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Broughton SV-Pre vs Master Effects Super 300

#21
One thing to keep in mind is that the Broughton SV Pre isn't exactly an "SVT in a box" like some of the other pedals. All it is and claims to be is a recreation of the preamp section of a particular SVT from the 70s. So it's not emulating the power amp section, and there is no cab sim. When set flat, it's actually quite transparent. Add a bit of gain and flip a voicing switch, and you do get more SVT coloration. I do quite like it, and settled on it as my main dirty preamp after a pretty long rabbit hole of experimentation. I found the Tech 21 VT and many others to be overly hyped up, so I like that I can dial in as much color as I want from the SV Pre.
 
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#22
DuluthDank said:
One thing to keep in mind is that the Broughton SV Pre isn't exactly an "SVT in a box" like some of the other pedals. All it is and claims to be is a recreation of the preamp section of a particular SVT from the 70s. So it's not emulating the power amp section, and there is no cab sim. When set flat, it's actually quite transparent. Add a bit of gain and flip a voicing switch, and you do get more SVT coloration. I do quite like it, and settled on it as my main dirty preamp after a pretty long rabbit hole of experimentation. I found the Tech 21 VT and many others to be overly hyped up, so I like that I can dial in as much color as I want from the SV Pre.
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The Master Effects Super 300 is also this, I think essentially a solid-state take on an SVT preamp. For some folks the SV-Pre and Super 300 might be more intuitive since the clipping in those comes before the EQ (like an SVT-Classic instead of the OG SVT circuit). The Super Vintage is the only one of the bunch that emulates the entire amp plus cab, but being a take on a non-Master Volume amp the EQ is actually coming before the main gainstages and really changes the voicing of the drive.
 
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#23
bassnyc1 said:
Maybe I should experiment a bit more. I used the Bassrig mostly with my active 5 string. At home it sounded awesome with my P Bass. My passive jazz basses were okay. I've figured out a pretty good setting for my Ric with the mono output. Unfortunately my main gig these days is using my Valenti 5 string which has a Sadowsky preamp in it. I know that stacking preamps is not always the best thing.
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If you think it sounded awesome with your passive P, I really really think you should give another try, adjusting the level before it hits the Super Vintage. There's different ways to get around it, and double preamping is something I try to avoid as well.

Personally after 3 years with the BassRig '64, I'm still a massive fan of it (except the DI out, but that's another story).
 
#24
bass player 53 said:
FWIW, I posted this video a few years ago when the pedals in question started to come out. There isn’t much distortion because????

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This is actually a great example- you mention you have the Volume on about 3 (out of 10 I assume) at the start of the video, which would be the equivalent of the "Drive" control on the Super Vintage when set to roughly 9 o'clock and you can hear that pleasant amount of hair in your recording. I contend the Super Vintage more or less got the tapering right on the interaction of the Drive and EQ- it can be tweaky to get the right balance on the actual amp as well, but at the sheer volume you are putting out even with the Volume that low you usually aren't as picky IME. The trick is not to worry too much what the settings look like- just keep dialing things til it sounds like what you want.
 
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#25
InnerCityBass said:
If you think it sounded awesome with your passive P, I really really think you should give another try, adjusting the level before it hits the Super Vintage. There's different ways to get around it, and double preamping is something I try to avoid as well.

Personally after 3 years with the BassRig '64, I'm still a massive fan of it (except the DI out, but that's another story).
Click to expand...
You just don't dig the cabsim? It is a shame they didn't offer a cabsim bypass on the SV and '64. I love the cabsim in the SV, but the '64 one is the reason I haven't considered buying one of those to try (and I love Fender bass amps, I used a 50 watt Bassman for a few years and would love that tone but at a more scalable volume)
 
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#26
sunbeast said:
This is actually a great example- you mention you have the Volume on about 3 (out of 10 I assume) at the start of the video, which would be the equivalent of the "Drive" control on the Super Vintage when set to roughly 9 o'clock and you can hear that pleasant amount of hair in your recording. I contend the Super Vintage more or less got the tapering right on the interaction of the Drive and EQ- it can be tweaky to get the right balance on the actual amp as well, but at the sheer volume you are putting out even with the Volume that low you usually aren't as picky IME. The trick is not to worry too much what the settings look like- just keep dialing things til it sounds like what you want.
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, I posted the video, but I didn’t make the video. Sorry, I used a poor choice of words. The reason that I posted the video at the time was to point out what a classic blue line SVT actually sounded like.
 
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#27
bass player 53 said:
Just to be clear, I posted the video, but I didn’t make the video. Sorry, I used a poor choice of words. The reason that I posted the video at the time was to point out what a classic blue line SVT actually sounded like.
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Aha I see. I had a later 70s black-line SVT for a while and it's consistent with my experience too. I actually ended up preferring the SVT Classic I had back then because of the Gain/Volume setup that allowed me to get higher gain at lower volumes- and I feel like that is the SVT amp most people are more used to since SVT-CLs were really common backline amps for decades and most of the SVT emulations out there (in pedals, other Ampeg amps, and even most software emulations) have traditionally had both Gain and Master with the EQ coming post-Gain. The original that the Super Vintage is trying to emulate is definitely a different beast that requires some slightly different thinking when setting the EQ and Drive since they are more interactive.
 
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#28
I had the SVpre, lot of fun to use like all Broughton pedals. In the end I much prefer the Scorpion for this type of mid-scooped tone. I really like the Azure 10th and the Fliptop.

Tried the whole Origin Effects kit except the new Fifteen, I didn’t find any of this fun or useful or anything.
 
#29
butterfingers1 said:
I had the SVpre, lot of fun to use like all Broughton pedals. In the end I much prefer the Scorpion for this type of mid-scooped tone. I really like the Azure 10th and the Fliptop.

Tried the whole Origin Effects kit except the new Fifteen, I didn’t find any of this fun or useful or anything.
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The Origin Super Vintage doesn't have the "Ultra-Lo" switch that I assume you are referring to when you say "mid-scooped". Unless that switch is engaged (its main effect is to engage a 10dB mid cut at 500hz) an SVT preamp is flat/neutral with all the EQ knobs at 5. Interestingly the Tech 21 guys seemed to bake-in that "Ultra-Lo" setting to alot of their SVT emulations like the BDDI and VT Bass for some reason. I've never actually known a bassist that played their SVT with that switch engaged (I'm sure there are some, just that that mid-scooped tone is not really the SVT tone I ever think of)
 
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#30
sunbeast said:
Aha I see. I had a later 70s black-line SVT for a while and it's consistent with my experience too. I actually ended up preferring the SVT Classic I had back then because of the Gain/Volume setup that allowed me to get higher gain at lower volumes- and I feel like that is the SVT amp most people are more used to since SVT-CLs were really common backline amps for decades and most of the SVT emulations out there (in pedals, other Ampeg amps, and even most software emulations) have traditionally had both Gain and Master with the EQ coming post-Gain. The original that the Super Vintage is trying to emulate is definitely a different beast that requires some slightly different thinking when setting the EQ and Drive since they are more interactive.
Click to expand...
Yeah, in the guitar world, this is a main issue. I have a Deluxe Reverb, and like many, I like the slightly overdriven sound. But at that point, 4-6 on the volume knob, it’s damn loud. So, like many, I have amps with built in attenuation and I also have lower power amps, like the Vibro Champ, and Princeton Reverb.
 
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#31
sunbeast said:
You just don't dig the cabsim? It is a shame they didn't offer a cabsim bypass on the SV and '64. I love the cabsim in the SV, but the '64 one is the reason I haven't considered buying one of those to try (and I love Fender bass amps, I used a 50 watt Bassman for a few years and would love that tone but at a more scalable volume)
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Yes exactly, the camsim is just too dark. I'm using a JHS Color Box as DI instead, also giving me some exstra EQ, boost, and saturation possibilities.

The 60's Bassman 50 watt blackface amps is my favorite, as I own one myself, and love it to death, but don't always have the possibility of bringing to the gigs, and the 50 watts not always being enough unless hauling some 2x15" which is also not practical around here - in general I'm a happy camper with the BassRig '64 + Color Box + a parallel compressor.
 
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#32
sunbeast said:
The Master Effects Super 300 is also this, I think essentially a solid-state take on an SVT preamp. For some folks the SV-Pre and Super 300 might be more intuitive since the clipping in those comes before the EQ (like an SVT-Classic instead of the OG SVT circuit). The Super Vintage is the only one of the bunch that emulates the entire amp plus cab, but being a take on a non-Master Volume amp the EQ is actually coming before the main gainstages and really changes the voicing of the drive.
Click to expand...
This.
I think I'm more interested in the SVT classic sound than the OG.
 
#33
InnerCityBass said:
If you think it sounded awesome with your passive P, I really really think you should give another try, adjusting the level before it hits the Super Vintage. There's different ways to get around it, and double preamping is something I try to avoid as well.

Personally after 3 years with the BassRig '64, I'm still a massive fan of it (except the DI out, but that's another story).
Click to expand...
I'd like to emphasize that it sounded great at home. I don't own my own amp. 100% of the rehearsal spaces and live houses I play in have provided backline. If you've played there before, maybe you know the amp. If not, it's a crap shoot.
 
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