ampeg svt-cl issue...

[DrowningBrian]

im courious why i have to use a sansamp bddi pedal in front of my ampeg svt-cl when we play live and in practice to get a full sound. it seems kinda dumb to have a $1500 dollar bass amp and then put a $150 pedal infront of it. haha. ive tried without sansamp live but 2 songs into the set i cut on the sansamp and leave it on. it sounds thin without. i mostly use it after my little big muff to kind of drive the muff. it doesnt seem like a volume issue because im always asked to turn down during sound check. its not cables or my basses. ive tried it with no pedals also. 2 jazz basses and one p-bass, they are passive.
I just bought it 4 months ago, but it was a floor model.
is it a power tube issue?
preamp tube issue?
biasing issue? both leds are green.
what can i use in place of the sansamp to drive the muff that doesnt have as much coloration and mid suck?
is that what the ehx lpb-1 and mxr micro amp are used for? which is better?


my tones settings are:
gain: 5
no buttons
bass: 7.5
mid: 6.5
frequency:3
treble; 5.5
master: 2.5-3.5

[bombpop14]

I use the BDDI infront of my Ampegs (SVT-AV, SVT Pro4) as well. Are you using a passive bass? I usually max out my master (10) and use my gain for volume. I also use the -10 pad and crank up the sansamp a bit more with blend maxed out. My passive AV Jazz is a little soft on the output, and this helps a lot. The VT pedal will give you some more tone options if your not using the BDDI as a DI, but the coloration is pretty much the same.

P.S. They always ask you to turn down.

[DrowningBrian]

Originally Posted by bombpop14

I use the BDDI infront of my Ampegs (SVT-AV, SVT Pro4) as well. Are you using a passive bass? I usually max out my master (10) and use my gain for volume. I also use the -10 pad and crank up the sansamp a bit more with blend maxed out. My passive AV Jazz is a little soft on the output, and this helps a lot. The VT pedal will give you some more tone options if your not using the BDDI as a DI, but the coloration is pretty much the same.

P.S. They always ask you to turn down.

i might have to try maxing out(10) the master volume and controlling loudness with gain. yeah all 3 of my basses are passive.

[anderbass]

If you ever play an outdoor gig or anywhere you can really crank that SVT up loud you'd probably prefer it without your BDDI pedal. But while playing at lower to mid-volume levels I pretty much always use my VT pedal to thicken up my SVT's tone a bit too.

[OldHack]

The popular opinion these days is to stay off the buttons all the time, but I look at them like the old "loudness" buttons on home/car stereos. Go ahead and use the boost buttons at the low volumes you're playing if it helps fill things out. It won't hurt anything at your volume settings. It's just when you start turning up your gain and master a bunch more that they aren't such a good idea.