Ampeg Classic Series Micro-VR Stack
(Dave Molter | Posted 2009-12-12)
OK -- what musicians hasn't seen the bit in "This Spinal Tap" where a miniature Stonehenge monument comes down from the ceiling? Remember how the members of Tap towered over it? That's how it might look if you grab a new Ampeg Classic Series Micro-VR Stack. In fact, "Much Smaller Than Stonehenge" is a tagline used in the amp's owner's manual. Gotta love a company with a sense of humor!
The Micro-VR looks like a tiny SVT head, but this solid state amp puts out 200 watts at 4 ohms. Coupled with the Ampeg SVT-210AV cabinet, the entire "stack" stands just under 30 inches high. Ampeg designed the combination for those looking for the SVT sound in a smaller, portable, more affordable setup. It's also designed for studio use, with a balanced XLR line out. The front panel features gain, three-band EQ, a 15dB padded input, master volume, limiter switch, and 1/8" audio in and headphone out jacks. There's also a rear-panel effects loop. The head weighs just 9.9 pounds.
The SVT-210AV cabinet features two Eminence 10" speakers using the Ampeg "Infinite Baffle" system for maximum tone from a small package and is rated at 8 ohms, meaning you'll get 150 watts from the head with one cab, 200 watts with two cabs. The cabinet weighs just under 26 pounds. Some quick figuring will tell you that by using two cabs, you'll have about half the classic SVT 810 setup.
While there are many bass amps on the market today, Ampeg still is held in high regard. Both the Micro-VR head and the SVT-210AV cab have a street price of around $299.99, so for what you'd pay for some heads, you'll have a highly portable, expandable setup that might qualify you to replace Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap. Be aware that popularity for this new setup has been high, and both pieces are on backorder at most online dealers, so you may have a hard time finding a setup to demo.
