Ampeg Scrambler Bass Overdrive Pedal

After a little bit of dialing, I found a decent "SVT growl" setting. I have been looking for that sound forever, and with my very, very specialized amp rig setup*, that would be difficult. For my very unique bass rig setup, it was gain at 60%, blend at 70%, treble at 60% and volume to unity.I don't actually think that any pedal can ACTUALLY make the SVT sound, as a 300-watt all-tube amp running hot into an 8X10" is a sound that can't be duplicated well... But this pedal gets me about 80% there! The two biggest things about the SVT growl sound are the thump (when a pick hits the string a real SVT lets you FEEL the string vibrating) and the high-pitched distorted clank. With the thump, I don't know what magic there is in that pedal, but they were able to attenuate and boost frequencies to get that defined thump-thump sound so well known from an Ampeg. The treble knob gets me some of that clank-clank sound also known from an SVT, but that's not as well-defined as the thump. The clank is about 50% there, but with some dialing on my amp I was able to get closer.Ultimately, I don't care. I got a pedal that can get me really close to an SVT sound. It is a bit more fuzz-oriented than SVT overdrive oriented, but what can one expect from transistors, op-amps and diodes? It's not perfect, but I doubt it will ever leave my board. I usually play a bit more like a guitar than a bass, with a lot of chording and effects like delay, pitch shifting, tremolo, synth, but since my band is welcoming a guitarist, we recently did a song where I was playing bass, well, like a bass. The distortion pedals I have and the distortion channel on my high-end amp didn't fit the aggressive, hard-rock sound that we were going for, where I'm hitting a low D and staying there to keep the low-end strong. This pedal, this is it. This is that sound, and I'm happy.*My amp rig setup is designed for detailed, mid and treble-based sound. I have a GIGANTIC, 42-pedal board running a modified always-on JHS Colour Box for a preamp, with an always-on MXR Bass Compressor right after that to hit the peaks and fill in the valleys. From there it goes to a tuner/splitter, where it splits into a high signal and a low signal. The low signal is handled by an MXR M80 running crystal-clean bass and some mids into the FX return of a 1,000 watt aluminum-cone 15" combo amp, and the XLR out to the FoH. The mids and highs are handled by a 50-watt all-tube Vox clone guitar head running into a 4X6" bass/guitar cab, with an IR box going to the FoH. As you can guess, getting a pounding SVT sound is kinda hard with this setup, meant more for a detailed, nuanced, lyrical sound.

Ampeg Scrambler pedal is a light OD pedal - not a distortion pedal (I think some have a misconception there) that can breathe life into your amp. I'm running it from a Squire P bass using Mogami cables into the front of an Ampeg PF500 head and PF115HE cab. If you're looking for heavy distortion for bass then you may want to look elsewhere - this is not your pedal.The knobs are very easy to turn, very smooth, the ranges are marked clearly on each knob visibly, solid metal construction case, and a solid-feeling footswitch. When activated the light is a soft lavender that matches the light on my PF500 nicely. It also doesn't burn out your eyes like some boutique pedal-makers like to do. My only gripe (and this is a lot of pedal makers): no thumb screws to quickly change out the battery. C'mon this is the 21st century.Sound performance wise it can go from light to very fuzzy overdrive using the Drive control. I did notice the Treble control has a lot of influence on that sound and how fuzzy/fizzy it gets. The Blend control is nice because it allows you to set a higher OD but only lightly blend it in to your signal. Level control allows you to either match your amp output or boost the db's if you're bass soloing or trying to fill in the sound spectrum as more of a hybrid bass/rhythm guitar while your lead is soloing. It's a normal-sized pedal so it's not going to eat up a ton of room on your pedalboard.A few things I noticed: 1) if my -15db button was activated on the PF500 then the Scrambler didn't have very good response/influence on the tone so be aware. Once I switched it off it seemed the Scrambler had more influence on the tone. 2) the Scrambler was noticeable at bringing life to my PF500. Without it the PF500 has great tone but sounds too sterile/solid state and the Scrambler gave it some juice to sound more organic/tube-like. 3) the P pickup loves the Scrambler and when I turned the J pickup volume all the way down it got very overdriven, more responsive to the Scrambler than the J pickup to me. I was playing Metallica's Orion which was written by late bassist Cliff Burton and was able to achieve a respectable "growl" and same for playing any Iron Maiden and recreating bassist Steve Harris' clanky, growly tone. For a rock'n'roll bassist like me this can be an "always on" pedal.Value-wise, this is not a $130 pedal. I'm sorry Ampeg, it just isn't. It's more of a $90 pedal to me. It does one thing, and is decently built, but the MSRP seems a bit steep for what it does. If you're going to charge $130 at least design it so there are thumbscrews on the side of the pedal to change out the battery. I'd recommend getting one on sale, with a giftcard to offset the cost, or as a gift and let someone else take that hit. Otherwise, put some more cash with it and get the Scrambler-DI.Lastly, the Amazon order was filled by Chicago Music Exchange and I cannot say enough good things about CME. Those guys are great at customer service, quick to ship out orders, safely package items, etc. If you're going to buy, try to use them as the vendor fulfilling the order otherwise you could be taking a gamble. This is my 2nd pedal from them via Amazon and I'm still happy with them.

I will get the bad out of the way first. This pedal died on me out of nowhere after about 10 months of use. The distortion disappeared and I will now need warranty work. I have bought two products from Ampeg, and both have required warranty work before the year mark. Unfortunately I think my love for Ampeg has been punished enough, and I will no longer be buying their products. Quality without reliability is not worth it when gigs/recording sessions are on the line.That being said, this is a good sounding pedal. I think it produces a variety of tones, from slightly overdriven amp to a fuzzy/metal vibe. The treble and blend knobs work very well, allowing you to dial in some extra edginess and scratchiness without losing much of the low end. The pedal is greatest with a pick but can be quite expressive with plucking as well. The volume knob is rarely above a third up for me, meaning there is tons of headroom for this pedal and you can definitely use it as a boost or to step up in front in the mix.Bottom line, this is a good-sounding pedal but, due to new Ampeg gear's tendency to require warranty work out of nowhere, I recommend either looking for a different overdrive pedal or keeping a backup on hand.

Finally found a bass specific overdrive pedal that works well and has good tone on the low end. I enjoy the blend function because you can dial in the sound in conjunction with the drive. The drive sound can be subtle or raging depending on your preference. Very versatile simple to use pedal. The LED light is perfect. Thank you seller for very quick delivery and thanks again AMPEG for another quality pedal.

Classico ampeg sound, il blend è una benedizione, treble per uscire nel mix impeccabilmente. Spedizione addirittura anticipata

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