BBE stomp boxes w/ SA BDDI

soloman61 · #1 02-19-2010, 08:36 AM

Novice at Fuzz, boost, overdrive effects here.

I read in another thread that the BBE Green Screamer and the BBE Boosta Grande work very well together.

BBE crusher

What I want to know is which of these pedals will work best with a Sansamp BDDI? Or in other words, which of these pedals will just be a duplication of the BDDI's drive function?

Boosta Grande = clean boost only
Green Screamer = tube emulating overdrive

Thanks.

guroove · #2 02-19-2010, 08:39 AM

Boosta Grande might work well with the Sansamp, but that's assuming your sound will be ok with a big boost in gain. If you have a heavily distorted sound already, the boosta grande will make it more distorted and give you more sustain.

soloman61 · #3 02-19-2010, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guroove

Boosta Grande might work well with the Sansamp, but that's assuming your sound will be ok with a big boost in gain. If you have a heavily distorted sound already, the boosta grande will make it more distorted and give you more sustain.

Thanks, this will actually be my first "dirt" pedal besides the sansamp drive knob, which is mainly unimpressive. I guess I am looking for a fuzz, no death metal for me. I'd like to retain some definition.

guroove · #4 02-19-2010, 11:43 AM

I'm not sure the combination will work as desired. If your sansamp is just in an overdrive setting, and not all-out fuzz mode, the boosta grande might make your sound a lot louder.

soloman61 · #5 02-19-2010, 01:24 PM

I think I was getting Fuzz and Distortion confuzed - Looking for more of a tubey O.D. sound natural and classic - probably after much research a "tube screamer" modified for bass would work.

I'll search for varying opinions.

Like most here, I'll probably never be satisified with my first purchase of a dirt pedal.

guroove · #6 02-19-2010, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soloman61

I think I was getting Fuzz and Distortion confuzed - Looking for more of a tubey O.D. sound natural and classic - probably after much research a "tube screamer" modified for bass would work.

I'll search for varying opinions.

Like most here, I'll probably never be satisified with my first purchase of a dirt pedal.

They all mean the same thing - kind of. But usually we call it fuzz or distortion if the gain is high enough to completely squash the dynamic range and give you lots of sustain and harmonics. The boosta grande increases the gain going into the green screamer to squeeze even more harmonics and gain from it.

Most of the settings I have heard used on a sansamp don't really seem to be a screaming type of distortion, but just a mild overdrive. I wouldn't recommend the setup you are talking about if you leave the sansamp on all the time, or if you are using it as a DI. If you have the drive turned all the way up, but want it to go higher, then the boosta grande should give you more drive.

blastjv · #7 02-19-2010, 01:54 PM

Just to be clear, the Boosta Grande is NOT a fuzz, distortion, or overdrive, the point of that pedal is simply to raise the level of the signal you are passing through it. It can make it SEEM like it adds overdrive if your amp or whatever effects you have after it get pushed into overdrive, but really it's just because the BG makes the signal 'stronger' or 'louder'. Maybe you already understood this, but since you said you are new to this, I thought this might help.

-John

soloman61 · #8 02-19-2010, 02:04 PM

Thanks John. I kinda knew that the Boosta was a signal booster and it could boost the signal going into different effects. (wonder what it would sound like going into a envelope filter?)

What I am planning would be to use some type of overdrive before the Sansamp and have the drive on the sansamp all the way off, Because I am using the Sansamp as a DI.

This is probably going to lead to all sorts of changes, like ditching the Sansamp for some regular DI and going to something like the Xotic Bass BB preamp

However, I like using my Sansamp xlr to board and 1/4 out to a small amp used as a monitor. also the sansamp boosts the signal of my passive bass quite well.

guroove · #9 02-19-2010, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soloman61

Thanks John. I kinda knew that the Boosta was a signal booster and it could boost the signal going into different effects. (wonder what it would sound like going into a envelope filter?)

What I am planning would be to use some type of overdrive before the Sansamp and have the drive on the sansamp all the way off, Because I am using the Sansamp as a DI.

This is probably going to lead to all sorts of changes, like ditching the Sansamp for some regular DI and going to something like the Xotic Bass BB preamp

However, I like using my Sansamp xlr to board and 1/4 out to a small amp used as a monitor. also the sansamp boosts the signal of my passive bass quite well.

Boosta grande is not what you want in this case. And it would not be a good idea to put it in front of an envelope filter if the envelope filter is working in your dynamic playing range without it. IMO, it is only useful if you need a boost for particular passages, and to increase gain before a distortion pedal that does not push enough gain.