Boss ME-50B or Tech21 Bass Driver?

Elusivecyp · #1 01-30-2012, 03:30 AM

Hey guys... i am planning on buying new effects for my bass... and i cant decide which one of these 2 to buy...can some1 help me?

bongomania · #2 01-30-2012, 04:06 AM

One is a digital multi-effects unit, the other is an analog overdrive and amp emulator.

Apples and oranges.

Zooberwerx · #3 01-30-2012, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elusivecyp

Hey guys... i am planning on buying new effects for my bass... and i cant decide which one of these 2 to buy...can some1 help me?

What would you like the durn thing to do?!? The ME-50B does have a BDDI-esque option but falls short of the real thing. A lot of folks buy multi-FX units to get a taste of how different effects sound / work and then spend the extra $$ to buy the real thing in a single pedal format. Nothing wrong with that. Given all the Me-50B has to offer, I finally settled on a decent compressor, tuner, BDDI, and ChoralFlange...that's it.

Riis

Elusivecyp · #4 01-30-2012, 04:31 AM

well... tbh... i was planning on getting stomp boxes... but i cant afford many of them.. so i decided to buy a multi effects pedal to have them all in a budget price... but then i friend told me that i should buy a bass driver because of its DI mostly and cause it has an awsome EQ and drive....but i just cant edcide which one... :/

Zooberwerx · #5 01-30-2012, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elusivecyp

well... tbh... i was planning on getting stomp boxes... but i cant afford many of them.. so i decided to buy a multi effects pedal to have them all in a budget price... but then i friend told me that i should buy a bass driver because of its DI mostly and cause it has an awsome EQ and drive....but i just cant edcide which one... :/

In this case, budget price=budget sound. Unless the FX options are essential to your project, I'd go with the BDDI. IMO, they're great DI boxes with the added benefit of EQ and OD. They will make a marginal bass rig sound better if used judiciously (read the threads).

Riis

El Raro · #6 01-30-2012, 05:09 AM

The ME-5B is a good unit if you want to experiment with effects and get a general idea of what the effects sound like. However, in saying that, the effects offered in the ME-50B are not accurate representations of the stand-alone pedals it tries to replicate (especially the overdrive and synth effects).

I started off with a ME-50B and, while I loved it at first, I eventually got over most of the features and the emulated effects. However, I still use mine regularly alongside my stand-alone pedals for its volume pedal, tuner and compression.

The Sansamp BDDI is a completely different animal to the ME-50B. Its basically a tone shaping box that will make your bass sound like its being played through a tube amp, overdrive included. It doubles as a DI which will allow you to connect directly to a mixing board live and and play a gig without the need of an amp or cab. Basically, if you have a cheap rig, the Sansamp will make it sound a million times better.

old-fashioned · #7 01-30-2012, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elusivecyp

well... tbh... i was planning on getting stomp boxes... but i cant afford many of them.. so i decided to buy a multi effects pedal to have them all in a budget price... but then i friend told me that i should buy a bass driver because of its DI mostly and cause it has an awsome EQ and drive....but i just cant edcide which one... :/

Tech 21 SA BDDI doesn't have an awsome EQ for sure and as an overdrive it is pretty limited. If that's exactly the drive sound you you want to get, then it's fine.
Doesn't that Boss unit have a DI out really?

El Raro · #8 01-30-2012, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by old-fashioned

Tech 21 SA BDDI doesn't have an awsome EQ for sure and as an overdrive it is pretty limited. If that's exactly the drive sound you you want to get, then it's fine.
Doesn't that Boss unit have a DI out really?

Nope. If it did, I probably wouldn't have picked up my MXR M80. Pretty lame not to include a DI, if you ask me.

old-fashioned · #9 01-30-2012, 10:29 AM

Both are very good, "to the point" units.
I think MXR M80 is better for clean bass tones. Since it has two footswitches you can also dial between your distorted and clean sounds and set them separately.
I would categorise BDDI's drive as an overdrive, MXR's as a distortion.
The driven sound of the BDDI is more oldschool compared to the distortion on MXR. Personally I don't like the distortion on the MXR M80.
The BDDI lacks a mid control and has a rather mid scooped sound. (You have to lower both the bass and treble knobs to obtain more mids.)
SansAmp has a paradriver pedal as well which has a mid conrol...
Hartke Bass Attack is also something close to all these and worth checking (cheaper).

Zoa · #10 01-30-2012, 10:33 AM

Apples and oranges, and the Sansamp VT Bass is better anyway.

Low Key · #11 01-30-2012, 10:42 AM

I have learned that it's better to get fewer, higher quality things than to buy than more, lower quality things. If you can only afford one effect unit now, why not get a great OD unit (Tech 21) that you know you'll keep. Down the road, you can then start to address other needs.

With a few exceptions, effects are not as "essential" as other components like your bass and amp. You can survive without them, so perhaps make it a longer term endeavor. Build it over time and don't compromise along the way. This is why I don't buy multieffects units, but others like them all the same.

Having said that, I would be sure to check out multiple Tech 21 products and other competing brands. I did not care for the BDDI because it scooped the sound. I have also had poor luck with other Tech 21 products because my active basses overloaded the inputs. But do not take my word for it, because BDDI and VT units are immensely popular here. Make your own judgement.

hxcJORDAN · #12 03-08-2012, 01:23 PM

I've got the me-50b and I've played a bddi multiple times. I don't own the bddi but I'm getting it soon. The 50b has some good and bad things too it.
It has good compressor, bottom boost, and reverb effects. The distortion lacks for me though. I'm pretty sure the tuner on it isn't calibrated right either, an external tuner would be a good idea. I like the delay though. The volume pedal is great too. If those are going to be your main effects, go for it.
I plan on keeping mine and adding the bddi and an external reverb in my loop this summer.
The 50b just lacks the drive I want but I'll definitely still use the delay, bottom boost and some of the synth sounds on it in the future.

kokoshmusun · #13 03-08-2012, 01:38 PM

+1 for the MXR M80. I own one, and though I'm not in love with the distortion channel, it's a really good tool in general, at a very good price. You should try one if you can.

In my opinion, digital multifx units are great for exploring what kinds of analog effects you might want to buy, and the sound quality in these things are getting better and better. I gigged with the zoom b2 and it was very sufficient for live playing. However, there is still an audible sterility in these things that analog pedals don't have. If you plan on gigging seriously, I would build a pedalboard with all or mostly analog effects.

codethechode · #14 03-15-2012, 08:14 PM

Multi effects units are alright to get a general idea Of the sounds you want but after you use them and then compare the modeled effect with a pedal made for that specific effect they are usually worlds apart IMO. I had a zoom b9.1ut for a while I thought I loved the pedal but turned out the patches just sounded generic compared to individual pedals. IMO The boss really isn't that great of a pedal I had it before the Zoom and the zoom is worlds ahead of the boss. Plus after a while you'll get tired of carrying the thing around and if you don't put it in a bag of some sort or on a pedal board to protect it it's going to get banged up. Yes individual pedals are more expensive but thats not an accident. They sound better than generic modeled effects.

audiomitch · #15 03-15-2012, 11:54 PM

Boss ME-50B - fun, but a bit useless.

Tech21 Bass Driver - useful, but boring.

Duke21 · #16 03-16-2012, 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

What would you like the durn thing to do?!? The ME-50B does have a BDDI-esque option but falls short of the real thing. A lot of folks buy multi-FX units to get a taste of how different effects sound / work and then spend the extra $$ to buy the real thing in a single pedal format. Nothing wrong with that. Given all the Me-50B has to offer, I finally settled on a decent compressor, tuner, BDDI, and ChoralFlange...that's it.

Riis

I feel the same, I've started with the Line6 Basspod XT Pro, but after that I went for the Sansamp BDDI and other single pedals.

Duke21 · #17 03-16-2012, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomitch

Boss ME-50B - fun, but a bit useless.

Tech21 Bass Driver - useful, but boring.

I feel you are a bit hard on the Tech21 BDDI. For somebody like me without an amp the BDDI is like gold. EBS Multicomp-->Bad Monkey--->BDDI gives me lots of possibilities regarding amp emulation and OD.

audiomitch · #18 03-17-2012, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke21

I feel you are a bit hard on the Tech21 BDDI. For somebody like me without an amp the BDDI is like gold. EBS Multicomp-->Bad Monkey--->BDDI gives me lots of possibilities regarding amp emulation and OD.

I wrote that poorly

I meant the BDDI is a very useful piece of gear, but lacks the "music store demo" pyrotechnics of a bunch of effects.

I found most of the effects in the ME-50B to be kind of useless in actual practice, but fun to noodle on at home. I think I traded mine away for something equally useless