the most robust tone of any amp I've used and has that coveted "Ampeg" sound. It has a very round and warm bottom end and the mid's are voiced just right. Tons of flexibilty on the controls, plus three tubes in the input section will get you any sound you desire.

I play the amp pretty loud. The input gain is set to 12 o'clock and the master volume is about 3 o'clock. No real heavy boosting or cutting in the eq or tone controls.

Here's where the problem lies. It has worked well for 4 years but I have always been suspect of it because it has always run VERY HOT. This has been powering an 8 ohm cabinet until about 2 months ago when the impedence the amp saw dropped to 5.6 ohms when I added more speakers.

After using the new speaker set up for about two months, the amp fried during the first set of a gig. Luckily the preamp out still worked and I had a spare amp in our slave rack and was able to get through the night.

I keep the amp racked in an SKB 4 space case along with a Furman power conditioner with built in tuner.

Upon opening the amp to have a look at the fry job I did, I noticed what I believe to be an absolutey horrible design. The air vents are located on the left and right sides of the amp case so once it's racked there is practically no air flow acrross the power transistors or the power transformer. Plus, the fan is located in between these two heat makers. To me this is down right stupid. Suck it in the front and exhaust it out the back.

Another idiotic design which I see many manufactures employing is a thermal switch on the cooling fan. One more thing to fail. Now your high priced amp is depening on an 89 cent part to stay alive. You can't make power transistors too cold, so just wire the fan to the power switch so it's on all the time. Is that so hard to figure out?

Ampeg's literature says it can drive a 4 ohm load but I'm here to tell you there is no way unless it's for a very short while and not turned up very loud.

I believe the amp may work well if the air flow is modified but that's not something I'm going to tackle. Once it's fixed, it's going on e-bay.

Luckily the amp was still within it's 5 year warranty and is being fixed locally for free. Since I couldn't find the receipt from 4 plus years ago I called Ampeg who looked up the serial number and said "abslutley it's under warranty and if your shop has any problem with that you have them call me direct!" I thought that was nice.

I have been playing bass for 27 years. I have a GK 800RB I use as a backup amp and two Euphonic Audio single 10 cabs. The Ampeg sounds sweet through the EA's as well.

After the "fry" incident and discovering Ampeg's poor cooling design I would not buy another one. A killer preamp (TBD) and a very lightweight QSC PLX 1602 will make up my next rig.

With active EQ and the extra punch selections, this amp is un-touchable. I love the input/output ports and tone selections. To me this is the only amp on the market to buy.

I use two ampeg 4x10 cabnets with an Ibanez Ergodine 4 and 5 string. I can get any sound i desire with this setup. The amp is powerfull. useing both channels and speakon cables you can't stop this beast. My shit says BOOOOOM.

I bought this head two years ago. The first head i took back to the seller do to a popping after the tubes warmed up. The new head I have had no trouble with. I play 4 days a week and I am extremely hard on my gear and I have no complaint about this gear.

The first head I returned do to a pop. I had no problems with this task. Ampeg is the shit. If you are dis satisfied with the gear get off your ass, stop crying and use the warrenty. Duhh

I have been playing for over 20 years. I have owned all types of gear. I am so happy I have my SVT-4. If you are looking for clean solid power this head is the one. I suggest no other...

I think Ampeg has went downhill as of late. I've owned an Ampeg PR810H Pro series cabinet and two PR410H Pro cabinets and I've blown speakers in all of them. The warranty helps but it is very annoying to have to be replacing speakers. The Ampeg SVT 4 Pro has great tone and is very powerful.My problem with this amp is that I purchased the amp "NEW" in January and after having the amp for only 2 months the amp developed a loud, annoying, clicking sound that you could hear when you'd stop playing. To tell you the truth, I never even sent it in for warranty work. I sold the head and got out from under it. I've owned Trace Elliot, GK, SWR and Eden heads and never had one problem out of any of them. It really aggrivated me that after having the amp for only 2 months it had a problem.
My advise is if you like the sound of Ampeg gear and have to have it, buy it knowing that there is a good chance that your going to have to have it serviced within a year. This has been the case with all of the ampeg gear that I have bought, speaker cabs included and I baby my equipment. I can see any company having a problem every now and then but not with every piece of equipment that you buy.

Features already mentioned below.

Veriety of Basses from Gibson 4 Artist to custom 10 string Accacia. This amp allows the character of the instrument to come through with a openess of rich highs and thunderous lows. I amazed at how clear and articulate the tones are with each setting.

This is my first Ampeg piece of equipment, but they have been around since I heard the SVT's back in the late 70's so that should give a little hint.

Excellent warrenty 5 Years and Customer Support seems to be pretty good. I called three times just for general information and someone got back to me fairly quickly eiather by calling or e-mail.

I've been playing for 30 something years and have played on everything from SWR, Fender, Eden, Hartcke, GK, Peavey,..etc and this buy far is the best for my purposes. Note: Everyone has different ears, but the tones and power that this amp generates is truly an experience you have to hear and feel. I know if I had to do this all over again no question... I would purchase!

Can't get it to work....I think I got a bum deal...

I can't get it to sound good at all.. I am running into one SWR 4x10.
Honestly my old Peave 4x10 cab with the 400w Yourkville had more balls.

I get a strange cackle for the first 20 min everytime....someone help me

Haven't even tried yet

Not impressed. Like I said earlier I think I got a bum deal. I know other bassists who use it and love it. Just after I bought it I found out it was just returned from another unhappy user. Maybe there is something wrong with it and I am stuck. I brought it back to the dealer and he can send it away .... well we all know what thats like, maybe in a month or so I'll get it back...what am I supposed to use in the meantime.... I am going to try my luck with Ampeg direct. If anyone can help please do so.

its got it all!! all you need is an effects board .

this is the coolest amp iv'e ever bought . it has a wide variey of ounds. can keep you very busy .

i have owned this amp for only 4 months but , know peope that aplause ampeg fo reliability . THE " TOYOTA'S" of amps. a fie year warranty is a good sign.

ive never dealt with them . have a feeling i wont need to either .

overall i give this amp a 9 . if i have problems i will cahnage it. the best thing ive ever bought.i use a 4 - 10 classic ampeg cab. souds amazing. cant wait to get 2 - 15's and 2 - 12's !!!!

This beast is packed with professionally features. It won't be necessary for me to get into detail, the reviewer belowed just about covered it. This animal has more power than I can ever handle..1600 watts whew!! but i run it to an ampeg hlf cab that handles 500watts at 4 ohms and from the specs it puts out 490 RMS at 4 ohms..so that's how much i'm using, which is plenty . I know I won't have any more problems geting lost in the mix going up against those damns Marshalls now....bring it on!

I use 2 Ibanez SR400 with EMGs...boy can they punch through anything! I also have a fender jazz with EMGs and a Stuart Spector Czech. All my basses sounded great through this amp! It does have a bit of hiss with the treble boosted, but all ampegs are like that as well as most if not all bass amps that has their treble at higher settings, other than that it's just wonderful. This amp is extremely flexible, it definitely retains the traditional ampeg flavor of the past with it's all tube preamp , but also giving you todays cutting edge sounds with excellent flexiblity with it's mosfet power section. You can get just about any sound imagine, from slap and pop to finger style to picking.. all it takes is some tweaking and you've got tone for days. One thing I have to mention is that it does have some noise coming from the fan.

I have great confidence that this baby will last me for many years to come! I still have my svt III since 91 and it's never let me down...not once! Gigs, rehearsals... it's always been there when i needed it. It's a workhorse and i have no doubt this will be also. I heard many people saying how reliable their ampegs are... and i will say the same thing...no question about it.

never had to deal with them. The 5 year warranty is great! 2 thumbs up for backing their products up!

I've been playing for 12 years. I've tried out many bass amps and their are alot of good ones out there! Eden, GK, SWR, Ashdown, Trace Elliot and many others. You really couldn't go wrong with any of them, you just have to pick out the one that suits your taste. The only one that has relability issues is GK...unfortunately it's true, but they do provide great customer service. Ampeg has been known for it's reputation for quality, reliablity, and most importantly TONE! This is definitely a winner!

It has so many features i dont even know em all yet! its got all the tone shaping tools i would ever need...9 band e.q plus another three band e.q. witha mid selector...compresor/limiter,gain controls to get that growl..mute and -15db switches...speakon connectors..its got all kinds of plug ins on the back for other inputs..other amps and mics...features 1600 watts mono-bridged..kinda useless unless you have an ampeg 8x10...which i do...those two together sounds so awesome and to top it of i have a spector ns5crfm...this rig sounds great...i wish it had more gain...so i could get some distortion..but its all good...i probably rather use a pedal..like a big muff...it features three tubes for the pre and a solid state mosfet power section...this amps got everything!

This and my spector go hand in hand..this amp really makes some great noise...cause it makes all the noises you would want..i can get basically any tone i want from this amp and it has an awesome grwol and bite to it...ive never played on a better amp..and thats the truth...ive played on alot of differnt ones at stores like swr...hartke etc. etc...and even other ampegs, but none of them sound as good as the svt4-pro..its the best in my opinion

It seems pretty durable but i still need to buy a rack for it...its seems somewhat fragile without the rack..but i know it wont break...the fan inside, which is also a great feauture, is starting to make some noise but i dont think it will be a problem...just replace it easily..pretty tough

havent had to but we will see...tube replacements..fan replacement...

like i said this is the best amp in my opinion and it sounds soo great with my other equipment...i love all the features but they can almost, but not quite, get to be too much...atleast in the beginning beacuse i couldnt find the right tone...but that came with experiance and gettin used to the amp...if it were stolen i would buy the excact same amp...no doubt about it!

Too many to list. Check out Ampeg website.

The sound is somewhere between classic SVT and SWR. Not as sterile or modern as the SWR but not the real warm tube sound of the original.Plent of power but only if you use 4 or 2ohm speaker cabs. Especially effective in bridged mode but make sure your speaker(s) can handle the output.Not as sweet a sound as some seperate tube pre-amp/ power amp rigs but more convienient and powerful enough.

I had some trouble when I first bought it. The first one had a loose piece of wire or solder and it shorted out the voltage regulator and fried all of the ICs. The replacemet was fairly reliable but very sensitive to low voltage and would go into protect intermittantly at the worst times on stage. Usually when at an outdoor festival in front of thousands of people. Luckily I'm an amp tech and can fix my own stuff.

i think the warranty is 5 years but I allways do my own work to save time and frustration.

I've been playing for 20 years now and have owned and tried many amps. I am currently enjoying tube amps for there tone and warmth. This amp doesn't really capture the "ampeg" sound and it doesn't do the modern SWR/Eden thing either but it does have a lot of features and power in a relatively small package. The mute switch is nice for tuning. The compressor is practically useless because it is in the wrong place in the signal chain. It should be somewhere after the EQ section working at line level, not instrument level. The limiter on the other hand is quite effective and can prevent a very expensive repair bill if the the amp was clipped to hard.and last but not least, it should have a ground lift switch for the direct output. About a third of the time the soundman would have to use a direct box because of AC hum.

Gain, variable Compression, Ulta Hi-Ultra Lo, Bass, Midrange, Mid Frequency, Treble, Brite, Graphic EQ, Line Out Level, Effects Bypass, Limit Defeat, Master, Frequency-Balance. The graphic EQ adds a sub roll-off and has freq. of 33,80,150,300,600,900,2K,5K,8Khz. The rear panel has line outs, effect loops, multiple spkr.outs, and connectors to loop signals for Bi-Amping. This amp is a dual amp that can run bridged mono, dual mono, or Bi-Amp modes. Power is rated at 625 watts X 2 @ 4 ohms, or 1200 watts bridged.

I play Fender P basses thru this head. This amp produces a full sound that is clean and tight. With the Ultra Lo switch on the lowest notes are very rich and deep, the midrange scooped, and the highs are clear and controlable. This amp lets you select your tone shaping and has plenty of power to deliver what you select without any limitations! The internal fan can be heard in a studio or quiet environment when you're not playing. The 3 12AX7s produce a clean sound that has more "life" and dynamics than pure solid state amp circuits. I'm using this head with a pair of EVM 15s (1 15L & 1 15B), so other speaker combinations would change the quality of this head. When I fire this up I am always amazed how good it sounds!

I've only had this amp for 6 months, but it seems to be rock solid and overbuilt to hold up to heavy road use.

Haven't needed it.

This is definatly the most versital bass amp I've ever owned. With the effects and line outs I could use this in almost any situation, in any size venue. One could argue that it doesn't have that "SVT tube sound", but it provides a full, clean, powerful sound that is maybe a little more sophistcated than the pushed, round tubey bass sound.