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Ampeg Bass Distortion Sound (this is not another 'What's the best ...' thread)


PatrickJ
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OK maybe it is a little bit of one of those threads.... Sorry.  

I've only been playing bass for a few years and during my journey I've been experimenting with different gear and effects.  I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm pretty sure I'm an Ampeg guy. 

I listen to countless of records and think, I really dig that tone, and when checking in on the gear it's usually involves an Ampeg rig (or a Tech21 clone) of some sort.

I can't afford a full on SVT amp and 8x10 cab' actually I really want to go ampless Geddy style, minus the washing machines perhaps.

I have a Tech21 Bass Fly Rig which I really like as a Sans Amp solution.  I dial the character over to the SVT side and add a little drive as my go to clean tone.

What I'm looking for is a dirt pedal for a higher gain sound that has some of that classic Ampeg vide. 

On my short list from some online research:

* Catalinbread SFT

* Zvex Basstortion

* Ampeg Scrambler (I've not spent much time looking into this one yet)

Any thoughts on these pedals?  I have a Boss LS-2 which I could use to blend the clean tone to help retain bottom end clarity.  Any other options to consider?

Cheers Bass Guru's

Edited by PJ-Bassist
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If you’re going into the VT Bass anyway, you don’t necessarily need another Ampeg style drive, just one that works well as a dirty boost going into it. Something with plenty of mids to counteract that mid scoop the VT has from lowering the character control below noon.

I’ve not tried the Zvex but I’ve always liked the demos.

The SFT is modelled after an Ampeg SB12 and sounds rather different to the classic scooped SVT grind, it’s a lot more mid heavy. It did sound good going into the VT though, and there is one lurking in the classifieds! If you’re looking to blend it though you’ll need a new blender as it inverts phase, something the LS-2 is not equipped to deal with.

I didn’t like the tone of the Scrambler myself, but I never tried it going into a VT. Plenty of mids and a clean blend though, it could work well.

I was always a fan of the BB Preamp into the VT myself! Particularly if you’re a fingerstyle player, tubescreamer based pedals are very expressive / reactive to how aggressive you play.

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I had the Scrambler for a while, and though it wasn`t a plug n play, you have to work to get the sound you want, when you do it is pretty decent, I had praise from every sound man at the gis I used it at. That said, Ampeg SVT sound strangely screams Tech21 VT to me more than anything. Or the Tech21 Para Driver - as it has sweepable/adjustable mids you can dial back in anything that has been lost via the Bass Fly. And the gain is pretty decent too, you can set it to that if you play quietly/non-aggressively you don`t notice any drive, but dig in and it responds very nicely indeed sort of setting, though it has bags more on tap.

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4 hours ago, uncle psychosis said:

For what it's worth the SFT is a bloody great pedal. In my experience it doesn't need the blend either. 

Good to know as I ordered one online last week after watching some online demo's.  

I spent some time last night dialing in some fliptop and VT style tones I liked into my flyrig, but I find unless the character knob is above 3 o'clock you don't get a lot of drive from it, I think the SFT will help me get a dirty fliptop type sound.

I'm also still considering the Basstortion as it does have that VT grind appeal, and some stores have them on offer right now.

Next on the GAS list some vintage sounding cabs to replace my Hydrive, barefaced seem to get a lot of love here.

Edited by PJ-Bassist
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14 minutes ago, dannybuoy said:

You should try out the One Control Sonic Silver Peg. Hard to come by though, not many places have them in stock. It's been on my to-try list for a while.

Thanks, I'll take a look!! Can't seem to find one any where in the UK though so it might be a case of watching demo's and taking a punt.  It seems to be much cheaper than the Zvex.

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5 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

You should try out the One Control Sonic Silver Peg. Hard to come by though, not many places have them in stock. It's been on my to-try list for a while.

I just finished watching the YouTube demo's on the Silver Peg, the pedal sounds great especially with the gain button engaged and volume cranked.  I read it was modelled on the V-4B which was actually my favourite sounding amp in the video I posted earlier.  Decided to take the punt and ordered on off eBay too.

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On 12/27/2017 at 16:37, dannybuoy said:

I just ordered one from Japan on eBay, I expect it'll take a while to arrive though!

Had a letter from ParcelForce today, my Silver Peg is at customs!!  Just had to pay the import duty so that they will release it for delivery, annoyingly it won't be delivered until Monday though.

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Just got mine! I like it, sounds like a mish-mash of the HGBM, Blueberry, SFT and VT Bass. No gain control is a downer, but at least the presets accessible via the switch (clean and slightly dirty) are well chosen. Works really well with a passive P bass straight into headphones, bags of low end too. Not tried it through an amp yet.

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10 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Just got mine! I like it, sounds like a mish-mash of the HGBM, Blueberry, SFT and VT Bass. No gain control is a downer, but at least the presets accessible via the switch (clean and slightly dirty) are well chosen. Works really well with a passive P bass straight into headphones, bags of low end too. Not tried it through an amp yet.

I got mine yesterday, I'm still trying to figure this one out a little.  Currently I'm running it in front of the Fly Rig as a boost, vol at around 9 in high gain mode which has a nice warm tone with a subtle amount of breakup.  You have to really crank the volume to get a saturated tone from it which makes it less useful for me though I could see it working on it's own in front of an amp / PA with the input gain adjusted accordingly.

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