sansamp BD DI

[Johntheson]

I'm a guitar player of 49 years, that just bought his first bass this year. I've played bass as a fill in at gigs before, but never actually owned one till now. Anyway; I bought a Ric 4003, and an Acoustic 200H, and the matching 1x15 cab. I just bought a Sansamp bass driver DI today, and was wondering how you guys hook your's up to your amp. I ran mine straight into the amps input today, but it's a bit noisy like that. I see where it says you can run the 1/4" output in to the effects return also, but there has to be a cable going into the input on the SA though to activate it, so this didn't work for me today. How do you guys have it hooked up for best results? Thanks.
John

[cataract]

Bass -> Sansamp -> Amp

[Exploiter8]

I don't think that's right. The 1/4 output is to a tuner or another amp, certainly not the same one, and not while it's plugged into the normal amp input.

You can use the BDDI as a preamp and run it into the effects loop "receive" jack, bypassing the colorization of the amp's preamp.

X8

EDIT: Then switch the inst/line to line.

[Johntheson]

thanks guys.

[Exploiter8]

[cableguy]

remember the blend knob is your friend.

[miceli]

Just wondering on something here.
I have been connecting the input of the sansamp to the effects loop send and the output to the effects loop return on my ampeg SV350 bass head.
Is that the correct way to run this effect? Or is there a better way to utilize the effects full content. If correct, should I keep the EQ from the amp on or disable it?

Thanks,

[Bigjohn]

This is fine:
bass -> BDDI -> amp.
I have used mine that way for a long time. No noise issues at all. Very quiet.
I have also used it bypassing the amp's preamp. That works too.
But these days, I use it in front of my amps normal instrument input, to color the sound, with the BLEND about half.
+1 to the guy who said the BLEND is your friend. I think setting the BLEND all the way is a bit too much mid-neuter.
I adjust the GAIN and LEVEL (or whatever the output is called) inversely to get overdrive or clean.

Originally Posted by cataract

Bass -> Sansamp -> Amp

[Bigjohn]

Re-reading this, I don't think I understand ...
The BDDI has these:
INPUT (1/4 in)
OUTPUT (1/4 in)
XLR OUTPUT (XLR)
PARALLEL OUTPUT (1/4 in)
The OUTPUT AND XLR OUTPUT are the outputs with the sansamp tone (controls apply to these).
PARALLEL OUTPUT is just an uncolored output (buffered I think) with NO sansamp tone.
The INPUT is the input.
Of course you have to plug into the input. Otherwise, there is no signal (and therefore no output).

Originally Posted by Johntheson

I'm a guitar player of 49 years, that just bought his first bass this year. I've played bass as a fill in at gigs before, but never actually owned one till now. Anyway; I bought a Ric 4003, and an Acoustic 200H, and the matching 1x15 cab. I just bought a Sansamp bass driver DI today, and was wondering how you guys hook your's up to your amp. I ran mine straight into the amps input today, but it's a bit noisy like that. I see where it says you can run the 1/4" output in to the effects return also, but there has to be a cable going into the input on the SA though to activate it, so this didn't work for me today. How do you guys have it hooked up for best results? Thanks.
John

[wshines1892]

Sounds like my old rig, minus the 4003. I ran into the bddi and then into the front of the amp. I'm not sure where the noise you're experiencing may be coming from. Where do you have the drive knob at on the BDDI?

[spackle]

When I used a BDDI with my GK combo I ran bass>bddi>amp. When I got my bx500 head I switched to a markbass di pedal since I just couldn't get something a liked out of the bddi, but with both pedals I found going bass>optostomp compressor>DI pedal>effects return did the trick. Basically using the pedal for the tone & amp for raw power, bypassing all the amp preamp/eq except for a graphic that's last in the output chain. Not sure if the b200 works similar but i've found having fewer knobs to turn & tweak works for me.

[dave_bass5]

There is nothing wrong with using the 1/4 jack out in to the input of a amp. You just need to make sure the amps input is not clipping, or not turned down too low.
There should be no extra noise unless the treble or presence knob is too high.

[kellyrojo]

I run mine right into the amps frontside standard input with no noise issues at all. As stated before, the BLEND, DRIVE, and PRESENCE knobs all need to be monitored closely ...I never run any of these more then 50%.

You can also go through the effects return but make sure when you do this you start with the BDDI level very low and the amp gain/volume at zero and slowly move up. That signal can be crazy hot. Good luck

[tlr1293]

Could you clarify your usage of items here a bit?
I'm wondering how/where ANY tone comes from the Mark Bass DI Pro.

I too have a Sansamp BDDI and Carvin BX500. I can get good tone using the BDDI in front of the amp, but always looking for something awesome, better, or just something I may have missed.


OP:
...using the BDDI in front of the amp (not in loop), make sure the InstR/Line switch is in the INSTR position - vice-versa if in the loop.
...turning the PRESENCE knob past 12:00 will add noise to the line

Originally Posted by spackle

When I used a BDDI with my GK combo I ran bass>bddi>amp. When I got my bx500 head I switched to a markbass di pedal since I just couldn't get something a liked out of the bddi, but with both pedals I found going bass>optostomp compressor>DI pedal>effects return did the trick. Basically using the pedal for the tone & amp for raw power, bypassing all the amp preamp/eq except for a graphic that's last in the output chain. Not sure if the b200 works similar but i've found having fewer knobs to turn & tweak works for me.

[spackle]

Originally Posted by tlr1293

Could you clarify your usage of items here a bit?
I'm wondering how/where ANY tone comes from the Mark Bass DI Pro.

I too have a Sansamp BDDI and Carvin BX500. I can get good tone using the BDDI in front of the amp, but always looking for something awesome, better, or just something I may have missed.


OP:
...using the BDDI in front of the amp (not in loop), make sure the InstR/Line switch is in the INSTR position - vice-versa if in the loop.
...turning the PRESENCE knob past 12:00 will add noise to the line

Sorry, should have noted the MB pedal, it's the Super Booster. Boost off, VLE@10:30, VPF@12:00
I got my BX500+2xBRX10.2 about 2 weeks ago, spent about 1-2hrs every day turning, tweaking, you know the deal I finally dialed in a decent sound just using the head, but not the 'yeah....thats IT' sound. So i tried with the sansamp, pedal>amp, pedal>effects return. after an hour or so i realized it just wasn't going to get me there. i started thinking what i loved about my buddies MB CMD115 amp & basically the fact when I used it all EQ's were flat, I tweaked the VLE/VPF filters, got a great sound. Saw that the SuperBooster had those 2 filters I loved, went to GC last Friday AM, plugged in pedal & had a sound I loved in 5min. played a gig over the weekend, BX500 master @ 3 and the only tone fiddling I did was bumping 80Hz a touch for 2-3 songs to beef up the bottom end. so my whole chain is:
carvin LB75(J99A pups) > korg pitchblack tuner > optostomp compressor (-15db, vol@3pm, comp@12:00) > MB SuperBooster > BX500 Effects Return

[tech21nyc]

Originally Posted by miceli

Just wondering on something here.
I have been connecting the input of the sansamp to the effects loop send and the output to the effects loop return on my ampeg SV350 bass head.
Is that the correct way to run this effect? Or is there a better way to utilize the effects full content. If correct, should I keep the EQ from the amp on or disable it?

Thanks,

We don't recommend using the BDDI in this manner as you will probably drive the pedal too much and get more distortion than anticipated. The trick to using the pedal in front of an amp is to set it up for unity gain. That means your volume is roughly the same when the pedal is turned on and off.

As far as noise goes I would suggest turning down your bass guitar's volume when you feel you have too much noise. If the noise goes away that means the pedal is merely amplifying the noise your bass is producing and this will be exacerbated if you are using the pedal to generate distortion.

The blend was designed to give you a more direct sound with the SansAmp tone much like in the studio where they take a mic'd bass sound and mix it with a DI. With the blend fully up you will get 100% SansAmp tone. If you start with the drive setting very low you can achieve a more gradual break up. Also be aware that our sample settings were done with vintage 70's Fender basses with low output pickups. If you're running high output pickups you will get more distortion due to the increased output. It may be advisable to trim back your bass guitars volume in this case.

[tlr1293]

Thanks! I just may be sold!
I will have to give it a go.

Originally Posted by spackle

Sorry, should have noted the MB pedal, it's the Super Booster. Boost off, VLE@10:30, VPF@12:00
I got my BX500+2xBRX10.2 about 2 weeks ago, spent about 1-2hrs every day turning, tweaking, you know the deal I finally dialed in a decent sound just using the head, but not the 'yeah....thats IT' sound. So i tried with the sansamp, pedal>amp, pedal>effects return. after an hour or so i realized it just wasn't going to get me there. i started thinking what i loved about my buddies MB CMD115 amp & basically the fact when I used it all EQ's were flat, I tweaked the VLE/VPF filters, got a great sound. Saw that the SuperBooster had those 2 filters I loved, went to GC last Friday AM, plugged in pedal & had a sound I loved in 5min. played a gig over the weekend, BX500 master @ 3 and the only tone fiddling I did was bumping 80Hz a touch for 2-3 songs to beef up the bottom end. so my whole chain is:
carvin LB75(J99A pups) > korg pitchblack tuner > optostomp compressor (-15db, vol@3pm, comp@12:00) > MB SuperBooster > BX500 Effects Return