NAD: Studio Vintage SV20H

[C-Martin]

Here’s a crappy cell phone pic of it with the cab

 

[jcm800gridlock]

Here’s a crappy cell phone pic of it with the cab

View attachment 95697

Looks great and I’m jealous.

Congratulations and enjoy that amp.

 

[scozz]

Here’s a crappy cell phone pic of it with the cab

View attachment 95697

Yeah that looks kick ass man!

The aesthetics of that combination is gorgeous.


That pic reminds me of our brother @tce63 SV and cab.

 

[marshallmellowed]

Thanks everyone! I’m really happy with it. It sounds amazing through my old 4x12 with greenbacks.

I have a pretty good collection of overdrives, boosts and fuzzes and went through most of them this weekend, but my favourite tone so far was the thing cranked and guitar plugged straight in! It works amazingly well with all pedals I’ve tried, but there’s just something about it played raw. I can’t quite put it into words, but it sounds gainy without being gainy, it kicks you right in the gut when you palm mute or hit a big chord hard. There’s a percussive nature that I love, very dynamic amp. There’s a lot of definition, it brings out everything in your playing. It really rewards you for playing things right, so it pushes you to play cleaner.

Some have said that it doesn’t have the low end it’s bigger brothers have, but I never felt the low end was lacking. Actually, the bass knob was the only one I was backing off a bit to sit well in the mix.

However, I should add that I wasn’t all that impressed with the volume it has. I was expecting it to be a little bit louder tbh. It was having a hard time keeping up with the band until I dialed it in, and by then there pretty much was no headroom left, it’s just running full bore. I’m a little worried I might run into issues down the line and may need to find a solution to gain a couple db. The tone is just beautiful though, it’s very inspiring to play. Perhaps I should’ve went with the 1987x, but then would that have been too loud?

NOT saying the amp isn’t loud. It is and the 5 watt mode is way too loud for any apartment or bedroom setup. It could be useful for bar gigs when your asked to turn down some but you still want to crank it for that saturation. I guess I’m just in the “play loud” gang

I'd keep an eye out for a used Bad Cat Unleash. It can not only provide more volume (or less), but is very useful as a solo volume boost (has 2 foot-switchable level controls).

 

[purpleplexi]

Thanks everyone! I’m really happy with it. It sounds amazing through my old 4x12 with greenbacks.

I have a pretty good collection of overdrives, boosts and fuzzes and went through most of them this weekend, but my favourite tone so far was the thing cranked and guitar plugged straight in! It works amazingly well with all pedals I’ve tried, but there’s just something about it played raw. I can’t quite put it into words, but it sounds gainy without being gainy, it kicks you right in the gut when you palm mute or hit a big chord hard. There’s a percussive nature that I love, very dynamic amp. There’s a lot of definition, it brings out everything in your playing. It really rewards you for playing things right, so it pushes you to play cleaner.

Some have said that it doesn’t have the low end it’s bigger brothers have, but I never felt the low end was lacking. Actually, the bass knob was the only one I was backing off a bit to sit well in the mix.

However, I should add that I wasn’t all that impressed with the volume it has. I was expecting it to be a little bit louder tbh. It was having a hard time keeping up with the band until I dialed it in, and by then there pretty much was no headroom left, it’s just running full bore. I’m a little worried I might run into issues down the line and may need to find a solution to gain a couple db. The tone is just beautiful though, it’s very inspiring to play. Perhaps I should’ve went with the 1987x, but then would that have been too loud?

NOT saying the amp isn’t loud. It is and the 5 watt mode is way too loud for any apartment or bedroom setup. It could be useful for bar gigs when your asked to turn down some but you still want to crank it for that saturation. I guess I’m just in the “play loud” gang

Congratulations. You're the first person that has said it's not loud enough. What impedance is your cab?

 

[C-Martin]

Congratulations. You're the first person that has said it's not loud enough. What impedance is your cab?

Kind of funny to be congratulated for that

The cab is 16ohm. Does it make a difference?

 

[C-Martin]

I'd keep an eye out for a used Bad Cat Unleash. It can not only provide more volume (or less), but is very useful as a solo volume boost (has 2 foot-switchable level controls).

I’m looking that up, sounds like a cool product. A lead boost is exactly why I would want a few extra db, or for clean parts, the cranked volume works well for most riffing.

 

[Georgiatec]

Thanks everyone! I’m really happy with it. It sounds amazing through my old 4x12 with greenbacks.

I have a pretty good collection of overdrives, boosts and fuzzes and went through most of them this weekend, but my favourite tone so far was the thing cranked and guitar plugged straight in! It works amazingly well with all pedals I’ve tried, but there’s just something about it played raw. I can’t quite put it into words, but it sounds gainy without being gainy, it kicks you right in the gut when you palm mute or hit a big chord hard. There’s a percussive nature that I love, very dynamic amp. There’s a lot of definition, it brings out everything in your playing. It really rewards you for playing things right, so it pushes you to play cleaner.

Some have said that it doesn’t have the low end it’s bigger brothers have, but I never felt the low end was lacking. Actually, the bass knob was the only one I was backing off a bit to sit well in the mix.

However, I should add that I wasn’t all that impressed with the volume it has. I was expecting it to be a little bit louder tbh. It was having a hard time keeping up with the band until I dialed it in, and by then there pretty much was no headroom left, it’s just running full bore. I’m a little worried I might run into issues down the line and may need to find a solution to gain a couple db. The tone is just beautiful though, it’s very inspiring to play. Perhaps I should’ve went with the 1987x, but then would that have been too loud?

NOT saying the amp isn’t loud. It is and the 5 watt mode is way too loud for any apartment or bedroom setup. It could be useful for bar gigs when your asked to turn down some but you still want to crank it for that saturation. I guess I’m just in the “play loud” gang

Wow....mine's loud enough for rehearsals in low power mode.

 

[wntbtw]

Looks great and I’m jealous.

Congratulations and enjoy that amp.

I`m surprised that you don`t have one yet? Maybe you have the SC20 [the JCM 20w model] instead.

 

[jcm800gridlock]

I`m surprised that you don`t have one yet? Maybe you have the SC20 [the JCM 20w model] instead.

I was actually looking for a SV20 when I found a floor model Origin-50 combo for $350. I could not pass up the Origin for that price. I’m enjoying using the Origin for now.

I’ll probably eventually give the Origin to my son and then pick up a SV20H sometime next year.

 

[wntbtw]

I was actually looking for a SV20 when I found a floor model Origin-50 combo for $350. I could not pass up the Origin for that price. I’m enjoying using the Origin for now.
I’ll probably eventually give the Origin to my son and then pick up a SV20H sometime next year.

Nice purchase! And I`ve read nothing but great things here [and elsewhere] about the SV20 [except that it`s louder than expected]. I have the SC20 [the JCM 800 20w version] & like mine alot--very versatile w/ the MV and the PreAmp Volume which allows for different 'gain tones' as I`m sure you know very well already! The 5 watt mode is pretty awesome too!

 

[Biff Maloy]

Thanks everyone! I’m really happy with it. It sounds amazing through my old 4x12 with greenbacks.

I have a pretty good collection of overdrives, boosts and fuzzes and went through most of them this weekend, but my favourite tone so far was the thing cranked and guitar plugged straight in! It works amazingly well with all pedals I’ve tried, but there’s just something about it played raw. I can’t quite put it into words, but it sounds gainy without being gainy, it kicks you right in the gut when you palm mute or hit a big chord hard. There’s a percussive nature that I love, very dynamic amp. There’s a lot of definition, it brings out everything in your playing. It really rewards you for playing things right, so it pushes you to play cleaner.

Some have said that it doesn’t have the low end it’s bigger brothers have, but I never felt the low end was lacking. Actually, the bass knob was the only one I was backing off a bit to sit well in the mix.

However, I should add that I wasn’t all that impressed with the volume it has. I was expecting it to be a little bit louder tbh. It was having a hard time keeping up with the band until I dialed it in, and by then there pretty much was no headroom left, it’s just running full bore. I’m a little worried I might run into issues down the line and may need to find a solution to gain a couple db. The tone is just beautiful though, it’s very inspiring to play. Perhaps I should’ve went with the 1987x, but then would that have been too loud?

NOT saying the amp isn’t loud. It is and the 5 watt mode is way too loud for any apartment or bedroom setup. It could be useful for bar gigs when your asked to turn down some but you still want to crank it for that saturation. I guess I’m just in the “play loud” gang

I had the same impression the first few times i used mine. It was about right volume wise but it had nothing left. That impression bugged me so finally i asked one of them without leading the question. "You coulda been louder" was the honest answer. And like you, my SV was almost a 1987X.

It's a tough point to get across on forums because of so many variables in player's situations. Maybe loud isn't so much the thing as body and headroom was what i missed. The Studios were new ground for me in the expectation I could crank it and that was the case. I'm just way more used to the big amps but all mine were MV's. Now, i finally get a Plexi SV after all these years and the damn thing has ruined me for anything else but i miss the power in reserve. It's the big amp/small amp debate that never goes away.