SABDDI versus Paradriver A/B Comparison

[Crabby]

I know this has been talked about many times, but I finally had a chance to do an exhaustive A/B comparison in a quiet room at a music store today. I played through a simple Yorkville 115 combo and used a variety of basses including an American deluxe active jazz, MIM jazz, MIA P bass and Yamaha BB415.

I am familiar with the bass Driver as I have owned both the original version and the programable. I have since traded away both of them but have been Gassing for another. The para Driver has always interested me but it just doesn't seem to be all that popular.

So starting off with the familiar Bass Driver, I was able to dial up a nice warm SVT tone very quickly. This pedal scoops mids no matter how much you dial down the bass and treble. Going easy on the blend is the best way to preserve some of your mids. I love tweaking this pedal. The different tone options just playing with the Treble and Presence controls can keep me entertained for hours! I usually end up missing my mids to much when using the Bass Driver but I also love the growly rock tone that is so easy to get with this pedal.

It needs to be said that the P bass absolutely shines with the Bass Driver! The two just go very well together as the low mid centered P bass just sounds angrier and more punchy with the pedal engaged. The jazz bass can sound too thinned out unless careful attention is made when adjusting settings.

Next up, The Para Driver. All I can say, is that is is a whole different animal. They don't sound the same at all. The para Driver seems to have way more gain. I really missed the Presence control and found that the eq frequencies seemed different fo rthe treble control then on the Bass Driver.

I spent quite a bit of time messing with the semi parametric mid control but was not finding it anywhere near as fun to play with as I had hoped. No matter where it was set, I wasn't able to actually enhance the tone of the jazz bass bridge pickup. The frequencies that were boostable in themids just weren't what I wanted to hear.

I couldn't seem to get the Para Driver to give me what I wanted which was the overal character of the Bass Driver with more mids dialed in.

I will say that the blend control seemed to work better on the Para Driver. It was much more obvious that I was blending in clean signal with the effected signal where as on the bass Driver, the clean signal always seems so much quieter then the effect.

After bouncing back and forth for about an hour, I was more then satisfied that the Bass Driver had much more Mojo and simply sounded better to my ears.

So in the end, I was able to purchase a very slightly used Bass Driver DI from the store and managed to score an incredible deal. The new price in $215 Canadian. They had one, mint in the new metal can packaging for $129!!

Not a scratch on it. I was delighted. This one is not going to be traded away. Now I just need a P bass.....

[boing]

What you need is to buy both and post A/B soundclips!

I bought a BDDI from another TBer recently, and I'm already thinking of ditching my GK head and going pre/power with a Sansamp in the rack. But it's hard to make an informed decision when everyone says the regular and para versions are voiced so differently. I know, I need both...

Thanks for the review.

[boing]

PS- metal can? That's like...blue LED GAS-worthy...

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by boing

PS- metal can? That's like...blue LED GAS-worthy...

Yep, the new ones I've seen come in the equivalent of a giant Altoid's mint tin, only cooler-looking.

I really prefer my GK amp to the BDDI, though. It's all in the mids for me - I boost them on my head for some serious rock-class growl and presence in the mix!

[boing]

Oh man...I got hosed on the can!

I usually run my GK with both mid dials at about 2:30, so I dig the mids of the GK. I've also run my Sansamp as an effect pedal into the GK's input, so I could use the EQ shaping. I only bought the BDDI as an emergency amp-failure back-up plan, but now I'm caught up in the tone race.

"Mr. President...we cannot allooooow, a tone box gap!"

[Crabby]

I thing despite its known "flaws", the Bass Driver DI has become a standard of the industry. I really don't need one per se, but I love the idea of having it with me in the event that I need to get a good rock tone without my own rig being handy.

Besides that, of all th epedals I currently own or have owned, I tend to goof around with this one more then any other. its just such a damn fun little unit!

[improvpwnd]

Cool post. Been using the BDDI for a while, but have been quite interested in the Paradriver... until now that is. I am still going to try one out--but won't get my hopes up!

[arbitrary]

Is the blend on the paradriver the smaller knob next to the mid freq.?

[Crabby]

Yes. Its really small and a bit of a pain to see where its set. They had to sneak it on as there are extra knobs on the Para Driver

[Swift713]

I thought the pradriver was basically the acoustic DI with a drive knob. These two are not voiced specifically for bass, but actually more for acoustic guitar if anything. They're supposed to be great with piezos. I tried out the Acoustic DI in a shop because that was the closest thing I could find around me. It sounded good, extremely dark, but I couldn't get a feel for the eq. It didn't seem to do a great deal. I think it would be excellent if you were running a piezo loaded instrument into a PA or mixing board.

[Crabby]

The Para Driver worked fine with bass and I'm sure many different tones could be had with a littel tweaking. But it doesn't sound like the Bass Driver at all to my ears which may appeal more or less to someone depending on if they like the original Bass Driver tone or not.

I was expecting the Para Driver to sound like a Bass Driver with an added mid control but its a whole different animal.

[lowendgenerator]

Tech 21 says:

This floor version of our RPM rackmount provides the same detailed tone shaping possibilities for any signal source. It is particularly useful with acoustic, electric and bass guitars, and upright bass, either direct to a mixing console or with an instrument amplifier. The Para Driver DI gives your instrument a natural warmth and presence, as if miking it through a tube pre-amp. The SansAmp circuitry eliminates the harsh, unnatural harmonics of piezo pickups, while the Drive control offers some tasteful edge -- just a little or over-the-top.

It adds an interesting twist, me thinks.

I have an BDDI on it's way out and a ParaDriver on it's way in, we'll see. Cuz I'm in the middle of recording, I'd better be able to get close with that PD, or I'll have to re-track everything.

[73jbass]

I' have done several auditions in the past where I was told I could go straight into the board,so I always took my para driver,and had no problems getting a great usable tone quickly.I don't know why you would run a sansamp into a bass amplifier to begin with. They are mainly for going direct into a mixing console,not a bass amp.

[lowendgenerator]

Originally Posted by 73jbass

I' have done several auditions in the past where I was told I could go straight into the board,so I always took my para driver,and had no problems getting a great usable tone quickly.I don't know why you would run a sansamp into a bass amplifier to begin with. They are mainly for going direct into a mixing console,not a bass amp.

I like the way it sounds going into my SVT rig, it adds the right amount of grit and girth. I also insist that FOH guys use it when they need to tap into my signal.

I'm going to try running it as a true preamp into my power section and see if I like it better.

[SnakeAnthony]

Really? Mine was almost plug in and play easy. I plugged in, and more or less mimicked the settings on my PBDDI, and then tweaked a little here and a little there. I came up with:

Level- 2
Treble- 10:30
Mid- 2:30
Bass- 1
Drive- 11
Blend- 12
Mid Shift- 12:30 (about 800Hz)
(All on the O'clock scale of course)

That gives me a very similar overall sound to my PBDDI. Bassy, and growly, just bright enough into the front end of my YBA-200. The tone is good solo, and great in the mix. I give it my favorable review. Also, I hear no noise until I am RIGHT on top of my amp, and as soon as I roll the bridge pickup on my jazz back up to full, and both are maxed, its back to silent. I was impressed.

[Silent Fly]

Originally Posted by Crabby

(...)

After bouncing back and forth for about an hour, I was more then satisfied that the Bass Driver had much more Mojo and simply sounded better to my ears.

(...)

It is strange how different people have a totally different opinion about the same pedals...

I tried the Bass Driver but I prefer the Para Driver much more. To me BD cuts the mids too much. I managed to run my PD in a frequency analyzer and I can easily a flat frequency response out of it. I am not sure I would be able to achieve the same thing with the DB.

Having said that, I understand that there are situation where the DB might be a better choice.

[lowendgenerator]

Originally Posted by Silent Fly

It is strange how different people have a totally different opinion about the same pedals...

I tried the Bass Driver but I prefer the Para Driver much more. To me BD cuts the mids too much. I managed to run my PD in a frequency analyzer and I can easily a flat frequency response out of it. I am not sure I would be able to achieve the same thing with the DB.

Having said that, I understand that there are situation where the DB might be a better choice.

I think someone here actually performed that same test with both models and came to that very pre-conceived conclusion.

[Jim Carr]

Originally Posted by 73jbass

I' have done several auditions in the past where I was told I could go straight into the board,so I always took my para driver,and had no problems getting a great usable tone quickly.I don't know why you would run a sansamp into a bass amplifier to begin with. They are mainly for going direct into a mixing console,not a bass amp.

Good with a passive bass, IME. It makes it "Active."

[seanm]

Originally Posted by 73jbass

I don't know why you would run a sansamp into a bass amplifier to begin with. They are mainly for going direct into a mixing console,not a bass amp.

I use the SansAmp as an effects pedal. I have a very clean amp and the SansAmp can give a close enough approximation of the SVT for rock and roll

I also use the SansAmp to tame really wild fuzz pedals. The SansAmp seems to have compression builtin and limits the input.

[Jim Carr]

Last Sunday, the guitarist/lead vocalist in one of my bands brought his fiddle and we worked-up a killer long-jam version of "Kaw-Liga."

He has a piezo pickup on his fiddle. Instead of plugging it into his old Fender Deluxe, I convinced him to try it into my Para DI and then into the PA. I usually use the Para DI with my double bass (upright) or sometimes with my passive Jazz or P-basses.

Ho-lee Mow-lee, Batman!
The paraDI made that fiddle come alive. I mean like great violin tone, no harshness, none of the flattened dried-out scrape bottom deadness that one usually hears from an electric violin. He was stunned, and we all loved it.

Now I am no expert on Preamps, but I have used a BBE B-Max, an ART tube channel, a tech 21 bass compactor (has a simple pre with EQ), plus the onboard preamps in my 4 active basses (44-01 Bartolini, Aggie OBP-3, Sadowsky, and whatever Korean Pre came stock in my lovely old 55-01D). I have some idea of what to expect from these, and I have played passive Fenders since the last Ice Age.

The ParaDI works very well for any passive instrument, including electric basses and especially uprights (and fiddles) with piezos.

On an electric bass with passive magnetic pickups, it in effect gives you an "active bass" with a terrific amount of flexibility, especially with parametric boosting/cutting of mids, the drive/blend thing, and a mild tube-like compression.

That said, this is a matter of taste and experience, YMMV, all IMHO.