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ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
Well, I've always wanted an SVT…

But I am getting on a bit now and they're frighteningly heavy and awkward to lift even for someone who spends his working day moving amps around, not to mention costing a fortune to re-valve.

So I bought this!



A Micro VR :). Just under 10lbs… or a whole 77lbs lighter than an original SVT :D.

Just the head - it didn't come with the very cool matching 2x10" that looks like a tiny 8x10" - although sadly, doesn't sound as good as one. I may yet get one though - or possibly, decide that this is the time I should really do it properly and buy a Barefaced, since it's not the most powerful amp in the world and it needs a maximum-sensitivity cab.

This little thing is still 200W - or more likely somewhere around 120 with a bit of a fudge factor on top, since the power consumption is given as 150W… ho hum. It's actually a traditional Class AB output not Class D, and is so small and light because it has a switch-mode power supply.

But still - just - loud enough. I tried it at band practice and it could keep up with the band even when we played a bit louder than usual, although it was flat-out and the limiter was very obviously working. Not sure why they even fit a switch for it since you need it on all the time if you don't want the overload protection to cut in and the amp to briefly mute itself.

The good: it sounds fantastic. Really quite like a small SVT, with that famous Ampeg depth and punch, and despite the lower power it could almost hold its own for low-end against my 500W Peavey - although admittedly that's only running at 350W into the 4-ohm cab (the 500 is at 2 ohms which the VR won't handle, so I couldn't compare that). It's also very well made - even the cabinet appears to be ply not MDF.

The bad: the fan is very noisy. It has three speeds… annoying, more annoying, and siren. To be fair at a band practice it wasn't really an issue since it only kicks into siren when you thrash the living daylights out of it, at which point it's totally masked by the volume from the speaker, but unfortunately even the slowest setting makes it unusable at home in the evening - which is slightly ironic given that it looks more like a toy to use at home rather than a gigging amp. So I may have to see if it can be safely turned off entirely for low-volume use.

"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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Comments

  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    Very cool looking little amp, the fan must help there. I was very tempted by one of these a while ago but the fan issue turned me off (I only play at home), I'd be interested to know if it could be turned off safely.
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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2328
    Nice :D

    LOL at the power rating thing.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    JezWynd said:
    Very cool looking little amp, the fan must help there. I was very tempted by one of these a while ago but the fan issue turned me off (I only play at home), I'd be interested to know if it could be turned off safely.
    I would guess that it can be as long as I leave the two higher speeds working since they will just come on if it gets too hot - the fan is actually very effective since the chassis wasn't even warm after band practice where the fan had been running at either medium or full speed the whole time. It depends whether I can get access to that part of the circuit. I'd prefer not to simply disable it altogether since there's then no warning if you are pushing it too hard.

    Dave_Mc said:

    LOL at the power rating thing.
    Trust me, I'm going to measure it :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2328
    :D
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  • KKJaleKKJale Frets: 982
    Luvverly. Never tried one, always wanted to.

    Will be peachy keen with an Ampeg-cloth-grilled One10/Two10/two One10s...
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    @Dave_Mc - interesting result from the power test.

    Admittedly this isn't super accurate because I don't have a means of measuring THD, and my dummy load set-up isn't exactly 4 ohms, but I got just over the claimed power output 200W with a 1KHz sine wave at the point of clipping.

    How? Because the power draw is *way* more than the stated 150W… 288W, and that is fairly accurate since it's with a true-RMS meter on the mains current draw at a measured 240V.

    Which is a bit naughty, but at least they're not exaggerating the output power!

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    That's a big difference in input power! What would be the point in misrepresenting it, it's not like anyone's going to pass on it due to an extra 138w required.

    I'm looking at the CL model atm, I wish they sold it as a head only, the cab isn't very good by all reports but the head would make a good pairing with the VR's 2 x 10.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    It's odd that they're so different - the CL does seem to be more toy-like in some ways. But it's also not fan-cooled, so it may be a better solution for low-volue home use.

    I had a look at the fan in the VR and I reluctantly have to come to the conclusion that it's neither safe to disconnect it or easy to reduce the speed in the slowest setting - it cools the power supply as well as the output section, so it does need to run even when the amp isn't producing any significant output power. The last thing you want to do is risk frying a switch-mode power supply - they tend not to be easily repairable. It's controlled by a fairly complex sensing circuit and without the schematic it's not a simple matter to work out what could be changed even to slow it down a bit.

    I don't know why they would claim a lower than correct input power either!

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Cool little beastie. Having manhandled an SVT in a flightcase and an 8x10 cab on quite a few occasions, I can see the attraction :)


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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    Cool little beastie. Having manhandled an SVT in a flightcase and an 8x10 cab on quite a few occasions, I can see the attraction :)

    Same here- glad those days have gone.
    I'm throughly enjoying the luggability of my Class D Mark Bass combo at the moment.

    Still, I'd quite like one of these one day:


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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    octatonic said:

    Still, I'd quite like one of these one day:
    Hmmm… not quite the same, but I had one of these once -

    http://static.findix.com/data/clpix/picture_L/mesa---boogie-1516-road-ready-31697.jpg

    1x15" (EV), 1x10", 2x6" and horn.

    It sounded fantastic and was extremely loud, but it weighed 135lbs - exactly the same as I did at the time - had the world's most uncomfortable, wrist-breaking side handles, and it left the house twice... once when I took it to a band practice, and once when I got rid of it.

    Without roadies, no amount of tone and projection was worth the difficulty of moving it anywhere.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ICBM said:
    I don't know why they would claim a lower than correct input power either!

    Cool amp - so is it possible that some of the other 'under-rated' amps are doing this or did you test that already?
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    guitarfishbay said:

    Cool amp - so is it possible that some of the other 'under-rated' amps are doing this or did you test that already?
    I haven't tested any of the others yet. I admit that it didn't occur to me before since I thought the quoted power draw had to be correct for EU (and probably other) regulations, and it's more likely to be the other way round since power output can be used for marketing purposes.

    That will definitely be on the to-do list when I get access to one of them!

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    ICBM said:
    guitarfishbay said:

    Cool amp - so is it possible that some of the other 'under-rated' amps are doing this or did you test that already?
    I haven't tested any of the others yet. I admit that it didn't occur to me before since I thought the quoted power draw had to be correct for EU (and probably other) regulations, and it's more likely to be the other way round since power output can be used for marketing purposes.

    That will definitely be on the to-do list when I get access to one of them!
    At least we can say with some confidence that that old Behringer amp that claimed to be 3000 watt is certainly not drawing enough power to honestly provide that output!
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7671
    edited September 2016
    octatonic said:
    Cool little beastie. Having manhandled an SVT in a flightcase and an 8x10 cab on quite a few occasions, I can see the attraction

    Same here- glad those days have gone.
    I'm throughly enjoying the luggability of my Class D Mark Bass combo at the moment.

    Still, I'd quite like one of these one day:




    I'd love another one of these:

    httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsaa8Wzmacniacz_do_gitary_basowej_CMD-103H_firmy_Markbassjpg


    As far as I'm aware, the heaviest and most unwieldy of MarkBass combos (though I could carry it on my own it was easier with help), but it made a glorious racket without ever needing to go beyond half-way on either Gain or Master, despite only having 400w available due to the three 10" speakers. 


    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2328
    edited September 2016
    ICBM said:
    @Dave_Mc - interesting result from the power test.

    Admittedly this isn't super accurate because I don't have a means of measuring THD, and my dummy load set-up isn't exactly 4 ohms, but I got just over the claimed power output 200W with a 1KHz sine wave at the point of clipping.

    How? Because the power draw is *way* more than the stated 150W… 288W, and that is fairly accurate since it's with a true-RMS meter on the mains current draw at a measured 240V.

    Which is a bit naughty, but at least they're not exaggerating the output power!
    Haha wow, that's very strange. As you said in a later post, I'd have thought that wasn't legal either, but I could well be wrong.

    Thanks for the heads-up :D
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  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    ICBM said:

    I had a look at the fan in the VR and I reluctantly have to come to the conclusion that it's neither safe to disconnect it or easy to reduce the speed in the slowest setting - it cools the power supply as well as the output section, so it does need to run even when the amp isn't producing any significant output power. The last thing you want to do is risk frying a switch-mode power supply - they tend not to be easily repairable. It's controlled by a fairly complex sensing circuit and without the schematic it's not a simple matter to work out what could be changed even to slow it down a bit.

    Thanks for the info. Knowing that, I've gone with the Micro CL. The speaker cab is rated at 100w which seems too low for a 100w head but I'll never be getting it any where near max power. If the speakers are very poor I'm thinking maybe install a single 200w 10" and leave the other slot empty or with the disconnected speaker in there. Pity the fan can't be disabled as I'm sure the VR is the better amp but the CL gets good reviews so fingers crossed it's okay.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    I would guess it will be fine at lower volume. You can do more with the EQ when you're not pushing the amp or the speakers hard, which you won't be at home volume.

    Generally with a bass amp you don't need over-rated speakers like you do with a guitar amp, since you won't usually be running the amp overdriven.

    That said I do use a fuzz pedal :).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    ICBM said:

    The bad: the fan is very noisy. It has three speeds… annoying, more annoying, and siren. To be fair at a band practice it wasn't really an issue since it only kicks into siren when you thrash the living daylights out of it, at which point it's totally masked by the volume from the speaker, but unfortunately even the slowest setting makes it unusable at home in the evening - which is slightly ironic given that it looks more like a toy to use at home rather than a gigging amp. So I may have to see if it can be safely turned off entirely for low-volume use.
    Update on this... I finally got around to changing the fan.

    I chose this one:

    https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/axial-fans/3246681/

    Not cheap, but it's not that easy to get the exact spec it needs with very low noise. They do actually do an even lower-noise one (16dB rather than 19dB for this one) which is also about a pound cheaper, but the airflow is 20% less as well, and I suspect that might matter given how hard it works when the amp is running hot, so I went on the side of caution.

    Changing it is straightforward - you need to remove the three rear jack PCBs and then it can be slid out sideways without taking the power module out of the chassis, although there's a caged nut which is in the way which I thought I might have to remove, but just managed to fiddle it around - apart from crimping the wires into the PCB connector.

    Result... the *loudest* of the three speeds is now about as loud as the *quietest* one was before, and the quietest is almost inaudible - easily quiet enough for practicing in the evening at home. It appears to move enough air too, if it's been on the fastest speed and you stop playing, it only takes a couple of minutes to drop back down, so it must be shifting enough air.

    It's made a slightly frustrating oversized toy into a genuinely good home practice amp, basically - well worth the cost.


    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    I wonder how much the Micro VR sounds like the output I get from my Ampeg SCR-DI into an Audio interface and then out to Mac and Headphones etc..?

    Apparently the PF series heads are similar but the SCR-DI sounds more SVT-like.
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