Which would you guys rate better as a DI for bass ... the Avalon U5, the Sansamp Bass Driver DI or the Groove Tubes Brick?

I use the Sans Amp bass driver and have been happy with it over the last 5 years. It's dependable, solid construction and you can get some decent tones out of it. I've had some phasing issues with my DI from my head so I've just been using the Sans Amp. I don't have any experience with the others, but I was seriously thinking of picking up the Avalon as a pre/DI ... I'm gonna tag along to see what others say...

I have an Avalon U5, Sansamp BDDI, and Radial Bassbone. I use the Bassbone for live applications since it gives me two independant instrument inputs, tuner out, and switchable FX loop. I have had a BDDI for ages and it still goes with me as a backup. The Avalon lives in my studio and it is amazing, just a full, thick, tone with a number of very good EQ presets (also sounds fantastic for acoustic guitars, especially my nylon string).

I find the BDDI does color the sound a fair bit (but not necessarily in a bad way, depends on your taste).

Later
Rob

Are you the same one that posed this same question that's currently in the amps forum?

Anyway again, I had the sansamp... Too much coloring for me. I wasn't a fan of the speaker emulation sound and the overdrive.

I'm braving using the avalon U5 live. So far it's been great. The tone curves on that are great recording sound great to me in a live context too. So far #1 has been my favorite.

Avalon

i agree about the coloring on the Bass Driver DI. I got it years ago when i wanted to get that "AMPEG" tone... which it does lend to that sound, not to mention you get a decent little overdrive taboot. Now, that I actually own an SVT though ... I don't even turn it on really, its more of a passive direct box that sits on my pedal board as a backup in case the house directs are shoddy.

HUGE SansAmp fan, here. I haven't tried the other two but for my needs, anyway, I'm not sure how it could get much better. Easily the best $200 I ever spent in terms of improving my tone, very well built and pretty easy to dial-in once you spend a few minutes with the owners manual.

It is, though, pretty much a one-trick pony. If the big, "drive-y" quasi-Ampeg sound isn't your thing you might want to explore some other options. Also I have had a couple sound guys comment about noise but I think that was due to factors other than the device.

When I recorded last year we took three channels: Sansamp, U5, and my SWR SM900's DI. Each tune features a mix of two of them ... you can hear a compressed version on myspace if you like.

The sansamp hated low notes from both my basses (5 string warwick Infinity and 6 string Miruzzi) ... we couldn't get it to not overdrive my low notes unless we had a wimpy gain setting that did nothing for the rest of the mix. If you play 5-string, I think avoiding the sansamp might be the way to go.

I love my SANS AMP BDDI gives me a nice tube tone retails for 199.00 got mine brand new at GC for 160.00 new, don't ever pay retail. NO experience with the Avalon but I heard they are 650.00 don't know if that is true or not.

I love my SANS AMP BDDI gives me a nice tube tone retails for 199.00 got mine brand new at GC for 160.00 new, don't ever pay retail. NO experience with the Avalon but I heard they are 650.00 don't know if that is true or not.

I got mine used for $450. You could probably get one for $400 if you looked around long enough.

I liked the sansamp for what it did. But I just have a clean bass fetish. Once I boosted the low end on the drive to make it match my clean signal, it just sounded artificial.

I've actually found that I like the piezo clean boost settings (along with the reggae and fat tube tones) from the sansamp. The Drive knob can make people haters (although in the mix it works).

To me the Sansamp sounds like a toy, especially when compared to a fine unit like the Avalon U5. The question is do you want to put up the extra cash and cart around a piece of studio equipment? For me the answer was yes until I got bored and wanted to try out a Demeter preamp.

I use the Radial Bassbone both for live & recording applications. I was going to buy a U5 as well, but my engineers said they liked the Radial better. I use two basses on stage, an active 5 string & a passive fretless 5 string. It keeps the volume equal on both and the #1 EQ preset on the #1 channel is just what I want. It's big & warm & I love it.

As a live mixperson who's concerned only with what comes out of the XLR, I'd put the Sansamp at the bottom of the heap. I'd have to hear a shootout between a U5, Brick, ToneBone, and Radial Active DI to pick a winner. Of course if you want features (EQ, input switching), the Radial DI would fall off the list.