All-New Ampeg SCR-DI!

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EHX arrived , tried at bedroom level ,certainly tames the Warwick`s signal into the SCR-DI ,yet still has the Ampeg sound !.

Can’t wait to try out at Fridays gig .

 

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Conclusion from Friday nights gig……SCR-DI does NOT like my Warwick , even with the EHX Signal Pad in front to tame the signal.The sound I got was VERY “mushy”

Luckily , I took my Jazz as a backup , that sounded SWEET through the SCR-DI , real AMPEG sound .

I’m may change the electronics in my Warwick ( less powerful – DELANO , and maybe the SONAR 3 preamp ) or just use my Jazz ( with Nordstrand pups ) when I want to use the SCR-DI .!

As I said before , using the internal –15 pad , just does not produce the Ampeg sound .

VERY DISSAPOINTED BUYER !

Pete

 

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Now bought and installed Delano MC4 AL pup and the Delano Sonar 3 MS in my Warwick...............NO DISTORTION ON INPUT TO THE SCR-DI ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !..........just the Ampeg vibe .......ooooooooooooooh.
Emailed Dolano Saturday lunchtime regarding the 4 conductor wiring on pup ( needed "HOT" , "GROUND " ) they replied within 20 mins ....what great service .
The sounds are really nice and controlled and Ampegy ! ! ! !
Now VERY HAPPY

 

[JimmyM]

Did the Warwick have MEC' s? I always thought they were EMG clones, and I never had any problems with EMGs in the ScrDi. But all is well now, I spose, so it's a moot point. Enjoy!

 

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Hi JimmyM, the Warwick had ( I assumed ) MEC`s - though there is no marking on them . The Warwick was made 1999 , so I suppose someone could have changed them over the last 17 years ?

 

[Btbp]

Dumb question maybe but, if I kept a fresh 9v in but used an adapter every time I gigged, would the battery keep fresh when not gigging and using it as a headphone amp? Or would it wear down even with an adapter?

Another question - is anyone selling it for less than $199? Seeing as it's almost 2 years old I wonder if the price would come down. Has it been updated since it was released?

 

[DJJazzV]

Does the SCR-DI have it's own baked in Ampeg tone even when off? I have 2 units, and they both do the same things:
When the pedal is OFF (using either power source: plug 500mA minimum or battery)
1. Slightly lowers the volume.
2. Changes the tone. Slight sub drop and added 1k area.

An easy way to confirm that is leave the pedal OFF and A/B the Line Out tone to the Thru tone. Line out is the Buffered tone and Thru is the bypassed tone.
If that's the case, then it seems the On/Off switch only acts on the EQ section and not the entire preamp.

I still like the tone a lot though. It sounds great.

 

[Btbp]

I was just going to post something similar as did DJJazzV - I just came from a music store to try the SCR-DI.

With the functions of the unit (Scrambler, Eq) off there was a distinct coloration of my straight signal, and with that, a bit of fuzz/overdrive/distortion, and as DJJazzV posted, a drop in signal.

I tried 4 different amps, and alternated plugging straight into the amp and through the SCR-DI with both effects off.

At first I thought it was a mismatched 9v power supply (did not try the unit on batteries); they only had 1 unit so I couldn't compare it against another.

I really wanted to buy this thing, but if it's not a true pass-though, that's a deal-breaker.

I hope it was a bad unit or user error.

 

[petrus61]

I was just going to post something similar as did DJJazzV - I just came from a music store to try the SCR-DI.

With the functions of the unit (Scrambler, Eq) off there was a distinct coloration of my straight signal, and with that, a bit of fuzz/overdrive/distortion, and as DJJazzV posted, a drop in signal.

I tried 4 different amps, and alternated plugging straight into the amp and through the SCR-DI with both effects off.

At first I thought it was a mismatched 9v power supply (did not try the unit on batteries); they only had 1 unit so I couldn't compare it against another.

I really wanted to buy this thing, but if it's not a true pass-though, that's a deal-breaker.

I hope it was a bad unit or user error.

I had the same experience with mine...as if the Scrambler was somehow always slightly in the signal chain.

 

[birminghambass]

Does the SCR-DI have it's own baked in Ampeg tone even when off? I have 2 units, and they both do the same things:
When the pedal is OFF (using either power source: plug 500mA minimum or battery)
1. Slightly lowers the volume.
2. Changes the tone. Slight sub drop and added 1k area.

An easy way to confirm that is leave the pedal OFF and A/B the Line Out tone to the Thru tone. Line out is the Buffered tone and Thru is the bypassed tone.
If that's the case, then it seems the On/Off switch only acts on the EQ section and not the entire preamp.

I still like the tone a lot though. It sounds great.

This is why I sold mine. Hoping the new Classic stompbox doesn't do this.

 

[DJJazzV]

This is why I sold mine. Hoping the new Classic stompbox doesn't do this.

The manual for the new one states that it is True Bypass. It also has "Suggested Settings" which I really like for the SCR-DI. I just ordered one of these as well.
http://www.ampeg.com/pdf/manuals/Pedals/Classic_Preamp_OM.pdf

 

[Btbp]

That's good but that is only half of the SCRi-DI and has no DI or Scrambler. There is a new Scrambler-only pedal which also does not have DI, so not a solution either.

The announcement on Bass Magazine's FB site and reposted by Ampeg show 2 new pedals and mentions the SCR-DI but not as 'new". Bass Musician Magazine

Looks like it's a SansAmp or WTDI for me. Hope Ampeg acts on this before I get one, I'd prefer an updated SCR-DI.

 

[KevinMG]

The SCR-DI is a "true ampeg preamp" according to the website, and thats how it sounds to me under headphones. According to the block diagram in the manual, you're hitting the FET preamp before anything else. So you're getting that baked in ampeg tone without the eq.

I actually dig the bypassed tone more than the eq tone - has tight round clean ampeg goodness in it, without the speaker simulator in the eq circuit adding a scoop effect. At least that's what my ears hear under flat studio cans, which is how I mostly use it. One of my best gear purchases. I love practicing with this thing. Would love to see an enhanced version with the 5-way mid selector and a protective circuit to avoid the low battery squeal.

 

[Chad T]

Yeah, I'm not sure what the problem is here. I don't see that Ampeg has messed up or misrepresented anything. When I use the SCR-DI, I want the Ampeg sound. If I want straight DI, then I grab a standard DI.

 

[petrus61]

The SCR-DI is a "true ampeg preamp" according to the website, and thats how it sounds to me under headphones. According to the block diagram in the manual, you're hitting the FET preamp before anything else. So you're getting that baked in ampeg tone without the eq.

I actually dig the bypassed tone more than the eq tone - has tight round clean ampeg goodness in it, without the speaker simulator in the eq circuit adding a scoop effect. At least that's what my ears hear under flat studio cans, which is how I mostly use it. One of my best gear purchases. I love practicing with this thing. Would love to see an enhanced version with the 5-way mid selector and a protective circuit to avoid the low battery squeal.

Ampeg BA series tone or not, it totally failed as a headphone amp for me even compared to a Vox Amplug. It was my main impetus for getting it, thinking I'd get a decent preamp/DI to go along with it and it couldn't push my GK enough to be really useable either, unfortunately. It was a totally passable sound through the front end of my amp, but through even decent headphones was a bit of a let down. I probably should have just gotten a mixer or Rolls instead of viewing this as a high quality headphone amp. I would have saved about $120.

I did like the live sound with the Lo switch engaged, but that wasn't really practical or speaker friendly for my needs. I spent about a month trying to convince myself that it could have a purpose in my main rig outside of just being a headphone amp. It didn't take much A/B'ing to decide the SCR simply wasn't it for me vs my own amps front end. Frankly, I think the Sansamp offererings do a much better job in that regard and there are way more versatile options out there for a bit less. I really did try to like it and did at first.

Edit: It needs a gain knob.

 

[johnk_10]

i dig the sound of mine, but it's definitely not true bypass. if it was, it would pass signal (bypassed) thru the 1/4" line out jack without a battery or a power supply.
you can also see that it isn't in the manual's block diagram, i.e. it always runs thru the FET preamp and the line out amp. that way it also always works thru the XLR output.

 

[KevinMG]

Ampeg BA series tone or not, it totally failed as a headphone amp for me even compared to a Vox Amplug. It was my main impetus for getting it, thinking I'd get a decent preamp/DI to go along with it and it couldn't push my GK enough to be really useable either, unfortunately. It was a totally passable sound through the front end of my amp, but through even decent headphones was a bit of a let down. I probably should have just gotten a mixer or Rolls instead of viewing this as a high quality headphone amp. I would have saved about $120.

I did like the live sound with the Lo switch engaged, but that wasn't really practical or speaker friendly for my needs. I spent about a month trying to convince myself that it could have a purpose in my main rig outside of just being a headphone amp. It didn't take much A/B'ing to decide the SCR simply wasn't it for me vs my own amps front end. Frankly, I think the Sansamp offererings do a much better job in that regard and there are way more versatile options out there for a bit less. I really did try to like it and did at first.

Edit: It needs a gain knob.

Sounds like what you were aiming to do is more consistent with how people use the Sansamp. For grins I've run mine through my PF-500 after seeing Dino do it in a video. Worked fine but wasn't additive to the PF-500 other than to engage the overdrive so I never bothered to do it again. I do recall having to push the volume up a bit, but the PF-500 is a better sounding preamp (under cans too), so it didn't seem warranted.

To me this unit shines either as a true DI box live (like JimmyM talks about in this thread), for recording, and as a standalone headphone unit for practice. Under phones I haven't had any issues with gain overloading the front end. Maybe yours was a defective unit? I've seen some other posts complaining about it too, but that's not been my experience and my unit is from one of the initial runs that shipped. For comparison, I run my passive and active Fenders with volume knobs fully open and it's perfectly clean in bypass mode (though louder than I need) and with the EQ engaged. Clicking in the EQ, volume at noon-1pm will match the bypassed signal level. That's louder than I need, but it's still not distorting at those levels. I usually run the EQ volume at about 10 o'clock. For further reference, I use Senn HD280 Pro and ATH-M50 phones. Bummer it didn't work out for you. For me, this unit ended a long quest for the perfect headphone solution.

 

[petrus61]

Sounds like what you were aiming to do is more consistent with how people use the Sansamp. For grins I've run mine through my PF-500 after seeing Dino do it in a video. Worked fine but wasn't additive to the PF-500 other than to engage the overdrive so I never bothered to do it again. I do recall having to push the volume up a bit, but the PF-500 is a better sounding preamp (under cans too), so it didn't seem warranted.

To me this unit shines either as a true DI box live (like JimmyM talks about in this thread), for recording, and as a standalone headphone unit for practice. Under phones I haven't had any issues with gain overloading the front end. Maybe yours was a defective unit? I've seen some other posts complaining about it too, but that's not been my experience and my unit is from one of the initial runs that shipped. For comparison, I run my passive and active Fenders with volume knobs fully open and it's perfectly clean in bypass mode (though louder than I need) and with the EQ engaged. Clicking in the EQ, volume at noon-1pm will match the bypassed signal level. That's louder than I need, but it's still not distorting at those levels. I usually run the EQ volume at about 10 o'clock. For further reference, I use Senn HD280 Pro and ATH-M50 phones. Bummer it didn't work out for you. For me, this unit ended a long quest for the perfect headphone solution.

I didn't have any issues with gain overloading the front end. In fact, it was quite the opposite. If there's anything I would do to make it better, would be to leave the Scrambler out in favor of just a gain knob.

 

[DJJazzV]

The SCR-DI is a "true ampeg preamp" according to the website, and thats how it sounds to me under headphones. According to the block diagram in the manual, you're hitting the FET preamp before anything else. So you're getting that baked in ampeg tone without the eq.

I actually dig the bypassed tone more than the eq tone - has tight round clean ampeg goodness in it, without the speaker simulator in the eq circuit adding a scoop effect. At least that's what my ears hear under flat studio cans, which is how I mostly use it. One of my best gear purchases. I love practicing with this thing. Would love to see an enhanced version with the 5-way mid selector and a protective circuit to avoid the low battery squeal.

That's exactly how I see it. Really good Ampeg type tone no matter what, on or off. After figuring that out, I know exactly how to use it now.

i dig the sound of mine, but it's definitely not true bypass. if it was, it would pass signal (bypassed) thru the 1/4" line out jack without a battery or a power supply.
you can also see that it isn't in the manual's block diagram, i.e. it always runs thru the FET preamp and the line out amp. that way it also always works thru the XLR output.

Agreed. It sounds really good. Now that I know exactly how it works, I can use it even better. I really just needed confirmation of what I thought I was hearing and seeing on the visual EQ. Knowing what is happening if other pedals are used at the same time is a big help as well. I'll probably just use it without any other pedals though.
I should also have the new Classic preamp pedal in a day or two, so I am really looking forward to giving them a good A/B test.

 

[KevinMG]

I didn't have any issues with gain overloading the front end. In fact, it was quite the opposite. If there's anything I would do to make it better, would be to leave the Scrambler out in favor of just a gain knob.

My bad. Thought that's what you meant by saying the scrambler always seemed to be in the mix. But low gain seems odd too, especially if it was low output with distortion. Did you swap it for another unit to see if it was defective?

 

[Btbp]

Yeah, I'm not sure what the problem is here. I don't see that Ampeg has messed up or misrepresented anything. When I use the SCR-DI, I want the Ampeg sound. If I want straight DI, then I grab a standard DI.

While I wouldn't go as far as they saying anything misreprensentative, just seems that it would be so much easier, and bring more usefulness, to have it all. It's almost counter-intuitive and having to A/B it like petrus21 mentioned (what I would have to do, I would want my primary Eden sound and the Ampeg as a great option, option being the operative word).