Ampeg SCR-DI Bass Preamp with Scrambler Overdrive Pedal Reviews

Really Nice DI for recording and live. I really gives the sound PUNCH! My Fender Rumble 500 never sounded better.

Excellent Ampeg tone and grit when needed! I use this to DI with board at church.

Also major plus, it makes an excellent option for practice at home or road with headphones and 1/8" aux input jack. Fits inside Fender Jazz and Musicman cases accessory spot.

ONLY complaint (though plusses override minus so still 5-star) is my Jazz bass is passive and my Stingray is active. I have to open the back to switch the jumper... can't switch and change basses quickly. Wish Ampeg had used an external switch.

Otherwise highly highly recommended... enough to consider an additional one to have 1 active/1 set passive.

This DI is bad to the bone great

Great DI and has that Ampeg sound. GOOD JOB!!!

It's the best, the only thing I had an issue with the pedal, so I sent it back to be replaced

Great sounding. Easy to use.

My band has recently transitioned to in-ear sans amplifiers. The SCR-DI gives me the one-of-a-kind SVT tone in a lightweight pedal. I can dial pretty any tone from 60s Motown to Geddy Lee with this little gadget. The band loves it as well. I have never gotten so many compliments on my bass tone. Nate Burkhardt at Sweetwater is the best sales consultant and advocate for the working musician anyone could ever ask for. Sticking with Ampeg and Sweetwater for life!

It is a fantastic unit. You can use it several different ways. With a smaller amp it will increase your volume and the bass and mid range are awesome. I highly recommend it for bass players who want to add depth to your amp.
Nick

I'm so happy with this ampeg! I tried it at church and it sounded great.. You can also use it as an IEM monitor. Everything they said on their demo is true! Sweetwater has the best customer service! And i received some goodies with it. Thanks sweetwater!

Le préamplificateur Ampeg SCR-DI est un must, rien de moins! Il met en valeur n'importe quelle type de basse en vous procurant un son riche et profond. Avec cet accessoire, une basse ordinaire peut produire un son extraordinaire. Avec l'avantage que vous pouvez jouer à faible volume et que le son est toujours agréablement rond. Je vous le recommande!

Right out of the box, I knew that I had made a great purchase! I love being able to slip on a pair of headphones, plug in my cell phone, and practice with great tone anytime day or night. I also use it live as a pre-amp that feeds into my Ampeg B4R power amp and processing racks.Talk about tone shaping! I recommend this product to all bass players from beginner to seasoned pro. Wish I had owned one of these days back when I toured professionally. Awesome buy, folks! P.S. I absolutely LOVE SWEETWATER! Best music company in the business!

My daughter decided to learn bass for school, so we found a good used instrument. Being a guitar player I looked for a modestly priced preamp with headphones capability so she could use my FRFR amp or portable PA. Originally, I was looking at Sansamp, but not one had headphones and other options were much more.

For a new bass student this box is perfect. Headphones to practice and lots of options for plugging in at home or school. The tone sounds good adding an amp character and giving some fun ways to shape the tone along with the scrambler which is a fuzzy sort of overdrive. A good starting point anyways.

On a side note I played with the preamp in series with a gain pedal and it sounded great and played nice. I will say the foot switches remind you it's analog with a loud physical switch, not smooth at all like digital switches more like a pull cord lightswitch.

Can you say - "SVT in a pedal box"? This thing makes the perfect DI to house sound and the perfect little practice "amp" that has headphones and line in input for audio (with levels controls). Built like a tank and easy to use. Great product - Ampeg! Sweetwater made me sweet deal too!

Very straight-forward, idiot-proof and easy to use.
I play a 5-string Carvin (aka Keisel) with active/passive pickups and a bridge piezo pick-up, so I already have an arsenal of tonality at my fingertips. But nothing I have gives me that signature tone that you only get from an Ampeg.
This magnificent pedal not only gives me that great sound, its DI spares my 50-plus year old back from having to lug heavy amps to and from gigs. I just send this straight to house, run the monitor feed to my earphones, and I'm set!
The scrambler gives you a nice hint of dirt all the way up to afterburner overdrive. Very versatile.
With the pad "jumper" on the inside (where the battery compartment is), I can set it for optimal use with my active bass. To me, this is the only downside of this pedal as you have to disconnect it, open the back plate, and move this teeny-tiny clip/plug from one slot to the next. It's difficult and creates a magnificent opportunity to either break it or lose a critical piece if you drop it (it's REALLY tiny! You'll need needle-nose pliers).

Otherwise, there aren't a lot of bells and whistles with this pedal, just great Ampeg tone in a small, affordable, built-like-a-tank package.

Love the tone of this pedal. Makes my bass sound large and full. Very pleasing frequencies!!
Big thanks to Mark Magdich @ Sweetwater for turning me on to this pedal!!!

I want to thank Devon Cunningham at Sweetwater for all his help. I"m using this ampeg SCR-DI at my church. My inear and the mains have dramatically changed to the sound that I have been looking for. It feels and sounds like my old svt.
I

I initially was shopping for just a bass overdrive pedal when I came across this. After reading lots of reviews and watching demos, I decided to give it a shot.

I'm running this in front of a Hartke HA3500 with a Hartke 410XL cab and playing a new Fender Player's Series Jazz V Bass and Geezer Butler wah through it.

While the tone I was getting before adding this was really good, this just takes it over the top! The preamp section makes my bass rig just sound bigger and adds some of that classic Ampeg sound to it. The overdrive I have set conservatively so as to not cut out too much low end while adding some of that SVT grind. I love it! The best bass tone I've ever had!

This pedal is amazing. We stopped using amps at my church on stage and they made me go direct. Direct signal sucks without some type of bass amp emulating di box. I have tried 3 separate di boxes from sweetwater, the ampeg SCR-DI, the aguilar tone hammer, and the Tech 21 vt deluxe. The ampeg by a long shot beats both of them in relation to tone and capabilities. The Tech 21 sucked so bad i switched it out after one song. The aguilar is great but it doesnt have a dedicated switches for overdrive and clean, its all on one so if you want a clean tone you have to shut the pedal off. The ampeg sounds better and you can have a clean emulation with a separate switch for overdrive without turning the pedal off. Love it and i dont miss my bass amps at all.

This is my second one, as I had one before but sold it when I liquidated my rig. As other reviews mention, this is so many things wrapped into one.

Great practice tool, great pre-amp/DI/Overdrive device/etc.

This thing sounds awesome and clean and offers flexibility of use. Gonna take it, the phone, headphones and one of the basses to go on vacation and never disturb anyone. You can even use it in the car.

My Dad's had an Ampeg cabinet driven by an SWR bass 300 for 10-12 years now. It's his favorite sound bar none. But it's heavy and cumbersome to say the least. I bought him this for smaller gigs where he uses a small bass amp and for Sunday morning worship at church to use as a direct box (amps aren't used). He loves it. One thing to note is it does seem the rubber feet on the bottom (which double as the screws for the battery cover) are prone to coming off. He lost one and almost lost another as they seem to work their way loose. He ordered another pack from Ampeg so all is well. Not enough to dock a star as the performance is stellar, but wish the screws were a little tighter.

Was looking for a DI pedal. Looked at many reviews, as most local stores don't stock DI's. I chose this one, due to the msny positive reviews. I am extremely happy with this purchase. You get the Ampeg sound at a discount price. The overdrive is excellent. I no longer need a practice amp due to this pedal lets you mix music from your phone or computer into the pedal. Headphone jack lets you practice quietly. On stage this pedal sounds great through a PA, plus can line out to your amp for monitoring. My soundman loves this thing. Get it people, you will not be disappointed.

I love this pedal. I had used a Sansamp for some time and I always get compliments, but this adds a deeper tone than the Sansamp. I'm keeping both. Plus this has a sweet feature that allows you to use headphones and an IPOD input for practicing in quiet spaces.

Man, this DI took my sound from good to great in about 5 minutes and a little tweaking by the sound engineer. I can't say enough good things about the Ampeg SCR-DI. It gets me pretty dadburn close to an SVT with the ultra low switch engaged and the bass at about 2/3 0'clock. I love plugging my Ric in and hearing the thunder. The look on people's faces is priceless the first time they hear a Rickerbacker through this Ampeg DI. I absolutely love this pedal and recommend it to anyone who wants to ROCK. Rumble on my bass brethren and may the Ampeg SCR-DI be with you.

This thing is awesome! The The difference in the way you can sculpt you sound both in the studio and on stage is unbelievable. The fat sound this pedal creates is the best.

I simply love this DI. I use this in a church where having an amp is not an option. Although many don't like the scrambler sound, I find it very useful. If you want a specific fuzz or distortion, you'll want something else for that. However, if you just want to add some grit to your sound for sonic complexity or only need the occasional distortion, this will work well for you while saving the board space. I especially love the EQ on this thing. It is very useful, and the deep and bright buttons make for a very satisfying range of tone. I especially like to use this with a tiny bit of mid cut and the deep engaged. I use this with a Fender P, Fender J with EMG actives, and a Violin Bass knock off (Douglas). This makes them all sound great despite being direct to the board. I have been using this for more than 6 months.

Extremely happy with this component. It lets a poor boy get real close to that Ampeg sound. Built ruggedly and lets you dial in a lot of tones. A little noisy on the treble circuits but when looped with noise gate it's all good. Love to bring it downstairs and plug in the headphones and run it off the battery.
Same sweet sounds.
Would recommend it to everyone.

This pedal made me a small time bass tone giant last night. Imagine if you will a southern sludge rock band with a dude playing a stock Squier P-Bass running direct into this Ampeg DI (to the board) as well as a mic'd Marshall JCM-900 head and 412 cab. Wanna sound like Lemmy or early Sabbath? This is one of the ways to do it. At least 4-5 people complimented me on my tone. The sound engineer thought it was killer. and... The Scrambler section sounds like an old man gargling in a very bad*** way.

received my order within 48hrs. no damage. now i plugged it in and boom. i now dislike the preamp on my rig. i now now what all the talk was about. i am running my LTD B5 > MXR studio comp > SCR-DI > 1/4 line out > BOSS CEB-3 > output A (mono) > 1/4 aux in SCR-DI > headphones out > sennheiser HD 280 pro closed back head phones. this is my practice rig as of first bass note played through. tone control even without all the pedals and looping around, witch gives you volume control of wet and dry via Aux level and volume knobs on one unit. but also leaves the XLR out full of possibilities to the board. love it. best money i've spent for the the best gear that i know have. thank you for the fast and friendly service.

Have used a sansamp happily for years for direct play, so wasn't that interested with the Ampeg SCR-DI when it released. However, when I saw a fellow gigging bassist post it as a practice tool I sat up. I had completely missed the fact that it had an aux in! This is now an essential part of my tool kit, allowing for easy practice while on the road. Bass and iPhone in, headphones out. Pair it with a transposing software (jamup on iOS or anytune on mac) and practice for days.
The tone impressed me as well. Crystal clear to a nice dirty fuzz and not too "digital". May have to get a second one to replace my sansamp on the board.
This lives in my bass case now with an instrument cable, in ear monitors and a input cable (1/8-1/8). Allows me to just grab my case and setup anywhere (9v or a one spot for power) and practice.
Make sure and grab a male to male 1/8" cable for your aux in and a headphone extension if your headphone cable is too short and grab a 9v battery and a one-spot for power (neither is included).
Thanks again to Sweetwater and my man Sean Geyer for finding us the best gear on the planet!

Whoa! My practice amp died, so decided to lay out the bucks for this beauty — knowing I can use it in practice and performance situations. It's an incredible piece of gear. Endless beautiful tone, absolutely solid, built like a tank. Brilliant idea to separate the EQ and Overdrive sections to give max flexibility. The 'Ultra Hi' and 'Ultra Low' buttons may seem, at first glance, to be just another 'add-on' for marketing — but, man, they work. With a footstomp or a quick tweak I can shift effortlessly into the tone styles I play — so that I can easily grab a 70s "Stranglers" overdrive, or dip into a massive low end Marley vibe. Fantastic machine. And thanks to Mike Godlove and Sweetwater for their usual amazing service.

My search for great bass tone on a budget led me here. I started with Behringer BDI 21 and SansAmp ParadDriver products, which are great in their own rights. But when I plugged into the Ampeg SCR-DI, I said, "Aha, this is it." It sounds and feels like a real bass amp, not just a stomp box.

I play through a Crown power amp into a pair of SWR speaker cabinets. I prefer to hear the bass sound through the amp rig, and I prefer to mic up the bass cabs for recording for the tone that I prefer, so I don't use the DI function too much. I am glad that it is there. Same for the Scrambler circuit, which I don't have a ton of use for, preferring a straight ahead clean bass tone most often.

Ever since I heard my buddy's vintage V4 head, and countless SVTs in live settings, I have come to know that Ampeg delivers the low end with authority and character, so it makes sense to me that they have finally come up with a compact version of that sound that pretty much anyone can access.

Five stars from me, even if I don't use all the extra features it offers. The basic tone of the preamp is just exactly what I'm looking for in a raw bass guitar tone. The value for dollars paid is off the map, and that's my favorite kind of product in general. Something that gives much more than it should.

I'm in a band and play synth bass, but we wanted to have some real bass to vary the textures. I started practising a lot about a month ago, got a few pedals, and thought I had a really good tone. I was looking into amps but felt dumb buying a nice amp when I'm so new at playing. I had been eyeing this pedal for a while, thinking to myself that it's just an eq with a bit of overdrive, I didn't think it would be enough to not need an amp, but I was so wrong. I got this pedal today and within the first minute of playing with it I realized how blissfully unaware I was about what tone is.

Now, again, I'm still new to the bass and am playing a low end one, but this pedal has made a huge impact on my sound. I play mostly clean with some modulation and even reverb when I'm in the higher registers, and this pedal has taken my tone from a muddy midrangey mess into that deep tone I've been hearing in my head. It could also be very midrange focused if you so desired. Since I play fairly clean with reverb and such, I keep the scrambler very subtle to add just a tiny amount of grit, boost the bass and high end, leave the midrange knob at noon and enable the ultra hi and ultra low buttons. I've only had this pedal for a couple of hours, didn't even buy it on sweetwater, but had to give a review. As somebody who is going to use real bass in a live setting without it being the main focus of our show, this pedal is all the amp I need.

I play direct a lot, as much as I play thru my Ampeg Porta Flex rig. Two PF115LF's and PF500 amp. But when I am playing direct there is always something missing. You can hear and feel the bass but that's about it. No, color or tone at all. Not anymore. I am in control and I have a volume know to boot. So, it the FOH engineer turns me down I can turn it back up. The battle begins. What I really like it I can dial in the same tones I am used to hearing and there's dirt if I need it by engaging the Scrambler section. All in all it was a game changer. Thanks Ampeg, Dino (the bass tech at Ampeg), Matt and Sweetwater.

I've been strictly an Ampeg user, for yrs. I like other brands too, but always come back to Ampeg. I actually own 2 Ampeg bass amps (1 head and one combo).
I had been holding off on the SCR-DI for quite some time now, but finally bit the bullet. I mainly bought it so it could be my practice amp. I can't make noise in my apartment. So it comes in handy. And the "Aux In" is great for jamming along with your favorite tunes.
But all in all it can come in handy for live/studio work, as well. It has the great classic "warm punch" Ampeg is known for. So I'm definitely a happy camper ☺
Btw...This thing is built like a tank. Feels and weighs like a brick...Literally!

I was blown away. Great for practice and even better for live play. Sounds like it's coming out of amp running direct into the house.

Bought to use as a practice amp when I need to play quietly. Absolutely love it. Great sound, great functionality, sounds exactly like your favorite Ampeg.

If you want a Ampeg SVT Tube Amp sound without the hassle, then this Ampeg in a box is for you. I pair this with my Fender P bass and it is mind blowing the tone that is coming out of this box. Real tubey and ultra hi and ultra lo rounds out the tone. My set up for this gig was my p bass, amp box, straight to the pa/house. It sounded like i had a 8x10 cab and a SVT tube amp. Amazing! Bye Sansamp! Talk to Matt Alexander and her will give you the run down.

Fits perfectly with my Chromatic tuner on my Gator mini bone pedal board. Multiple set up with eq, ultra lo/hi, and scrambler make this a very versatile preamp. Phones out is a real bonus.

Really compliments my Gibson ES Les Paul bass without having to purchase several pedals. With EQ and scrambler, this is an all in one package.

The AMPEG SCR-DI is a beast! I love using the built in headphone amp to practice when im up late at night. Do not hesitate on getting this. completely worth it.

This is a fun preamp. Love the option of listening/playing along to my favorite Maiden songs through headphones. I can adjust the volume of my bass or the music. I use this preamp on my board. I can add grit/dirt mixed however I want with the original signal. It is built like a tank. Perfect for recording and live. Nice job Ampeg!

Tone is awesome. Passive Peavey Patriot bass took on a whole new sound. One of the best purchases in years. Gives the ampeg sound through a fender rumble. I t an awesome practice amp. Waited years for a design like this. This aux level helps balance sound better than just using the mp3player adjustments.

AMPEG SCR- DI / Pre-Amp is SVT Tone in your gig bag. I am a TC Electronics RH lover, and have played through 4x10, 2x12 for 5 years - great tones - great shows. This past year joined a group that had an in house AMPEG 8x10 and all tube SVT-VR Head - Gentlemen once you get that tone in your head - it haunts you, that natural overdrive, the growl, the rich harmonic textures, and sizzling highs - everything you love about playing bass. I was blown away! Now back to my TC - its a great amp, but not a SVT. Enter the Ampeg SCR-DI this pedal played through a clean amp like TC and you have a very close approximation of that SVT tone. One night I used it alone direct to the house, and those JBL monitors never sounded rich with bass, I was very pleased with my tone - despite not having my TC Rig. If you are looking to add that SVT tone without 190 lbs of cabinet and amp, buy with confidence. Okay, you AMPEG PURIST - its absolutely NOT the same as a SVT-VR (only SVT-VR sounds like an SVT-VR)

As far as functionality the EQ, bass boost, and Ultra Hi function operate just like the SVT with very usable tones.
If you are playing though a Tube Bass Amp, you can use the thru to send your bass signal to the amp, an XLR to the house. If you are playing through a digital amp - you'll want to use the line-out and take advantage of that tone generator.

The DI comes from the factory with the jumper set to -15 db (best for active basses).

Note: the rubber feet are the screws to the back plate. The unit will require fresh batteries for every session - recommend using a 9 volt power adapter.

Confirming: "Ampeg knows Bass!"

I love the growl my Jazz bass makes with this pedal, however, one problem is it will burn a 9V battery out in less than 3 hours. I returned the first one I bought only to have the same problem with the second. Use it with a power adapter and follow hook-up instructions and your Sans-Amp Bass Di is going to get mighty lonely.

I have been searching for a great way to maximize my home office rehearsal experience and this pedal sure did deliver. I have limited space so having a DI with both aux and headphone was a must. Right out of the box i was blown away by the sound both my audio technica headphones and sure in ears. Great Ampeg tone sitting right at my desk when inspiration strikes. only downside is that the -15db pad could be on the outside of the unit as a pushbutton like the ground lift and hi low switches. Construction and ease of use are both top notch.

Very happy with this pedal. It does exactly what it says. Make practicing alone easy and rehearsal even easier! I didn"t use my amp all weekend. Pedal straight to the mixer, DONE! Thank you Sweetwater, the pedal arrived the next day as promised

This pedal really has the Ampeg sound. While it's not quite "an SVT in a box," it will definitely give your bass the unmistakable Ampeg flavor. Don't confuse this with the Ampeg Classic pedal - if one is looking something to sound like Ampeg, the Classic doesn't really have it, but the SCR-DI does.

The Scrambler side sounds good too, if you like distortion. Not that buzzy kind of fuzz, but musically useful distortion.

The down side of this pedal is that it's big and heavy. I don't mind heavy, but it takes up a lot of space on a pedalboard. My suggestion is to make a model without the Scrambler; I don't use distortion so that's a waste for me.

Overall, if you want the to add the Ampeg sound to your current amp, this one gets it done.

This is an awesome pedal if you are connecting to a PA system or need EQ with drive effect. I also love that it can be an all in one practice amp with headphones and AUX input for quite practice in hotel rooms etc. It's built like a tank too. My only complaint is how noisy the stomp buttons are for the EQ on/off and the Scrambler on/off. Of the six pedals on my board it's the loudest by far! We use on stage mic's and it can even be picked up by that at times. Yikes! Not good. Love the silent click buttons that you find on TC Electronic's pedals. Wish they had used those instead!

I bought this pedal in my search for the bass sound that has been in my head for a LONG TIME. As a previous owner of a V4B (Magnavox era) and having played shows with a full-on SVT back-line, I kinda knew the sound I wanted. Once you hear that sound. It sticks with you. It becomes part of your genetic code! Unfortunately, my back (and yes, even my wallet) doesn't agree with my SVT-VR/V4B desires!

Enter (originally) the MXR M81 bass preamp. A good, versatile little box. Well built and cost effective. After a time though, I found that there was just that "something" that was missing from my tone. Was it that true SVT tube grit? Where was the depth in the bottom end? The MXR does a great hi-fi thing, similar to early SWR amps; you get out what you put in. No extras.

A few nights ago, I actually sat down with my wife and watched a bunch of Youtube viddys showing of the latest stuff- G-K Plex/700RB. Ampeg Portaflex stuff. Nothing seemed to have "the sound" (she's been with me all the way beck to my first band when I had that old V4B driving the crap out of a 2 x 15 cab, so she KNOWS what "the sound" is that I want). We then stumbled upon an Ampeg video of Dino (from Ampeg) demoing the SCR-DI at NAMM. We both raised our eyebrows and looked at each other. Should I drop the coin and give it a try? That scrambler sounds interesting too!

So I did. it arrived here a few hours ago. I took the M81 out of the chain, hooked up the SCR, and hit the power on the amp. Within 5 minutes, my wife was looking at me, saying, there's the sound. That sound is what the SVT-heads call "The Toaster Tone". You know the one- the Ultra-lo is engaged. The bass is set somewhere around 2:30, mids around 10:00, and the treble at 2:00. Wow! Pretty darned good. A clean SVT? Close. A VERY clean tube amp- that glassiness in the mids and top came through in a very tube-like manner. The bottom end? Bolt down the china and hide the dog, man! It gets that rumble again! It is CLOSE to an SVT belting it out, especially through the SVT810. No, tube gurus won't be fooled. But you'll FEEL that tube-like grip on the notes.

The Scrambler is an interesting touch, and can be pretty useful if used with some restraint. It is NOT the same fuzz circuit as that of the 70's- NOT EVEN CLOSE. But what it DOES do well, is when blended properly with the clean sound, gives the feel and grit similar to late 70's SVT being pushed to the edge. Again, is it an SVT? No. It gets within shouting distance though. Plus, it's about 80lbs lighter! I wouldn't use the Scrambler by itself. Blending it with the EQ section (in my case, drive and blend at 10:00) does tend to thin things ever so slightly. That may be because of the amount of harmonic content created in the mids that fool the ear. Or maybe it's just me. I'm still in awe of just how thunderous and authoritative the clean channel is (when dialed in).

Final thoughts- this thing is built like a tank. If you are tired of hauling an SVT to a small gig (or one with lots of stairs), try one of these things into a combo. While I haven't tried the DI yet, if it delivers what I'm hearing out of the 810, it should be pretty astounding!

Associated gear used with this pedal- Ampeg SVT810E cab, driven by a bridged SWR Stereo-800 Power Amplifier (800 Watts). Various home-made optical and VCA compressor pedals. Yamaha BBN-4 baaa guitar, with Dimarzio DP123 Jazz pickups with series/parallel wiring (tonal hint: soloing the neck PU in parallel makes this thing sound grunty and munchy, almost like a 70's P-bass!).

It's just the preamp of an SVT with a nicer drive section, and that's all I wanted! I could definitely see someone using one of these into a simple power amp or into the sound board and still getting a great sound.

Have had the Ampeg SCR DI pedal for several weeks and have played it at two band practices. Makes the Fender Jazz sound fuller and smoother sounding. My band mates said they really noticed a positive improvement in tone with the Ampeg SCR DI. I am using it with a Hartke LH 1000 amp through a 410 cab and I will admit it's a giant step closer to a full tube amp sound.

If you really, really, really love that distinct Ampeg tone then this is the DI for you! Clean, articulate, detailed, punchy, and all that good unmistakable Ampeg tone that you've heard on countless albums. There are a lot of built in options for tone control on this box and that's a good thing. I like flexibility.

I primarily purchased this for late night bass practice with headphones but It's finding a home in the studio as well. When using it as a DI I can get about 95% of that great Ampeg tone that we all love. It's not exactly like a SVT stack but it's pretty close and adds that special Ampeg mojo to a bass track!

I didn't really buy this for the Scrambler circuit but it doesn't sound bad. I primarily play and record Metal and I've used it on a few tracks already. It's not the typical distortion that I use but it's not too shabby. I will note that the blend control is nice since you can use it to add just the right amount of distortion in with your clean signal. (A really nice touch!)

I only have two minor things that I dislike about this unit. They are minor but I feel that I need to make you aware of them so take this for what it's worth:

1. The pots feel a bit cheep. They don't bolt to the case but rather mount directly to the circuit board. Really Ampeg? For as well built as the rest of this unit is you couldn't use a case mounted pot? I'd gladly pay the extra fifty or so dollars to have real (and more durable) pots installed. Especially considering that this unit is going to spend most of it's life on the ground in close proximity to a foot stepping on it!

How long do you think the pots will last? More importantly how long do you think the circuit board will last when you step on the pots? It's going to happen and since the pots are mounted to the board rather than the case, all that stress goes directly to the board! BAD DESIGN AND BAD IDEA AMPEG!

Spend a extra few dollars on design and production and pass the cost to on to the consumer. Sure, it will be a little more expensive for both of us but it will be worth it in the long run.

(That's today's engineers and micro managing bean counters for you!)


2. If you switch back and forth between active and passive basses like I do, be prepared to take the case apart every time to switch in the input pad. There is no switch for it. It's a jumper that's installed on the bottom of the circuit board. Really Ampeg? Sometimes I wonder what the engineers are thinking when they design this stuff. Do they play instruments at all? Probably not.




All in all this unit sounds awesome and is a great buy at the current pricing despite the two minor issues. If you love the Ampeg sound, are looking for a great DI, or a silent way to practice, or all of these things, get one! You won't regret it!

This thing is well worth the money. I practiced with it and went straight into the board with the band. The sound and 'attack' was awesome! It really helped me pop thru the mix and stand out. I play a Fender Jazz with this and it is just great. Only thing missing is a pad button, but my basses are all passive so it's no problem for me.

This thing has the sound of tube driven Ampegs of classic days. Exactly the tone I was seeking

I've been trying out several bass DI's and couldn't wait for the Ampeg. I knew that's the one I wanted. Using it as a practice device beats the others. The sound is awesome! The band I play in performs in some small (sometimes too small) areas, and the ability to just use this through our PA is very convenient. The scrambler is fun to use, too. I only wish it came with its own power supply. Had to buy a separate one. Oh well, I'm still very happy with this product!

I bought this for 2 reasons, one so I could practice silently and 2 so I could use it as a back up in case my stage rig died. It works great, sounds like an Ampeg rig. Only suggestion I would have to the designers is make the battery a bit more accessible and make the device play louder through the headphones.

Highly recommend it!

I got this cause I play in different bands with different tones. Some places have an amp there and multiple people use it. So I don't mess with the settings I use the scr-di settings to get my tone. It's a great practice tool also.
The reason it got a 4.5 instead of a 5 is when u plug into the 1/8 th input the music only comes threw the headphone out not the output. I understand that it's so you can record just the bass while listening to the playback. But what if I want to jam threw my amp and not just headphones.
Other than that it gets a great svt tone and the scrambler is useful for multiple reasons.
It's built like a tank.

Took down half a star because the scrambler is not everything I hoped it would be but still a useful if not very flavorful drive for certain things. The blend knob is a very nice touch. All of the other aspects of this pedal are wonderful. It's dead quiet, possesses a vast array of great tones and has all of the inputs and outputs you need for live or studio use. Studios and live venues would all do well to keep one of these around to help bassists who don't have or know how to get a great tone.

I constantly use this device as a di-box and personal monitoring at home and at the church. There is one drawback: there are only two variants of input gain: 0 and -15db. But in the first there is significant signal distortion and in the second signal is too weak, so i have to use a booster. Also it would be nice to add a mid-frequency parametric equalizer and mute knob.)

This little device does many things. It has the versatility that I need. The sound is not aggressive or punchy. I am using it to play bass while the house sleeps and record using a four track. For that it is great.

In a nutshell, I play a 4001 Rick every other Sunday in a large Church. I was plugged into the board through a basic Radial DI, my tone was at the mercy of the sound-techs. The board was set up for the 'other' bass-players active Carvin and my Rick always sounded tinny and empty. I bought this to try in place of the Racial DI and Wow! Still has the Rickenbacker chime but shakes the auditorium with bottom! Bass at 2 o'clock, mid at 3 o'clock, treble straight up; actually spun some heads around on the team fist time I used it. The Scrambler is of little use, but was perfect for one rather 'dark, heavy' song on a Christmas production.
An unexpected use was practice at home! Tablet into the 'aux' in, Rick into the input, earbuds in the phone jack, and it's perfect; separate levels for the bass and 'aux' in, very handy.I give 4 stars (instead of 5) simply because there are no indicator lights for the bass boost and treble boost. Over all, glad I picked the SCR-DI, good purchase, good value, I recommend it. and as usual, Sweetwater made it easy.

This is the 5th pre-di pedal that I"ve personally owned. First of all, to like this pedal you gotta like the ampeg tone. They did an excellent job in baking in the tone that they are known for. The weakest section of this pedal is the O.D. Scrambler (this is a common complaint in reviews). I think that putting a boost or tuner would have been better. The other design short-coming is putting the input pad inside. If you switch between passive and active basses, this could be an issue. Finally, I wish that they had put both a mic and line signal output control. Now for what IS right. It"s built like a tank, simple to operate and a very good EQ. It"s the best home pratice tool I"ve had (used Vox amp plug and serveral Behringer mixers). This box sounds good through in-ears and the Aux level control is useful. I"ve haven"t used this out live yet so interesting to see how it does, especially running a Aux from the board with a ampless situation and in-ears. As far as other DI"s (pedal) I"ve opened are Radial BassBone OD (most versatile, with tons of hookup options but cumbersome live), both Sansamp BDDI (without mid control) and VTDI (Sansamp phantom power option is useful as well as the mic and line output levels), and the Behringer BDI121 (hey $30 bucks). I record exclusively with Avalon U5 in the studio although I have used the Radial and Sansamp too (they just don"t have the headroom like the Avalon U5). I"m a classic bass guy using Fender Precision and Jazz (past Music Man Stingrays) basses. So if you like the Ampeg tone, want a box built like a tank and is simple to use, plus a great in-ear practice tool.....the SCR-DI won"t let you down. Just remember, all these pedals will have their limitations...just have to decide what is best for you and what you are planning on using it for. Good luck!

Sweetwater is great to deal with and their service is

I've had this since it came out. It has rock solid construction. Perfect for practice, great in the studio and impressive on stage straight to the board (as long as you are running good subs). Only problem I have is that it is a pain in neck to open it and switch between passive and active input. Because I use both on stage, I only use this as an emergency backup live.

I do lots of tracking in my rehearsal/studio. We don't have isolation rooms so I often try and convince bassist to record direct to help bleed. This is handy as it has a thru to the amp or as a loop but my first run I just tracked bass straight out of it. ( bassist uses a classic SVT and 8x10 cab ) For my money , it sounds as good as mic'ing the cab. I usually spend so much time in post tweaking bass but this thing had it sounding in the ballpark right away. Just for kicks we tracked the direct out from the SVT head too. Needless to say , that got erased. Said bassist wasn't as impressed with the scrambler function but whatever. There's all kinds of ways to get your fuzz.

Aside from that, this thing is built like a tank. Always feels good to get something out of the box and be impressed with its structural quality.
If you're in a situation with good PA/monitors this could pass for a live rig in a pinch.

Ultimately for me I'll be using it in tandem with the amp so I can pick, choose , blend in mixing but I have a feeling we'll be leaning on this.

Plugging a passive bass into this? You're likely good, and it'll sound great. Active? There is no -db capability and you may overload it and get fuzz.

I like the phones out option for practicing, and the scrambler is nice if you want one. I just can't wrap my head around it lacking a -db switch.

If you have a passive only or active only set of guitars this will work well. The lack of an easily accessible -15db pad for active basses is an issue if you need to switch between active and passive basses. Unfortunately without the pad engaged the input lacks the headroom to deal with an active source even in bypass mode. I found this odd as I have multiple Ampeg amps and this isn't an issue with their preamps. In order to engage the pad you have to pull the back off the unit and set a jumper which is not convenient to say the least. Sweetwater was great in handling the returns.

I had been considering different bass preamps for a while but waited until the Ampeg SCR-DI came out in June 2015. I primarily play three Fender American Hotrodded Precision Basses (although I also have a Rickenbacker 4003 and a Steinberger XL-2 Elite) through a Mesa Boogie 400+ head and 4x10 cabinet and was looking for a preamp to capture that sound while recording. Since Mesa Boogie doesn't make a bass preamp (a far as I know), I figured an Ampeg SVT sounding preamp would be a decent substitute. Unfortunately, while I was impressed with the appearance of the SCR-DI and it has a lot of features, none of them wowed me. No matter how hard I tweaked, I couldn't get a decent punchy sound out of the SCR-DI. The SCRAMBLER section didn't impress me at all. I ended up returning it and purchasing an MXR M80 Bass DI+ instead. I am very pleased with the MXR!