Bass>BBM>BDDI>Power Amp In.

[Whease]

Hey guys. This isn't a specific question, rather, I wanted to see if you guys had any opinions/suggestions on my set up as of now. After a good deal of experimenting I think I've found that I like using my BDDI as my preamp (so right into Power Amp In) instead of between by bass and head input. I'm playing into an Ampeg B2RE and then a standard Ampeg 410. I tried using the BDDI as well as the built in preamp to color my tone but I found it to be much easier and more rewarding to bypass the preamp altogether. That being said, the only other effects I am running are a Boss TU-2 and an EHX BBM. Like my title says I'm going from my bass to the tuner then the Big Muff then the Sansamp. I tried the BBM many times after the Sansamp but found it to sound much better this way but that makes sense though right? Considering I'm using it as a preamp and it's basically like hooking it up to a head input? Any advice or suggestions are welcome, thanks!

[walker rosewood]

That sounds about right. However, I would suggest plugging into the "effects return" instead of the "power amp in." This should sound exactly the same, however it will enable the Master knob, as well as the DI out (in post, but not pre). There's a nice System Block Diagram in the B2RE owners manual that provides a nice visual.

[Whease]

So would that make the master knob on my head do the exact same thing as the level knob on the sansamp? Giving me two volume knobs?

[walker rosewood]

Sort of. The controls on the BDDI are very interactive with each other. For example if you wanted a mid boost, you'd roll back the bass and the treble, then boost the level knob. The drive/level/blend knobs also interact with each other. With the use of the amps master, you can do whatever you need to do with the sansamp to get your sound, then use the master know to adjust overall volume. Who wouldn't want an extra volume control?

[Whease]

Yeah why not right? Thanks, I'll try that out. I know that all of the BDDI knobs interact with each other but could you go into any detail of how the drive/level/blend knobs interact? I'm very new to all of this.

[SoonerMatt]

Also, if you ever want to go ampless you'll want the BDDI as the last pedal in your chain to take advantage of the XLR out.

[walker rosewood]

Originally Posted by Whease

could you go into any detail of how the drive/level/blend knobs interact? I'm very new to all of this.

I got my sansamp only a few weeks ago, so I'm figuring it out myself. The signal from my passive bass isn't very strong, so if I roll the blend back I need to push the level up. The BDDI reacts very differently to various input signals and amps. One thing I noticed with my set up is that even with the drive all the way up, it is not very overdriven. But if I use a boost/buffer before the bddi it pushes much more.

Maybe somebody else can give you more concise answers, but the best thing to do is experiment.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by walker rosewood

I got my sansamp only a few weeks ago, so I'm figuring it out myself...One thing I noticed with my set up is that even with the drive all the way up, it is not very overdriven.

you must have the blend over to the left, then, which bypasses the "sansamp" part and just gives you a clean DI. try blend cranked all the way up, then the drive well down.

oh, yeah: BBM-->boss ce-2 modded to be a bass chorus-->original turbo-tuner-->BDDI-->power amp. what else do you need?

[walker rosewood]

no, I've been using it with 100% blend. I think it's just the passive bass.