Ampeg debuts two familiar-looking pedals – but no amps – at NAMM 2017
Ampeg presented Classic Bass Preamp and Scrambler Bass Overdrive
No amps at this year’s NAMM show from Ampeg, but we do get two new pedals aimed at bass players, the Ampeg Classic Bass preamp and Scrambler bass overdrive pedal. Each is a pretty compact affair and will hopefully offer the Ampeg sound that remains desirable for so many. But don’t they look familiar? If you know the Ampeg SCR-DI you might be getting a touch of déja vu…
Classic Bass Preamp
The name pretty much says it all. If it sounds good, this may be a useful pedal for many bassists. I would imagine that the three-band EQ is more than enough for most people. It’s a very neat-looking pedal and is laid out in a very simple fashion, with four knobs: Volume, Bass, Mid and Trebl.eTwo additional buttons are labelled Ultra Low and Ultra High. It’s engaged using the standard footswitch.
The circuit is, of course, all analogue, with true-bypass switching and the pedal can be run from a 9V DC power supply or a battery.
Scrambler Bass Overdrive
The Scrambler Bass Overdrive pedal is aimed at players that require a bit of dirt and comes in the same neat layout as the Classic Bass Preamp stompbox. This time you get four controls labelled Volume, Treble, Drive and Blend. This uses the increasingly popular idea pf blending in ‘unprocessed’ signal to get the tone you like. The circuit is again, all analogue, with true-bypass switching and the pedal can also be run from a 9V DC power supply or a battery.
Ampeg SCR-DI
Here’s an image of the SCR-DI pedal. It’s clear that the two new pedals don’t in themselves offer much that’s new, except providing the two “sides” of the SCR-DI as individual modules.
The SCR-DI which evidently served as – ahem – inspiration for the two new pedals
Price and availability
The Ampeg Scrambler Bass Overdrive and Ampeg Classic Bass Preamp are both due in April, and will retail for $139 each.
This might also interest you
