Tech 21 Sansamp for live use instead of real amp?

[stranded horse]

We got some nice pa bass boxes for free, and our bassist's amp (i play guitar in that band) is broken (again...). I was wondering, if we could simply use the Sansamp instead of the amp, like this:
bass -> fx -> sansamp -> mixer -> power amp -> pa

so there would be no specific bass amp at all in this chain.
do you think it works?
how much of a preamp is the sansamp by the way? is it comparable to other external preamps, or is the power more like that of an onboard preamp?

[treekiller]

IIRC, Geddy Lee did it for years.....

[AwkwardLoudness]

It is quite common for bassists to run a DI box direct to the PA mixer.

Personally, I like the dynamics and tone of a roaring tube amp, but a DI box is very convenient and will sound good with a good PA and sound man.

Originally Posted by stranded horse

how much of a preamp is the sansamp by the way?

The Tech 21 sansamp is a preamp although I'm not sure how to quantify 'how much' preamp is there.

[stranded horse]

well how do you define preamp?
an aguilar obp and an swr marcus miller are both called preamp but they are quite different I guess. is the sansamp something in between an onboard preamp and a big preamp?

[craig.p]

Originally Posted by stranded horse

We got some nice pa bass boxes for free, and our bassist's amp (i play guitar in that band) is broken (again...). I was wondering, if we could simply use the Sansamp instead of the amp, like this:
bass -> fx -> sansamp -> mixer -> power amp -> pa

so there would be no specific bass amp at all in this chain.
do you think it works?

It will work.

Originally Posted by stranded horse

how much of a preamp is the sansamp by the way? is it comparable to other external preamps, or is the power more like that of an onboard preamp?

The v1 variant was closer to the latter. The v2 (currently shipping) variant is closer to the former, though it doesn't have quite the output of the pro-grade rackmounts but it comes close enough in that regard to be able to drive many/most power amps to full output. However, don't get caught up in that, 'cause it's n/a to your application.

BTW, I'm talking only about the BDDI specifically. "Sansamp" covers a whole lot of ground, product-wise.

[drdunwoody]

I've done just that and it works great (provided you have a decent PA). Very handy and reduces gear. For REAL small gigs (playing a small restaurant or bar where I am shoved in a corner), I bring the Sansamp BDDI and go straight to the PA to save space and keep the volume down. For medium size gigs (for me that is 150-300) people, I bring my amp and the Sansamp. I run through the sansamp after my pedal board and run the signal to the PA and my amp. I had my amp overheat once in the middle of a show and I kept playing because my signal was also going through the PA. I just asked for more bass in the monitors and did the rest of the show without the amp.

[sricks3]

The BDDI can sound really nice. I've used it to as an "amp replacement" unit before. I'm pretty sure that's the idea they were getting at when they named it "Sansamp." It also has a tendency to make cheap/dull rigs sound much nicer and more exciting.

IME (and lots of people have agreed with me), the BDDI tends to cut out a lot of your mids, and since there's no mid control, it can be hard to counteract. Thus, if you like prominent mids (like I do very often), it might not be for you. The "drive" control can get you anywhere from clean to REALLY nasty, and you have to be careful with the "presence" control not to sound too bright - even harsh.

In short, if you're looking for a "Ampegish" sound and won't miss some of your mids, the BDDI can make you sound really sweet. However, if you're inexperienced with sculpting a bass' sound and like to turn the knobs a long way, the BDDI can make you sound really awful.

[Downunderwonder]

Originally Posted by stranded horse

We got some nice pa bass boxes for free, and our bassist's amp (i play guitar in that band) is broken (again...). I was wondering, if we could simply use the Sansamp instead of the amp, like this:
bass -> fx -> sansamp -> mixer -> power amp -> pa

so there would be no specific bass amp at all in this chain.
do you think it works?
how much of a preamp is the sansamp by the way? is it comparable to other external preamps, or is the power more like that of an onboard preamp?

Depends on your "nice" boxes, either they will make bass or they won't.

I have a sansamp RBI. It's basically a "bass amp" without the power stage. It will easily push a mixer into clipping if you turn it up too much. I imagine the pedal versions are similarly grunty.

[onosson]

I just took my 1st gen Sansamp BDDI on the road for 11 days without an amp (fly-in, fly-out gig). It works great, I prefer having the reliable consistent sound of the Sansamp to whatever random amp the venue may have on hand. In fact, the couple of shows on that tour where I did use the house rig, I regretted not setting up the Sansamp instead. I prefer having my own amp, which I know inside and out, but the Sansamp is a very effective replacement.

The comments above about not overdoing it on the settings are 100% spot-on. I usually push the bass a tiny bit (1:00), duck the treble the same (11:00), level at 12:00, drive at 9-10:00, and mix/blend (I forget what it's called) somewhere around 10-11:00.

[Noose]

I am doing exactly what you are considering and there are some issues you should be aware of.

First if you run to a mixing board, you will be fine assuming you have a decent sound system
Running straight to a power amp can be problematic depending on the power amp. Some power amps want a little more from your preamp to run efficiently. I ran into this problem and a guy from tech 21 suggested I get something called a line level shifter to boost the signal from my bddi. I've got it ordered so I don't know for sure if it will fix my problem but I will let you know when it gets here.

[stranded horse]

oh yes, we play dub, every instruments runs into the mixing board first, even my guitar before it goes to my amp (i wouldnt want to miss my roland jc for that music), so that should be no problem