Ampeg SVT-7PRO & SVT-8PRO Heads
Ultra-vintage Ampeg is going decidedly modern—as
in super-light Class D power sections—with its latest
additions to the venerable SVT amplifier line. The
SVT-7PRO head throws down 1,000 watts while
weighing only 15 pounds, while the SVT-8PRO shoots
the moon with a scary 2,500 watts of power in a
similarly compact and lightweight package. Both
units feature familiar Ampeg front-end tone
controls—so essentially it’s the same preamp many
know and love, just stronger and lighter on the back
end. And there’s a line of lightweight cabs (called
PRO NEO) debuting in early 2010 to go with them.
Prices SVT-7PRO, $799.99; SVT-8PRO, $2,399.99
Contact www.ampeg.com
Kustom KB Series Amps
Kustom Amplification keeps things
simple on its new KB Series of five
combos and a 200-watt head, going
for easy-to-dial tone, practical practice
features (like mini-stereo mp3
input and speaker-muting headphone
output), and a more old-school look
overall. The combos range from a
micro 6" speaker/10-watt configuration
to the 15"/200-watt KB200
(shown here); the 200-watt head
comes in either rackmount or classic
wooden head packages.
Price range $69–$349 (KB200: $349)
Contact www.kustom.com
Fender 50th Anniversary
Jazz Bass
How do you celebrate the 50th
Anniversary of something as iconic
as the Jazz Bass? If you’re Fender,
you do it by releasing a limitededition
special model incorporating
some of the most desirable features
from different eras of production.
From bridge cover to neck shape,
inlays to frets, headstock logo to
bridge-pickup placement, the 50th
Anniversary Jazz Bass pulls from as
far back as 1960 and as recently as
2008 to make up a “greatest hits”
compilation of classic and modern
features. As they say, supplies are
most definitely limited.
Price $1,999
Contact www.fender.com
KSM Foundation Bass Bridge
Want to lose that rusty old bridge on your vintage bass but
still have something unique going on? KSM’s Foundation
bridge gives you single-piece tone enhancement (think extra
high-end chime and tighter low end) but still allows for individual
setup preference via a patented ramp system. Plus, it
locks itself in place once you get what you want, holding
and preserving every milli-adjustment for the precisionobsessed
player. And the Foundation’s anodized aluminum
should last, well, longer than the one you’re replacing.
Prices 4-string, $149; 5-string, $165
Contact www.ksmguitars.com
’65 Amps Apollo Amp &
1x15 Cab
Vintage 15"-combo tone aficionados
will dig the first bass offering from
boutique tonemasters ’65 Amps. The
tube-powered 50-watt Apollo amp
and 1x15 cab combination captures
everything you want from that stalwart
configuration while removing
some longstanding limitations.
Combining vintage tone controls
with more modern features (3-way
pad switch for selectable drive levels;
BANDWIDTH switch for ultra-retro and
more full-range tone options), the rig
is ideal for small clubs, stages with
in-ear monitors, and studio work. The
11-ply Baltic birch cab features a custom-
designed 15” Celestion speaker.
If you’re hip to what a vintage 1x15
combo setup can do, this uncompromisingly
designed rig probably
already has you drooling.
Prices Apollo head, $2,195;
1x15 cab, $645
Contact www.65amps.com
B.C. Rich NJ Deluxe Warlock Basses
All hail the metal mainstay B.C. Rich Warlock
body shape, which lives on in the new NJ Deluxe
models. Available in a 34"-scale 4-string and a
35" 5-string, they all have maple necks, ebony
fingerboards, mahogany bodies, EMG 35DC pickups,
an onyx finish, and a Pearl binding all the
way up the body, neck, and headstock. These
axes certainly aren’t suffering from an identity
crisis. (Now let’s see those horns.)
Price $749 (4-string), $799 (5-string)
Contact www.bcrich.com