Review of the NEW Ampeg SGT-DI Pedal

[Thunderpaws]

On 01/06/2023 at 19:19, greghagger said:

I was confusing the SGT level dial too as it’s a bit counterintuitive from the level dial on the left! 

I was wondering about this too. Is it best to set the preamp level first, using the dial on the left. Then engage the SGT and match its level using the right hand control. Then engage the IR and set its level to match using its own volume control? 
 

 

[greghagger]

5 minutes ago, Thunderpaws said:

I was wondering about this too. Is it best to set the preamp level first, using the dial on the left. Then engage the SGT and match its level using the right hand control. Then engage the IR and set its level to match using its own volume control? 
 

 

Yes, I would do it like that. I’d always set the preamp level first. 

[Thunderpaws]

First night at rehearsal last night with the Sgt. Loved it. I took my bass and the Sgt in the gig bag pocket along with a couple of cables. Usually have an head and cab too. 
 

plugged the Sgt in to the effects return of a Beringer head on top of a beringer 810. Set the pre level then SVT level and grit amount. Played around with the bass level and mid frequency a bit during the first couple of songs but then mostly left it alone. Sounded dynamic, punchy and clear. Band does rock originals with three guitarists.  
 

on way to rehearsal bought a battery for my tuner and plugged that in to the through output of the Sgt. No wine at all and a great portable setup. 
 

Combined with the initial recordings I did over the weekend using the IR, couldn’t be happier. 

[Thunderpaws]

There’s one of these for sale at guitarguitar at the mo…ex demo. No affiliation to me: 
 

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/230328402498008-11143511--ampeg-sgt-di-pedal-ex-demo-21sgd3v7331000019

[Magister Ludi]

Funny enough I picked one up last Sunday from GuitarGuitar in Camden-Its as good as they say

They appear to have overcome the supply chain issue at long last it seems.

[bassybill]

On 27/09/2023 at 15:54, Magister Ludi said:

Funny enough I picked one up last Sunday from GuitarGuitar in Camden-Its as good as they say

They appear to have overcome the supply chain issue at long last it seems.

No they haven’t. I still haven’t been able to get one. It’s bloody annoying checking and rechecking  all over the web  trying to find the elusive bugger! 

[SumOne]

Tempting. If it had an FX loop I'd definitely go for it. 

[Paddy777]

I’ve just got one of these - the 3 different volumes thing really is a bit of a pain in the backside to get used to isn’t it?! I don’t like the factory cab sim’s very much either but Olympic (of shift line fame) have a great free pack of IR’s so I downloaded those and found some much more useable stuff

 

I only use a ‘clean’ sound currently when gigging (playing Chic, Sister Sledge, Daft Punk - Nile Rodgers stuff) but I’d thought the B15 would still be ok for this on minimum ‘Dirt’ but I’ve found that it doesn’t really do subtle very well, and so I find myself not using the SGT (it’s hard to use it as an occasional boost too really cos of the weird volume thing), so I have started to question why I actually got it when I am bypassing it’s key feature 😂

 

Dont get me wrong, preamp alone sounds great, useful to have the cabsim from the DI (especially as I’m ampless and go direct to IEM) but it’s quite expensive to then not use the main feature, as the preamp doesn’t change if you swap between b15 and svt with the SGT off, it’s only to do with the SGT circuit. I have got some work doing some dep Northern Soul stuff coming up, so I can give the B15 sound a proper run out then! 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Paddy777

[BassAdder60]

I found the same on my SGT so I returned it for a refund 

 

It’s very nice but I wasn’t using half of the features really 

 

Now I use the V4B and I don’t need pedals for that tone !

[Paddy777]

2 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

I found the same on my SGT so I returned it for a refund 

 

It’s very nice but I wasn’t using half of the features really 

 

Now I use the V4B and I don’t need pedals for that tone !

I’ve gigged mine twice within a week of buying it so I can’t really go and ask for a refund ha! TBF it’s nice to have it there for when I will need it - it’s a lot of money parked into something I am only likely to use properly sporadically but as a bassist that appears to be something I’m especially good at 😆 I am going to order a WR Goliath I think and run a Cab Sim with XLR after it like the Hotone Omni at some point, probably once I financially recover from this little splurge 🥴

[SumOne]

^^^ 

Thanks for these reviews. I think I'll hold back on getting one.

 

My latest thinking is I'll go for a completely modular approach of individual pedals for each task (e.g. overdrive that I can set at unity, EQ pedal that I can choose to put in front or behind the overdrive, compressor I can move anywhere in the chain, Passive DI box that I can use both for Bass and for my keyboard etc). 

Edited October 9, 2023 by SumOne

[thisisswanbon]

Got mine yesterday and its great! Found its more than capable of doing subtle tubeyness. Concerned about some of the reports of a low di output though...

 

My only issue is the cabsims turn my C4 synth patches and external drives into dark mushy mess... anyone got any experience of this and any idea of how to get around this? I suppose this is more of a general IR and cabsim issue than a SGT specific one... 

[Paddy777]

4 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

Got mine yesterday and its great! Found its more than capable of doing subtle tubeyness. Concerned about some of the reports of a low di output though...

 

My only issue is the cabsims turn my C4 synth patches and external drives into dark mushy mess... anyone got any experience of this and any idea of how to get around this? I suppose this is more of a general IR and cabsim issue than a SGT specific one... 

Yeh I think the DI has an automatic -20db (or might be -12db), afaik there isn’t a way around this. You could run a Jack out of the headphones output (so you still have cabsim) into another DI if it’s an issue. 
 

I found the stock Cabsims a bit messy - try downloading some others (Olympic has loads of decent free ones) see if that helps. I found the C4 synth a real awkwardly sensitive pedal that didn’t seem to take much to turn it to 💩 but it’s worth trying some other cabsims 

[Ramsay777]

How are we rating this for use as a wee set-up for practice and potentially doing cover videos etc? Can't see myself gigging again any time soon so not too interested in putting it in front of an amp or going live DI...

 

Headphones, cab sim and aux-in make this seem like a good contender for my needs? Another option could be the Vintage Microtubes V2 - anyone compared the two?

[Paddy777]

8 hours ago, Ramsay777 said:

How are we rating this for use as a wee set-up for practice and potentially doing cover videos etc? Can't see myself gigging again any time soon so not too interested in putting it in front of an amp or going live DI...

 

Headphones, cab sim and aux-in make this seem like a good contender for my needs? Another option could be the Vintage Microtubes V2 - anyone compared the two?

Works a treat for that tbf - never used a Vintage Microtubes but the Ampeg has all the features you could want. Don’t get all the nit picking wrong - it’s very very good, I guess it’s just for almost £400 you want it to play your bass for you too 😆 If you don’t mind spending the money it’ll be absolutely perfect for what you’ve mentioned IMO

[Ramsay777]

12 hours ago, Paddy777 said:

Works a treat for that tbf - never used a Vintage Microtubes but the Ampeg has all the features you could want. Don’t get all the nit picking wrong - it’s very very good, I guess it’s just for almost £400 you want it to play your bass for you too 😆 If you don’t mind spending the money it’ll be absolutely perfect for what you’ve mentioned IMO

Thanks Paddy! Checked out a few more demos on youtube and it's definitely up my street - few surplus pedals hitting the classifieds this weekend I think!

[thisisswanbon]

Paddy has pretty much hit the nail on the head there... its a fantastic pedal that does everything right really, it's just ALOT of coin.  That being said, price wise I'd say its in line with all premium preamps (markbass, origin effects, two notes etc). 

 

I gigged mine last night straight to FOH to be sure of its return and the sound man said it was thunderous (no IRs used, just preamp and SGT).

 

Long story short, if you're happy to spend the coin then you can do far far worse

[Paddy777]

Sorry for the blatant plug but I’ve decided to go a different route and I’ve gone for a Caveman BP1C, soo.. my Ampeg SGT-DI is up for sale in the Effects marketplace for about £100 less than I paid and still in as new condition, so if you’re on the fence but the price is prohibitively expensive I’ve done the decent thing and took the hit on it 😉 haha. It’s a great preamp clean and even better if you like the dirt section, but I don’t find I get any use out of the SGT circuit, which is its main USP 

[greghagger]

2 hours ago, Paddy777 said:

Sorry for the blatant plug but I’ve decided to go a different route and I’ve gone for a Caveman BP1C, soo.. my Ampeg SGT-DI is up for sale in the Effects marketplace for about £100 less than I paid and still in as new condition, so if you’re on the fence but the price is prohibitively expensive I’ve done the decent thing and took the hit on it 😉 haha. It’s a great preamp clean and even better if you like the dirt section, but I don’t find I get any use out of the SGT circuit, which is its main USP 

No issues plugging it on this thread! Good luck. I’m sure that you’ll sell it no problem. 

[Ramsay777]

On 24/10/2023 at 21:26, Paddy777 said:

Sorry for the blatant plug but I’ve decided to go a different route and I’ve gone for a Caveman BP1C, soo.. my Ampeg SGT-DI is up for sale in the Effects marketplace for about £100 less than I paid and still in as new condition, so if you’re on the fence but the price is prohibitively expensive I’ve done the decent thing and took the hit on it 😉 haha. It’s a great preamp clean and even better if you like the dirt section, but I don’t find I get any use out of the SGT circuit, which is its main USP 

I delayed on this... and missed out 😂

 

Payday though and i've taken the punt on a new one from Guitarguitar, sold a couple pedals to take the sting out of it! Looking forward to giving it a blast when it's home.

[Ramsay777]

Just had a quick hour or so messing around with my EBMM Sterling and some headphones, very pleased with first impressions!

 

Stock cab IRs will do me nicely and the SVT and B15 both sound great. 

 

SGT is a bit harsh but if you go easy with the Grit it it's definitely useable - the Sterling's a rather bright and lively instrument already so that will be a big factor here too. I imagine you could bump the grit up with a passive bass and get better results.

 

It'll mainly be used as a (rather extravagant) practice tool for me but it'll definitely get a spin if I play live again in the future, or if I ever get the time rattle out a few covers for the 'gram.

 

Cheers guys!

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Ramsay777

[wjoyce]

Necro-thread bump (kinda).

I've been thinking of upgrading from my Tech 21 VT Bass Deluxe, and the SGT-DI and Darkglass Infinity were in the running, with the SGT in the lead purely on cost.

I did have a thought though, which occurred to me when reading the SGT manual.  With the Ampeg brand now owned by Yamaha who also own Line 6, is the SGT-DI just repackaged Line 6 technology using HX modelling?  With that in mind, would I be better off purchasing a used HX Stomp as a more versatile device?  I know the SGT has an thru output in addition to the preamp out but the HX Stomp can also be configured to provide some of that functionality with the send block.

[thisisswanbon]

1 hour ago, wjoyce said:

With the Ampeg brand now owned by Yamaha who also own Line 6, is the SGT-DI just repackaged Line 6 technology using HX modelling?  With that in mind, would I be better off purchasing a used HX Stomp as a more versatile device?

Not quite... the SGT DI is an analogue preamp, and in honesty it does a much better job of both the SVT and B15 than the HX stuff... the pre loaded cab sims also sounded better than anything I conjured up with stock cabs on the hx.

 

That being said, the brief time I had the SGT I used it without cab sims as they ruined my synth effects (not a fault of the pedal, they just weren't programmed to use with cabs)

[Paddy777]

4 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

Not quite... the SGT DI is an analogue preamp, and in honesty it does a much better job of both the SVT and B15 than the HX stuff... the pre loaded cab sims also sounded better than anything I conjured up with stock cabs on the hx.

 

That being said, the brief time I had the SGT I used it without cab sims as they ruined my synth effects (not a fault of the pedal, they just weren't programmed to use with cabs)

I agree with this - having had the SGT-Di and currently owning a HX Stomp, the Ampeg is absolutely miles better than the Stomp at the SVT/B15, I think you’d be looking at a Quad Cortex etc for a similar quality of B15/SVT sim, the HX stomp doesn’t even come close tbh - not that it’s bad, just the SGT is very good at the one thing it does 

[steviedee]

I wasn’t getting the tone I was after with the Stomp so I bought the SGT DI. The Stomp is cool but the SGT DI does the Ampeg thing better. Still use the Stomp tho. 
 

apologies for the psychedelic carpet! 

 

Edited January 8 by steviedee