I sent mine back because I didn't like how it interacted with my pedals. Admittedly these were big synth effects. If it's drive you're looking at then I'm sure it's great!
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Ampeg SGT-DI
- Thread starter Heady
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I sent mine back because I didn't like how it interacted with my pedals. Admittedly these were big synth effects. If it's drive you're looking at then I'm sure it's great!
Is the SGT DI any good for recording? I’m interested in recording without having to mic a bass amp… as I do not have room for an amp. How does this pedal sound going straight into a Daw? Currently I just use a DI box (Radial J48) and go straight into the Daw (Logic) and then use various bass plugins. I have heard some excellent bass tones from a youtuber who was using an HX Stomp’s SVT setting. It sounded great. So I figured the Ampeg SGT DI would also sound great. Has anyone used it specifically for recording utilizing the preamp and SGT circuits and not just the DI?
Works great in the studio. This is my SGT-DI recording setup using the DI straight to the board. I use it for both clean and overdriven SGT tones, preferring the B15 option.
Yes, but I use the compressor more as a tone shaper. On minimal settings it brings the bass from "out back" to "upfront" in the mix, allowing for more nuance when using dynamics. When using the SGT section for specific songs the OD tone sounds better w/ the compressor off.
Nice, thanks. I have a Hageman Valve, which is similar to the Edison, third after tuner and compressor. I go between a spectracomp and 1176, for shaping and generally evening out my very amateur playing. The spectracomp is my current preference, and I’ve started playing with the TonePrint software. I haven’t noticed differences in the SGT with and without the compressor. I have an Earthquaker Blumes in my chain which is basically unusable is I don’t have a compressor in front of it. Need to experiment some…
I use a Hagerman on my home silent practice board and really like it. Yes, it's good to move pedals around to find your own best tone requirements. Luckily for me my setup is relatively simple.
I ended up buying one of these, selling it, and then getting an Ampeg Venture V3 head which was essentially this box attached to a 300w power amp. It was only about a hundred dollars more.
Thanks 2saddleslab for the response. Have you or anyone else compared recording a DI and then applying plugins in the box versus using a pedal like the SGT DI? Does the Ampeg SGT DI create a better tone than for instance using the Brainworks B15 plugin on a bass DI signal?
Sorry, can't help w/ those questions because I've not tried a plugin scenario.
Hey all. Just got mine the other day and am (mostly) loving it. But i have a question for others who have had a bit more time with the pedal.
I have only used this with headphones so far and I can get some really great sounds out of the pre-amp and SGT drive circuits. But do the cab sims sound absolutely horrible to anyone else? Whenever I switch them on (and usually regardless of what volume I have the cab sim set at) the entire sounds gets insanely boomy, looses most if not all definition, and just sounds really quite bad overall. When i turn off the cab sim, it goes back to sounding great.
Am I just using the thing wrong?
I have only used this with headphones so far and I can get some really great sounds out of the pre-amp and SGT drive circuits. But do the cab sims sound absolutely horrible to anyone else? Whenever I switch them on (and usually regardless of what volume I have the cab sim set at) the entire sounds gets insanely boomy, looses most if not all definition, and just sounds really quite bad overall. When i turn off the cab sim, it goes back to sounding great.
Am I just using the thing wrong?
Not using it wrong at all. I don't care for the cabsim whatsoever and just leave it off. Granted, I haven't spent any time looking at other IRs to load it with, but it sounds great without it.
I like the 112 in the ‘user’ cabs when I’m using headphones. The 212 AV, also in the default user bunch.
Hi All,
Long-time lurker here, I decided to post a little feedback on my recently acquired SGT-DI, and maybe ask some advice!
I come from an SCR-DI that I bought essentially for its simplicity, its tone, and its headphone ouptut. I'm quite satisfied with the pedal tbh, I jumped on an used SGT-DI mainly for its tunable mid-frequency, SVT/B15 switch and the supposed improved grit.
The first time I tested it, I used exclusively headphones (note also that I did not replace the SCR-DI for this quick test, my SGT-DI was plugged right after the SCR, with preamp and scrambler disengaged). I was a bit surprised since the preamp had very little power compared with the SCR-DI, I had to turn on the Grit to significantly increase the volume (my headphone has low impedance, so not the issue here). What worried me also was that the Preamp alone was seriously noisy past 1' or 2', but the noise disappeared once the Grit or the cab sim was engaged... I don't know if some of you noticed that (probably a ground issue).
Anyway, I wanted to test it in 'real' condition at rehersal. This time, no SCR on my board, the SGT took its place, with the line output going to a Trace Elliot head.
Fortunately, all of the above disappeared. No noise with the preamp only, with very satisfying volume. I can't say my ears are sharp enough to comment on the SCR/SGT clean differences, but I do find the SGT sound very qualitative, both in SVT and B15 modes. I was worried about the Ultra High being at 8 or 9 KHz instead of 4 KHz on the SCR, but for now I think the highs was still well-defined when playing hard-rock songs.
The only thing that might bother me : the Grit. I do like its sounds, it's definitely less fuzzy than the Scrambler (can't say I disliked it, it was ok, and useful). My issue is that the Grit doesn't have a blend, but engages a new volume stage.
On the SCR, I used the scrambler occasionnaly as a low-dirt or heavier distortion pedal, which was easy to dial-in thanks to the blend. Here with the SGT, messing with the Grit amount significantly changes the volume, and I find it hard to make changes on the fly without messing the sound, especially during a gig session. For this reason, I find the SGT less flexible than the SCR.
How do you guys cope with that? Do you rather use the Grit as an always-on?
Long-time lurker here, I decided to post a little feedback on my recently acquired SGT-DI, and maybe ask some advice!
I come from an SCR-DI that I bought essentially for its simplicity, its tone, and its headphone ouptut. I'm quite satisfied with the pedal tbh, I jumped on an used SGT-DI mainly for its tunable mid-frequency, SVT/B15 switch and the supposed improved grit.
The first time I tested it, I used exclusively headphones (note also that I did not replace the SCR-DI for this quick test, my SGT-DI was plugged right after the SCR, with preamp and scrambler disengaged). I was a bit surprised since the preamp had very little power compared with the SCR-DI, I had to turn on the Grit to significantly increase the volume (my headphone has low impedance, so not the issue here). What worried me also was that the Preamp alone was seriously noisy past 1' or 2', but the noise disappeared once the Grit or the cab sim was engaged... I don't know if some of you noticed that (probably a ground issue).
Anyway, I wanted to test it in 'real' condition at rehersal. This time, no SCR on my board, the SGT took its place, with the line output going to a Trace Elliot head.
Fortunately, all of the above disappeared. No noise with the preamp only, with very satisfying volume. I can't say my ears are sharp enough to comment on the SCR/SGT clean differences, but I do find the SGT sound very qualitative, both in SVT and B15 modes. I was worried about the Ultra High being at 8 or 9 KHz instead of 4 KHz on the SCR, but for now I think the highs was still well-defined when playing hard-rock songs.
The only thing that might bother me : the Grit. I do like its sounds, it's definitely less fuzzy than the Scrambler (can't say I disliked it, it was ok, and useful). My issue is that the Grit doesn't have a blend, but engages a new volume stage.
On the SCR, I used the scrambler occasionnaly as a low-dirt or heavier distortion pedal, which was easy to dial-in thanks to the blend. Here with the SGT, messing with the Grit amount significantly changes the volume, and I find it hard to make changes on the fly without messing the sound, especially during a gig session. For this reason, I find the SGT less flexible than the SCR.
How do you guys cope with that? Do you rather use the Grit as an always-on?
I use the SCR-DI on my home practice board. It is more of a one trick pony in terms of tone compared to the SGT-DI. But it's very good tone. Never liked the onboard Scrambler section but really like the separate Scrambler pedal with it.
I use the SGT-DI for recording & small no rig gigs. Much easier for me to get that clear Ampeg tone as well as varying degrees of grit from the SGT portion. My preference is the B15 and setting the SGT so quiet passages are somewhat clean but really gritty when digging in. Similar to the Scrambler section of the SCR-DI, I prefer a separate Ampeg OptoComp compressor vs the onboard SGT-DI. The additional pedal adjustments make a huge difference.
Different strokes, I guess. I enjoy & use them both but find the SGT-DI provides more tonal options in comparison.
Long time lurker here, as well. I have the SCR-DI and I've been happy with it for headphone practice and occasional recording, although I don't like or use the scrambler circuit.
With the drive circuit on the SGT DI, can you get the gain all the way down to clean, or does it have some breakup even at the lowest gain setting? One thing I don't like about the OD on my Ampeg Rocket combo is that I can't get the breakup as subtle as I'd like.
I only tried one in a store, but not really. I much prefer the scrambler pedal that has a blend.
Yes, you can dial the Grit down to zero and both B15 & SVT options will still color your tone but w/ minimal to no breakup. You can adjust the Grit/ level from there to dial in what works for you.
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