Sounds quite quiet to me. Of course, dime the treble and of course you'll get some hiss since boosting frequencies also boost their corresponding noise floors, but at more normal settings it doesn't seem hummy or hissy to me.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
All-New Ampeg SCR-DI!
- Thread starter CharlieC
- Start date
Superb-thanks. For me, the aux in feature is key to making this something that sees a lot of mileage as opposed to a "just in case" item in my bag. I am also looking at the newer GK offering, which some are apparently having noise issues with.
I am too, but when it comes to music related stuff, I seem to be able to pull it out of my hat so to speak.
Just snatched one of these up. It came down to this or a BA combo, and since it apparently has the same pre and doesn't come with a speaker I don't really need, it will serve its purpose fine. Primarily going to be using it for silent practice, but am wondering if I'll be able to squeeze it on to my PT Nano, which currently has a Barbershop ME, Boss and Korg PB on it. I have a feeling my trusty Korg is going to have a new home right next to the board 
Edit: Looking at my Nano, there's no chance in hell of them all fitting.
Pretty excited. It's been a long time since I've used a preamp pedal or anything Ampeg. Didn't like how the VT sounded driving my GK700RBII, nor how it sounded when DI'd.
Edit: Looking at my Nano, there's no chance in hell of them all fitting.
Pretty excited. It's been a long time since I've used a preamp pedal or anything Ampeg. Didn't like how the VT sounded driving my GK700RBII, nor how it sounded when DI'd.
I posted earlier after just purchasing and the more I use this pedal, the more I like it. I too use it for quiet practice with my MP3 plugged in, but it also is ALWAYS ON on my pedal board. I don't use the SCR feature often, only occasionally. The SCR is a good overdrive, but drops some lows that are easily added with the eq. ALWAYS ON is the key here.
I just scored mine from Sweetwater.com (gotta love ANY music store that gives out free candy too!) this past Friday afternoon. I've only had about two or three hours to play around with it so far.
Plugging in my Yamaha BBN-4 (DiMarzio DP123 J's) to my DOD280 clone compressor, I've dialed in my approximation of the SVT "toaster tone" (bass 2:30, mids between 9 and 10:00 o'clock, treble around 2:00 o'clock, and the Ultra Lo engaged). As well, I've also dialed up the Scrambler's drive around 9:00/10:00 o'clock, with the blend the same to add that "SVT on the edge" sound. While not and SVT in a pedal, it's actually quite good. you get a serious sense of the Ampeg sound.
I'm actually very impressed with just how controlled the overall character is, while retaining that "Ampeg sound" and yet having a thunderous bottom end through my SVT810E (power by an old SWR Stereo-800).
It has a very different character than my MXR M81 preamp (another decent unit, but more hi-fi-ish, ala SWR).
Overall, while it's very early to make any major judgements on the SCR-DI, I'm pretty stoked by what I hear so far!
Now lets just hope that this pedal can provide enough gain to drive the SWR to full output (can't do that in the apartment- yet!)...
Plugging in my Yamaha BBN-4 (DiMarzio DP123 J's) to my DOD280 clone compressor, I've dialed in my approximation of the SVT "toaster tone" (bass 2:30, mids between 9 and 10:00 o'clock, treble around 2:00 o'clock, and the Ultra Lo engaged). As well, I've also dialed up the Scrambler's drive around 9:00/10:00 o'clock, with the blend the same to add that "SVT on the edge" sound. While not and SVT in a pedal, it's actually quite good. you get a serious sense of the Ampeg sound.
I'm actually very impressed with just how controlled the overall character is, while retaining that "Ampeg sound" and yet having a thunderous bottom end through my SVT810E (power by an old SWR Stereo-800).
It has a very different character than my MXR M81 preamp (another decent unit, but more hi-fi-ish, ala SWR).
Overall, while it's very early to make any major judgements on the SCR-DI, I'm pretty stoked by what I hear so far!
Now lets just hope that this pedal can provide enough gain to drive the SWR to full output (can't do that in the apartment- yet!)...
Glad ya like the pedal, but wow, that's like NO mids. Ultra Lo is -10db at 500Hz when engaged. Setting the mid knob around 9/10 o'clock probably knocks off another 5db or so. Then boosting bass and treble......will make the mids stand out even less. Yikeys.
Yeah, I thought to too. I have always wondered about the "SVT toaster tone", and thought (aside from the possible lack of mids), "does this setting REALLY work???"
Here's the article I first heard about it- The Rock Bass Tone that Won’t Go Away
I tried it, and also put the Scrambler to the settings I mentioned in my post, just to get the SVT-grit sound as well, and was rather amazed at how full (meaning deep) and actually rather articulated it sounded. Of course, I use just the neck pickup (sometimes neck and bridge, NEVER the bridge alone- just way too thin) and I play with a pick (yes, I do! Bobby Vega rocks!). Should sit in mix around heavy guitars quite nicely, I think. I'm NOT going for a jazzy or clean sound here.
Of course, since the SCR is now my actual preamp (driving the SWR power and SVT810), there are no other tone controls in the signal path (other than a passive tone control on the bass).
I thought he/she was risking criticism for posting that eq setting on TB - it just took a lot longer then I thought it would
I use settings like that and dig it (less the Scrambler).
Hey, I'm all for whatever sound you want to cop, man. I don't judge mid-scoopers. I've been known to scoop a few out myself. I love to play Precisions and I try to leave more in than I scoop out, but too much mid content gets a bit annoying. I like just enough to hear my note definition.
Heard it said 12v gets you a little extra headroom, but can't say I noticed a difference when I tried it once at home. Then again, I've had people tell me 18v makes a big difference in EMG active pickups and I can't notice a difference with them, either, so maybe I'm not the guy to ask.
Ya know, it's funny. The first gig I did with the SCR was a notoriously finicky room when it came to taming the boominess. Small-ish club with glass windows on two full sides and all hard wood floors. I usually have to resort to some pretty drastic cutting at the amp end with my usual rig which is pretty mid-centric. Upping the low mids and rolling back bass helped, but it came at the expense of having an overly nasal quality that drove me nuts. I do go through the PA there, but space restrictions mean we bring along the lesser of two, so I have to keep my floor monitors to light duty. What I did against (what I thought was) my better judgement was kept mids just below noon on the SCR, upped the bass just above noon, and hit the Lo switch, just to see. It cleaned everything up nicely and it was one of those "duh" moments. I spent so much time trying to dial in mids and cutting lows and treble to make the room work that I didn't stop to think that what that room needed was pretty much the opposite of how I'd been approaching it. The SCR Lo switch is going to be my magic button for that particular venue. It's also an easy transition for the few slap tunes we do where I just have to hit the Hi button to bring in the appropriate hi mids for that application.
OK I am here to repent. Got a Sansamp para. Thought it would be about he Same as the scr-di. Try as I might I could not dial up a tone I liked. Sold it. Bought a TH. Found tones I like. But it is noisy.
My replacement scr-DI gets here Tuesday.
My replacement scr-DI gets here Tuesday.
