M80 or SansAmp?

[fisticuffs]

So as stated in my BEF thread the Hartke thing on my board is useless and only there because I own it. I want something useful there in it's place and maybe take care of some buffering/level issues as well as an extra drive tone. Which of these does everyone prefer?

[AndyLES]

I love my M80...

[mazareth]

I really like the Sansamp. I brought it to the last gig I played with a professional sound guy. To quote, "I love these things!" I left my rig in the car that day and played right into the PA.

I just ordered a VT Bass pedal. I should have it sometime next week. Can't wait to try it out at my band's next rehearsal.

[Fair Warning]

Someone gave me an M80 as part of a trade once. I had been using Sansamp stuff for a while at that point. The M80 was not even close to the tones I can get from the Sansamp stuff, so I promptly sold the M80.

[Toddbass65]

tones on my m-80 are just OK, but the distortion and blending is super on it. depends on your preferences I think, but I like mine a lot and use it all the time.

[Crater]

Word on the street is the M80 is better for dirty modern rock tones. (Best DI for metal? ) . I don't own one so I wouldn't know personally. I do own a SansAmp and I think the :SansAmp is a cleaner (but still 'warm') SVT type tone. Yes it scoops your mids with the knobs at "noon" (and blend full ON) but you can adjust those knobs, turn down the bass treble and/or blend control to flatten the EQ contour if needed. I use mine as a DI for recording or practicing through a PA, love how it fattens and evens out the tone. I don't overdrive the SansAmp or use it as a pre pre-amp in front of my amp, but plenty of people do and it works great for them.

If you want to have both amp-sim DI and a switchable drive sound you might want to consider one of the programmable versions, they make both the SansAmp and the VTbass pedals with foot selectable drive channels. On the standard SansAmp, turning off the footswitch turns off all the EQ, drive and level changes and it turns into a straight "clean" DI box.

[bassgiant15]

I like the M-80 better

[Adam Wright]

I've used both quite a bit at a local studio I do sessions at. The engineer and I always end up going with the M80 vs the sansamp and have used both extensively.

[fisticuffs]

If you want to have both amp-sim DI and a switchable drive sound you might want to consider one of the programmable versions, they make both the SansAmp and the VTbass pedals with foot selectable drive channels. On the standard SansAmp, turning off the footswitch turns off all the EQ, drive and level changes and it turns into a straight "clean" DI box.

Yeah this was my concern with the plain Sansamp. I'd really like a switchable drive and constant pre/EQ. The drive on the M80 though from the demo vids seems to me a bit over the top for what I need. Just want a bit of an edge to wake up the BEFpro. If I need heavy fuzz I have a Sublime. The programmable Sansamp is a lot more money and I already have 2 ginormous pedals taking up most of my pedal board. Any other similar options I'm not thinking of?

[sam adams]

I like the Sans Amp just fine. But I 100% prefer the M80 to it for all the things they both do and the things the M80 does the Sans Amp doesn't.

[ric stave]

Owned and tried both, they are both good in their own way, but ended up going with the Tonehammer.

[awamori]

Originally Posted by ric stave

Owned and tried both, they are both good in their own way, but ended up going with the Tonehammer.

+1

The Tonehammer is the better of the DI boxes on the market.

[fisticuffs]

So what are you toggling with the AGS on the Tonehammer? I'd like to leave it on full time as an eq and kick in an overdrive. I like the drive on this better than the other two.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by fisticuffs

Yeah this was my concern with the plain Sansamp. I'd really like a switchable drive and constant pre/EQ. The drive on the M80 though from the demo vids seems to me a bit over the top for what I need. Just want a bit of an edge to wake up the BEFpro. If I need heavy fuzz I have a Sublime. The programmable Sansamp is a lot more money and I already have 2 ginormous pedals taking up most of my pedal board. Any other similar options I'm not thinking of?

M80 dirt can be very subtle if you're careful with the blend and drive controls.

[fisticuffs]

Think I'm going to try out the M80. Feature-wise it does what I want just not sure I will like how it does it. But hey, I work for a dealer and get stupid deals and I can always bring it back on Monday!

[Crystalman85]

That depends on what type of sound you're looking for. if you want like a warm beefy tube emulated sound, the sansamp would be right up your alley. if you want more like a smooth clean non-tube emulated sound(think gallien-krueger or eden-traveller), the mxr m-80 would be a good choice for that.

[Nephilymbass]

I like the sans amp RBI. All the good stuff of the old pedal plus mid control.

[Dazonbass]

MXR M80 Bass DI+ review

this may help; it has a lot of info and opinions