Ampeg svtdi direct stomp box?

centralbeatbass · Post by **centralbeatbass** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:59 am

Anyone have an opinion whether this DI pedal w/ a tube will warm up my sound? I'm playing a 2005 Ric 4003 through an ampeg b2re (solid state) & svt 410he.

I do not usually play bass w/ any pedals.

I think I have tube envy.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:04 pm

Looks like it is a discontinued product, so you would need to find one used, and they go for about $300 used. No experience with one.

Alternatively, you could go to a GC and try out an SVT-3 Pro through a 410HE and see if tubes do what you want. The 3 Pro is the tube equivalent of your B2RE. If you like its sound, consider getting one off eBay and then selling your B2RE - it would be a lot cheaper than the DI box in the end.

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:17 pm

That DI may or may not neccesarily 'warm up' your sound. Marketing has done a disservice to folks, leaving them with the impression that having a tube/tubes in a circuit automatically warms up the tone.

One telling example is a comparison test I did a few years ago, comparing my Aragon 24K preamp to an Audio Research SP9 preamp, both driving my Aragon 2004 power amp into my crossover modified Magnepan MG-1c speakers. The tube filled SP9 sounded cold and sterile next to my Dan D'Agostino (Krell) designed solid state 24K.

So much for 'tube warmth'!

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:05 pm

Jeff, did you have your cables oriented with the rotation of the earth? Was it an odd Tuesday in June? Were the interconnects hung in open air with unwaxed dental floss? Did you have the little metal dampening discs positioned in just the right place (different on each preamp) and rotated to the 2 o'clock position? Did you use a green marker and put a ring around the volume control?

[I'm jesting using a olio of audiophile tweek jargon]

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:20 pm

Damn, I think I forgot about the unwaxed dental floss! IIRC I used mint flavored!!! Only on the SP9; that must have cooled down the tonality of the AR.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:53 pm

Well, there you have it!

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:26 pm

Isn't the green magic marker for putting a green ring around the edges of those nasty CDs to make 'em sound just like those anteek vinyl thingys?

paologregorio · Post by **paologregorio** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 6:47 am

OTFLMAO! I forgot about that one!

centralbeatbass · Post by **centralbeatbass** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:14 am

I'm still in search of the perfect tone. I have a '78 Fender Twin Reverb & w/ all of the tubes it gets pretty warm actually hot.

Anyway as an experiment, I plugged the Fender tube guitar amp to my ampeg svt410he (I disconnected the Fender's guitar speakers) and it wasn't loud enough, but it did seem warm.

There's just something sexy and retro about those tubes.

Perhaps in a blindfold test most could not tell the difference between tubes & solidstate. However, I'm told that for the same wattage tubes are louder. Don't know if this is true, but I visited a friend and his ONE WATT tube boutique guitar amp seemed loud enough to gig with.

BTW, thanks for everyone's comments.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 1:47 pm

Jeff - yes, but if you look at my post, I really mixed up my tweaks on purpose.

Scott - Yes, tubes are sexy! For the same wattage, tubes do sound louder, and have a bigger "jump" factor for bass guitar. Sound more solid too (no pun intended).

Take your bass to an Ampeg dealer and try the SVT-3 Pro into an HE cab and see for yourself.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:36 pm

My take on the 'tube watts are louder than SS watts' is that as you run into clipping tubes are "gentler" at first and produce a more pleasant distortion from mostly even harmonics which is far more tolerable as opposed to SS's odd order distortion.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:47 pm

Tube amps (all tube) are warm sounding usually but one tube in the preamp section usually doesn't cut it at all in my limited experience with an amp that allowed both the tube and SS preamp sections to be used alternately, the tube just cut down on the attack and brilliance in it, I preferred the all SS section, and I'm a tube amp man all the way. You want thick, warm and solid, along with enough balls to knock a wall over get an old SVT. When pushed they also have a rock bass sound that is incomparable.