NEW Ampeg SGT-DI Bass Pedal: My Honest Opinion ⚡
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- čas přidán 27. 03. 2023
- In this video I show you the new Ampeg SGT-DI preamp pedal. I discuss this bass pedal's features, advantages, and disadvantages. I discuss the benefits of Impulse Response, and compare this pedal to a real Ampeg B15N Fliptop. You can decide what you think for yourself from this honest review.
*I am playing a 1966 Fender P-Bass with Fralin Pickups & Flatwound Strings for this demo. In the section where I am turning the knobs, this was accomplished by recording directly into my Apollo Twin's (very clean) interface and reamping into the pedal at an instrument level signal. This was so you could hear all the nuances of changes between settings in the pedal. The beginning clip I am plugged straight into the pedal and using the Thru (which bypasses all settings) and go into the 1969 B15N Fliptop, which was miced with a Shure Sm7b.
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Here’s a link to a blind comparison between the SGTDI and the Origin Effects Bassrig Super Vintage:
czcams.com/video/3FZRtqs4tbM/video.html
Do you want a blind comparison between this pedal and the Origin Effects Super Vintage?
Thanks for the great videos from a real bass player & conisour. Interesting pedal for sure. Might be interested in the V2 version. What interface are you using to record?
Apollo Twin
Yes! This is THE comparison we absolutely need!
yes!!!
lesgoooo!
I really appreciate how you take your time to calmly use the equipment you review and then give honest feedback on it. All the other bass channels i watch are fun, but often seem like they are trying to sell me things and they are always in such a hurry. Also i like how you keep the bass lines simple, more like something i would actually end up playing at a gig instead of trying to fit in as many licks as you can in 2 mins. Keep up the good work!
I agree, guitar CZcams is such a cheesy place that has very little helpful material. This channel is refreshing and appreciated
As always, I appreciate your truthful explaining about what you think and helping others by showing them what they should look out for. Great video as always!
Fantastic demo! I really liked the overlaid eq response while you tweaked the tone. I wish more demos featured that.
Great to see you on an initial rollout for some cool products! Awesome video, it sounds great.
Would love to see it compared against others in the same bracket
This might be the best review of a piece of gear I’ve ever seen. Wow. Great job!
I’m all in on your channel. Love your very bass player-y low key vibe.
Love that the playing isn’t Instagram flashy nonsense.
Love that you’re a real world touring but not super famous bass player like some of the rest of us working mortals.
Looking forward to whatever is next for you!
Thanks for the kind words Nick. Glad to have you a part of the channel. Making these videos for bass players like you and it means a lot to me that you appreciate it ⚡️
As for Flip Top in a box - Tech 21 VT Bass DI gets this job done nicely. I've been using it for over 10 years and it never let me down. I've switched to HX Stomp recently for more in-depth emulations, but VT Bass is still my go to for quick club gigs and studio sessions.
I use the Broughton Fliptop with a Khan DI. Incredible.
Do you use the suggested settings in the manual, or do you have other settings that you prefer? I don’t know what a B-15 really sounds like.
@@meisenman I’ve started with suggested settings and tweaked from there. This pedal is quite easy to get used to in terms of settings
Completely agree with the VT bass DI for a number of reasons.
1. Smaller and lighter for travel and storage. The point of these things is rugged quality and convenience. The SGT-DI, of course, has this as well, but the VT bass is just more compact, and Tech21's design has been road proven for decades. Plus, if you run a pedalboard, its footprint is smaller and saves you real estate.
2. The character control lets you smoothly transition and blend between amp voices rather than fixed switches for greater fine tuning of the part of the sound you use a pedal like this for. Flexible EQ is a huge plus on a preamp, but the character of sound is what people get preamps for, and the VT bass has more flexibility here.
3. PHANTOM POWERED. This may seem like not a big deal, but the number of gigs I've played with terrible wall outlet power or simply not enough outlets to go around is substantial. I had a Darkglass AO Ultra DI that simply would be unusable at certain gigs (through no fault of its own). Phantom power from a board or interface is usually conditioned, so this drastically reduces potential noise and interference, even if the venue's power is poor.
The SGT-DI can do plenty of tricks the VT bass can't, like the parametric eq, dual footswitches, and cab emulation features, and those should be lauded. I can absolutely see that winning over people who don't have either one, especially if it's going on a pedalboard with an isolated power supply, but if you have the VT bass or the deluxe version already, it's still a golden option.
Thanks for reviewing this for us!
I love mine! Brings back my 70’s and 80’s time frame in a small compact box! Love it!
This channel is getting better and better. I also like that the video is conveying the message. Very nice incrustations, and very nice video quality. You've pushed your video skills up since you've been doing your video on compression for bass !
Thanks so much Adrien! So glad to have you here as always.
GREAT vid!
Thanks! I appreciate all that you and your team do for the bass community. Thanks for watching! ⚡️
@@philipconradmusic Ahh cheers man!
great content, Philip. As always. A def yes on a comparison between pedals. And maybe also to the real deal??
Wow you did an awesome job making the two signals sound similar. Nice video.
Excellent review, well thought out and executed. Thanks!
Thanks Tom! Appreciate you watching ⚡️
And thanks for doing what you do, by the way! It's super helpful.
Thank you for watching Alex!
New to the channel man. Like the way you roll. Thanks for the review.
Great honest review Philip. Your course channel looks awesome too 👍
Thanks for watching Greg!
Really enjoyed your look at this man. Honestly it seems right up my alley because I love the SVT style EQ. My issue with the original was you were having to bring in Drive to take advantage of the EQ and you couldn't turn the cab sim off.
Agreed 100% on an Ampeg produced legit Fliptop pedal with a DI out. I have the Broughton Fliptop, which is great, but no DI. Would love to see Ampeg do it. Thanks for the video!
Nice thorough demo, thank you!
I’d love to see a comparison with the Origin stuff.
One sound secret I discovered is to load Ownhammer ampeg IRs on my iridium (round mode). Sounds pretty good to me. That way I can use the Iridium for both guitar and bass.
Recently subscribed to your channel. You've got all the right things goin' on man...I'm impressed with your stuff.👍🏿
Thanks Busta! Glad to have you here. Thanks for the kind words!
Great review. Would love to see it in a direct comparison with Origin Effects Bass Rig, Two Notes Revolt Bass, Walrus Audio Badwater etc etc There's loads of pedals around the same price point doing exactly the same. It's a tough choice, when you only want to spend once.
It would be interesting to hear a comparison of the sgt and the v4b haha. I love your videos, keep it up!
Oh! I would have LOVED to hear the CAB sim and the preamp only -without the drive activated. We never get to hear that and to me that is the bread and butter of a pedal like this. But great review and video as always! Thanks :)
Thanks for such good review buddy
Thanks for watching Rabbit!
Great video! very useful
I’d love to see a simple B15 pedal too. I’d buy that! I’d also love to hear this compared to a JHS Colourbox (please don’t send the Colourbox heavily into distortion this time).
Hoooold on. So that intro clip is legit an actual B15 compared to the pedal? That's so spot on! Amazing! I'd be interested to hear how slightly more driven sounds compare as well. Great video man.
Yes confirmed. Back to back. Posting a video soon with more driven sounds, stay tuned! Thanks for watching ⚡️
great playing!
awesome tone!
As others have noted, a comparison between the Origins Blue Face and this would be great. I'm with you that a single knob compressor isn't anything I'd every use. I'd likely leave this wide open and just use the one already on my board. I'd love to see a version of this without the distortion circuit where it's literally just an amp in a pedal, but that's purely my viewpoint since I already have dedicated OD and Fuzz pedals.
At $100 less than the Origin Super Vintage and having cab sim/IR, though? This one has definitely taken a jump in my "I want a new preamp pedal" viewpoint.
Great job on the review, very well done.
PS - John Deacon wants his bass back, lol!
Your P-Bass is classic!
Thanks! John is amazing. Thanks for watching! ⚡️
Appreciate the review. Seems ideal for the ever increasing number of PA-only gigs. I've still got my original SansAmp from 1998, but it would be nice to have a different sonic feeling from time to time.
Original sansamp was and is 🔥
@philipconradmusic This SGT-DI has become my primary practice rig and ampless gig rig in the past few months. I'm still not 100% sold on the compressor, though it has its uses. Everything else is basically magical. If it had a tuner, I would literally only need to bring the one thing. OK, and it could be battery operated, but that's just a nitpick. Thanks again for the solid review, it was very helpful.
Oh, and I do chain this with my original Sansamp DI, because you really need 2 DIs at any given time just because.
“I’m just: Bass is cool, Bass is fun, I like playing Bass“ same over here!! 👊🏼😎 I have a eye on the DSM Humboldt Simplifier Bass Station lately, that’s a whole lot more in a even smaller package👍🏼
I really enjoyed the origin fx DI video an this one. I appreciate your opinion more than any other “buy this new shiny gear” channels.
Thanks so much for watching!
I would love to see a comparison with Origin Effects Bass Rig, I am glad that You say You like the B15 Model better than the SVT. I have the Origin Super Vintage and it sounds superb, but I was in shock, when I saw the new release of Ampeg in the same price range. Now I think that the Origin will sound better than the Ampeg SGT. I hope so 😂.
Love the video style
Thanks for watching !⚡️
great review thanks cheers
Thanks for watching!
Yes to a comparison video of other similar pedals
Nice review. Not going to replace my SansAmp DI-2112, but there are some versatile sounds here. You seem to prefer a much less toppy sound than I do, so the sounds you preferred were the ones I liked least, but hey, that's what makes us all different 😀
No need to replace! They work well together. I use the same SansAmp DI at the beginning of my pedal chain to drive my octave, chorus and compressor pedals with the last stop being the Ampeg SCR DI to the board. I get all the great tone shaping the SansAmp provides with that Ampeg punch and clarity I love combined.
I definitely like it more than the SCR DI because of the better overdrive and cab SIM. For me, I could go for this DI just as it is. I wouldn't worry about other cab or microphone options. My current DI is all analog with similar features to this one, but it doesn't have control pedals. With an overdrive pedal I can do just about everything this pedal can do besides the editing software, but I'm not too worried about that anyway. So if I need a replacement or backup going forward this DI is definitely something I would consider. And if Ampeg does release the Fliptop in a box I could go for that too.
Nice review. Please do a comparison review of other boxes to this one. I'm looking for a simple pedal like this one, but I'm wondering what compressor pedal you would pair with it to make it better.
Is the intro an a/b between the pedal and your fliptop??
It sounds pretty much spot on if that's the case!!🥳
Thank you for doing all this work, love all your videos and the pacing and content is superb.
Yes it is an AB. Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching! ⚡️
Great Video! I agree that a B15 in a small pedal would be ideal....I am sure many bass players desire a quick route to B15 tone without spending $3500 for a used B15 rig. For $500, I would have to give the HELIX Stomp a very close evaluation of B15 to other useful toes/features. For recording, there are several B15 plug-ins to use on a DAW. Keep these vids coming!
Thanks for watching Cary! Great insight ⚡️
Indeed. I would love to see a comparison between this pedal and a HX Stomp B15 and SVT sim.
Hi Philip, excellent video! Could you please share with us the SGT-DI settings you used to make it sound like your B15 in the beginning of the video? Did you have the cab sim fully engaged? Thank you!
Great video. And I am also very interested in the comparision with similar pedals like the Origin, TwoNotes, Sansamp, Noble etc. Also, it would be nice to hear what these pedals can do in front of a class D amp. Can they warm up your sound, or are they only good if you put them straight to the FOH?
Good question. Thanks for watching ⚡️
Great demo. Always searching for the flip top sound but says of shelling out Hollywood money over so looking for more reasonable Alts.Think your bang on about the idea of a little flip top only pedal.
Great review, i am curious to know how does this compare in real life to SCR DI which i own….and yes, a b15 pedal as you said would be a dream, you cannot pair a Fender P Bass with other than Ampeg 😊
I am excited about the AMPEG SGT DI box.... I have not been able to play it yet.... However, anything that makes a good sounding bass sound better, Im all for it.... I am not into fuzz.... not too much Drive.... I like the option of 4 and 8 speaker cab sound and being able to jump to a single 15 cab sound to be awesome... Ive never needed compression, I simply learned to control my attack on the strings .... being able to change the mid freqs is great as well... I believe listening to one band for 4 hours straight and their ability to sound like different bands is a plus....mid range selection along with the SVT/B15 switch helps in that regard.... I can't wait to try it... as soon as it's in my price range....
B15 in a box is what so many people are after. 👍🏽
I dig it!
Please, we need a comparison between these and the others bassrig, that would be a game decider 🙏🏼
On the way… stay tuned
Yes, please compare to the Origin Effect pedals!
I saw Nate Navarro's review first and was instantly thinking what would be your thoughts on the unit! Seems solid! The comparison would be great! Also would be interesting for me if you have a preamp pedal like this which defines your tone and you can record with it DI, what do you suggest in a live situation? I mean for example a small gig with amp. Should I use only the power amp circuit of the amp? Or sould just use a separate power amp (which I assume could be cheaper than a bass head)? What's your take? Thanks!
100% agree on flip-top box! Send me one !
We need a comparison video of SCR DI vs SGT DI!
Thanks for your honest opinion. I don't need to create my own thing here. I agree with what Richard Elms has to say.
Hi Philip, great video as always. This isn't related to the topic, but where can we find your Kudzu Hill project? I can't play it on Spotify, but I really want to, because I'm preparing for an entrance exam for sound recording and design at an art college, and I hoped that your project would give me some kind of inspiration because one of the exam tasks is to make your own sound piece. Thank you in advance!
Hi Vuk. I just checked and it’s working for me on Spotify. If still having trouble send me a dm on IG @philipconradmusic and I’ll see if I can get you a link ⚡️
Interesting pedal! I think the sound is good, but for a company with the production power of Yamaha behind them, I expected it to be a couple hundred dollars cheaper than it is. I think for this pricepoint you can get some really ridiculously good gear. I really want to try one out, but whether it will stay, who knows!
Have you tried Broughton’s Fliptop or SVT pedal? That would be a great comparison.
Got the Mark Bass Pre-amp...the real question is will the crowd notice..between that and SGT-DI? Get both! The great thing with the Mark Bass Pre-amp Vintage is you can twiddle the knobs with your feet easily.
My go to set up is a AMERICAN VINTAGE II 1954 PRECISION with mute strings, polytune3, DG Element / Luminal and Aguilar Tone Hammer for headphones for silent practice and Fender Downtown Express to Ampeg 50T &1x15. Bought DG Microtubes Infinity it's a disaster to set up and use... hopefully hopefully the trade value covers the SGT-DI
It would be nice to have just the FlipTop or an SVT pedal considering I already have a decent DI. You should compare it to the Darkglass vintage ultra and the Tech 21 VT bass deluxe.
I’ve been using this pedal for about 2 months or so. And I do love it. I don’t use every feature(bc it does more than I’ll ever need) but overall it’s got the punch and dynamic I was looking for. Without the cold grit of a SansAMP. I agree the compressor isn’t the best. I am looking for a secondary compressor ped if anyone has a recommendation. I also would love to see a stripped down stomp box version that would just have the best bits.
Universal Audio 1176 pedal is awsome. Very affordable and great value
Would love a comparison with an Orange Bass Butler
Please do one comparing with another "cheaper" option, like de Ik multimedia pedal
boy houdy on the flip top pedal .man i look up to you philip your in the pocket on bass knowledge .what do you think what the best drum machine pedal for practice is .or is that a up coming vid that would be cool
Thanks so much Mark! I mostly practice with loops in my DAW or metronome, not a drum machine. Wish I had a good recommendation for you! Thanks for watching ⚡️
Nice Fender precision bass and Jazz Bass and that's all you need for your bass tones. Either live or in the studio.
Add a stingray and you are complete
@@fernheaven ah yes, thanks for pointing out. Snappy top end from it's active bass pickups.👍🍻🍺
I am a bass player for 25 years. I’m looking for a quality DI box I checked out the Radial BassBone, Radial HDI, Mesa Subway, JDI, J48…the active boxes are better imo then the passive, tho the gain and overdrive circuits are kind of wasted on me…gonna check the Ampeg offerings
Omg. ❤ The B15s sound identical. and if SGT-DI can do it well, then it's worth it. it's true that the small FlipTop preamp would be a hot hit. I have a problem now: Ampeg PF20T or SGT? wich more B15
Darkglass Microtubes Vintage would be a nice comparison.
Ampeg all day!
How would you compare it versus Tech 21 VT bass?
The cab Sim output: is that like a blend of the "mic'd cab"? So if it's turned all the way down, you still get the DI/pre-amp signal out?
I think it’s just the level of the speaker when engaged, but I’m sure Ampeg could tell you better/for sure.
Flip-Top Pedal all day long!
Ampeg should do a separate B15 and SVT DI boxes all analog if possible. No compression or IR options. Simply mimic the exact same controls of the originals. I bet they would sell for $600 a piece. I have an original 61’ B15n and can not seem to mimic live on stage with any pedals. (P.S., not bringing an antique to live gigs)
Agreed! Thanks for watching Mo!
agreed!
where is the poweramp? or do you go directly to front of house? and can you go front of house plus to an active speaker (without cab simulation)?
This is a cool video, nice work! I don't think I will ever like the ampeg gain sounds. It sounds way too artificial. I'll just stick to my mxr DI+ blend settings
Another Origin Bassrig SV user chiming in with the comparison curiosity .. :)
Sounds nice, but I can´t understand why most of those "all-in-one boxes" like the Ampeg SGT does not has a send/return between drive and preamp sections....so if you want to use some modulation or time based effect after drive, you should use them after the whole pedal, makin the cabsim/IR a little bit useless as a feature designed for the end of effects chain.
Would love to hear this compared with the Origin 64 blackface.
That would be cool…
is this usable as an audio interface? I suspect not, and haven't dug into the manual, but it just seems too good to be true that it would be a class compliant audio interface as well.
I don’t think so. It does talk to your computer through usb, but I don’t think you could record through it.
I second AMPEG bringing out a flip top (B15) pedal without all the other features
great vid. Too bad I have knobphobia. I look at all the tweakability of this and think I'd just be lost.
That fuzz is sooo synthy. 6:14
Please compare to the Origin Effects Bass Rig Super Vintage😊
I don’t need it -HX Stomp user here - but I hope it does well.
Looks like a well thought out design.
How do you like the stomp? Thanks for watching! ⚡️
@@philipconradmusic I like it a lot. It is insanely versatile from a routing perspective and I get some killer tones out of it.
Have you ever tried any Darkglass stuff?
Not much yet
I agree on the Flip Top in a box idea. However it seems like the Bass DI market is set to $500-$1000, and so companies feel like they have to put all the extra stuff in there to warrant the price.
Maybe so. Thanks for watching!
Cool review, and yes please do more like this. So beneficial! And if you don't mind, I'd like to suggest some additional perspective on such reviews over just the sound.
Obviously, the sound quality has to be prioritized; however, I think there are a few additional qualities that many, like myself, will also want to evaluate when shopping for a preamp like this. One being, how suitable is the unit for studio use? My guess is, as many of these spend as much of their life on a studio desk as a pedal board.
O was shopping for a preamp pedal not that long ago, but my primary use for the pedal is running it into my interface and DAW, and for that use, there were few choices that offered the design features optimal for that use, and those are connectivity and, well, connectivity. 😁
The one feature that pisses me off the most with the design of most of these pedals is the XLR out being on the side of the pedal. This makes it virtually impossible to organize it on a crowded studio desk without creating or contributing to a cluster fuck of cables. There is no way to situate one cleanly on a desk.
My other gripe is that so few of these offer dual XLR outs allowing for the possibility of running both a dry, pre -eq signal simultaneously with the wet signal. It's both the lack of dual, rear mounted XLRs that got this unit bumped from my list.
Personally, I think it's a huge oversight by a company like Ampeg to not give more consideration to the various ways one of these pedals might be used and not design accordingly.
They should look to Mesa Boogie and EBS for design cues.
It's really too bad, because I would have enjoyed having those Ampeg sounds at my fingertips without having to add them later in post.
I have the Ampeg Scrambler DI. My only beef with that pedal was that it is a battery hog. Now, I am not as serious of a bass player as many others are, as I have never owned or played through an Ampeg bass rig.
Honestly I feel like like this would have been awesome to have…10 years ago. I’m a world where you can get the same sounds out of a Line 6 Pod ago for around the same price, it’s a little late to the show.
What about noise? How much does it hiss? I have had a couple of Sansamp bass DI’s and they’re always noisy enough to be distracting…
Update: Bought it and compared to a Sansamp Bass Driver and Sansamp Geddy Lee rack preamp? Virtually noiseless with my Fender Precision loaded with Dimarzio pickups. Sounds great in the DAW with a Boss bass compressor. Really easy to dial in great tones but I probably opt for less colorization in my bass tone. The range of tones available are extreme and range from unusable fuzz to direct to board cleans and everything in between. I don’t use the Ampeg built in compressor because I have the Boss compressor out front and the OC5 in between is a nice change of pace. The best bass DI box I’ve ever tried, the software has never crashed or glitched on me, adding IR’s give it a lot of flexibility. Very good studio upgrade for me…
@ $ 399.00 I’d be inclined to wait for the used market. I like the pedal though. Ideal for a live situation. Great job Philip.
Thanks for watching! ⚡️
Philip I enjoy the content very much. You’re also an excellent teacher… thank you!
Thanks so much. Glad to have you here!
Definitely contrast this with some other devices in a competitive mode.
Question... can i use like a PowerAmp, direct to Cab?
I don’t think so. But reach out to Ampeg, I bet they could tell you.
Great video indeed. Thanks for it. As you also have the Origin Super Vintage Pedal, I would appreciate a comparison. I have the feeling the Origin still sounds more Ampegish, even so the SGT-DI has the Ampeg name on it. At the moment I am still using a Tech 21 Pedal, but the two new Origin pedals do really attract me. Now, with the Ampeg SGT-DI there are three candidates to check out.
Thanks Klaus! Hoping to shoot a blind comparison soon, so stay tuned.