Ampeg SCR-Di

[Guest]

Any thoughts on the above folks ????? 

[Highfox]

1 hour ago, Mike Byrne said:

Any thoughts on the above folks ????? 

Had one, but didn't really get on with it.

Never could find the sound I wanted for some reason. Gone back to a Sansamp for DI purpose when I need, find it a lot more flexible tone- sculpting wise.

Plus the SCR was a battery hog, if not running it off mains!

[redbandit599]

I had one and got and nice fat Ampeg sound from it - took a bit of experimenting with the eq though- think I ended up with the 'ultra low' in but the bass on the eq backed off, which seems a bit strange but worked.

I also liked it for headphone practice - using the aux in. 

The Scrambler bit isn't anything special, but added a little bit of something if you didn't mix it in too much.

Built like an absolute tank.

[e40]

An AC power adaptor and a good set of headphones is a wise investment if you’re going to get an SCR/DI. You’ll get maybe six or so hours of runtime before your battery dies out. So it’s definitely not practical or economical to run it for any length of time on a 9V battery. 

As far as headphones go, I’m using a Sony MDR-7506 set, which is a good match for this application. 

Soundwise it sounds like an Ampeg. Small surprise since the tonestack is identical to Ampeg’s BA series amplifiers with some added features such as amp emulation and the ability to deliver line level output. So it can be plugged into your power amp of choice if you choose to use it that way. 

The DI is not studio calibre by any stretch. But it’s still fine. I prefer using an outboard DI so I seldom use that feature. But either way, the built-in is more than acceptable for most uses. 

The Scrambler circuit is something I’ll leave for others to discuss. I don’t personally care for the sound it has. But that’s likely just me. And it is very handy for those times when you want to conveniently introduce a touch of grit into your sound and your preferred pedal isn’t readily available. 

Conclusion? An excellent preamp/DI pedal with a host of input and output options for people who like the Ampeg sound. 

If you’re not insisting on that Ampeg sound, and you’re looking for a more sophisticated and flexible EQ section you might be better off considering the Tech21 Q/Strip or the Broughton Audio Messenger preamp instead. 

[Lozz196]

I had one for a while and it just nailed the SVT sound. From memory I engaged the Ultras and the Scrambler, with that set to break-up when strings hit hard. If looking for SVT tones it’s a good pedal, and am sure it can do more, I only let it go as it was quite big & heavy in comparison to Tech21 VT & Sansamp pedals which also do SVT tones very well.