SANSAMP BDDI vs. English Muff'n

jbird · #1 12-25-2007, 03:24 PM

I just bought one of those MarkBass 210 combo amps & love it. As I suspected, it doesn't have enough dirt for my rock songs so I'm looking for a pedal to take care of that. I went down to GC to try out a SANSAMP BDDI & an English Muff'n. They couldn't find the power adapter for the Muff'n so I coulnd't try it out. Bummer, cuz that was the one I really thought was gonna do it. What I'm after is a more natural tube overdriven sound as opposed to a lot of fuzzy/buzzy distortion. Something to make that clean sounding SS Markbass have a little more rock vibe. So I took the Sansamp home & at low volumes from what I can tell so far, it's close to what I'm looking for. I doubt I'll be able to really tell until I crank it up with the band. Can I get some feedback from you guys who own or have played both? For what I'm trying to get, which one do you think would be best & why.
Any insights as always greatly appreciated.
Merry Christmas & happy holidays,
Thanks,
Jay

SpankyPants · #2 12-25-2007, 03:36 PM

Do a search?

Oh man, that felt good.

SpankyPants · #3 12-25-2007, 03:39 PM

Okay, just kidding. But last time I poked my head around FX, there were more than enough samples to be had. Honestly, your best bet would be to try them out. Each pedal is going to sound different with different instruments and different amps. The pedals are very different, and samples are good to give you some idea of what they sound like. But there's no substitute for actually trying it out, especially if you already know the sound you're looking for. As someone who has gone through more than a few pedals, I really can't fully form an opinion about an effect without testing it out myself. Though expensive, it really is the best option.

jbird · #4 12-25-2007, 04:00 PM

Ya, I know, do a search ;-0 there's a ton of threads on all the various pedals out there. I've been searching & reading for days which is how I narrowed it down to these two. As I said, I'm looking for feedback from someone who's got both of these & can tell me how they compare on their gear. As you said the only way to really know, is to A/B them myself, which is what I'll do when GC gets one in with a power adapter. Until then, I thought I'd throw it out there & see if anyone had any further thoughts.

assboglin · #5 12-25-2007, 06:38 PM

Well, I've used both and I'll tell you that the Sansamp will inevitably color your tone a lot more whether you want it to or not, while with the English Muff'n can be a lot more transparent and true to your original sound if you want it to be. My choice is wholeheartedly the Muff'n because I like my clean tone and want my distorted sound to sound like my clean tone plus dirt, so I didn't like the EQ coloration that you will always get with the Sansamp, plus even with the presence and treble set to zero on the Sansamp I got shrill ear-biting highs... not so with the Muff'n at all. There are a lot of people who will disagree with me on the Sansamp, but that's my experience with the Sansamps I've owned. I recommend trying both if you can get the chance and deciding for yourself.

Hookus · #6 12-25-2007, 07:50 PM

Just two extremely different animals. You really need to just play both, and see which you like better. I know it is not much help, but thats the facts. I don't think one can possibly emulate the other.

idoru · #7 12-26-2007, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by assboglin

plus even with the presence and treble set to zero on the Sansamp I got shrill ear-biting highs...

I _really_ have trouble reconciling this statement with my experience of the BDDI.

Roll back the Bass and Treble to around 10 o'clock for a mid boost, dial Presence to taste and use as much Drive and Blend as you see fit to get the right flavour from clean to nasty. Easy, and sits nicely in a mix. And is totally not what you want for dirt when you're using an amp - get the Muff'n. The BDDI is a great emergency rig/cheap gear enhancer, but an under-powered grit box - there's just not enough gain. The Para-Driver, on the other hand is very tasty

ehque · #8 12-26-2007, 08:13 AM

I've only used the SABDDI and the English Muff'n. I like the tubey goodness of the Muff'n, but at extremely high gain it can sound quite weird. I'm not sure of the word to use here, but a good choice would be UNPREDICTABLE - the grit of the SABDDI was a lot more predictable than that of the Muff'n.

For lower gain, the Muff'n wins hands down. A lot more natural, like I'm actually playing thru tubes. My set up recently was Bass -> EngMuff -> SABDDI -> PA, i had the Engmuff turned on all the time at a low gain and high volume, and the SABDDI was used at full drive, low volume, when i needed those fuzzy bits.

EricF · #9 12-26-2007, 09:46 AM

As others have said, they're two totally different animals. If you just want to add a handfull of dirt to your existing tone, I'd suggest the Muff'n.

The SABDDI can be a very usefull tool, and has some good sounds, but is better for creating a whole new sound rather than adding to existing one.

jbird · #10 12-26-2007, 11:39 AM

Thanks guys for the feedback. It's helping me thru this decision making process. I found another GC store that has the Muffin & the power adapter, so I'll bring it home & comppare the two tonight.
The guy at GC said I cant use this on my pedalboard since it has a propriatary power adapter. I searched the threads on TB & see there are some other solutions. I' m curious as to what most guys do with their Muffin. Do you just put it on your board & run the power adapter separately to a power-strip?

JanusZarate · #11 12-26-2007, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbird

I'm curious as to what most guys do with their Muffin. Do you just put it on your board & run the power adapter separately to a power-strip?

Yep. There's really no other easy way to do it, since its adapter has an odd plug and feeds 12VAC with a 1000mA capacity. No universal power supply I know of (outside of an expensive custom-built one) can pull that off. However, some power supplies (like the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+) have a courtesy AC outlet that you could stick that wall wart into.

A lot of TBers mount power strips to their pedalboards for all sorts of weird pedals like those. And contrary to what the GC employee thinks, there are mass-produced pedalboards out there with built-in power strips... and they sell them at Guitar Center.

Look at a few Furman pedalboards and you'll see what I mean:

I guess he doesn't really know what they're selling.

assboglin · #12 12-26-2007, 12:21 PM

Don't get me wrong, I think the Sansamp can be a good pedal for others, but it's not for me... my point is that at any EQ setting the sound I got out of the box was vastly different from my clean tone, whereas the sound I get out of the Muff'n sounds just like my clean tone put through some dirty tubes. It's a lot more transparent. The Sansamp is better for building a completely different tone as being true to your original signal is not it's strong point.

Ryan Mohr · #13 12-26-2007, 02:50 PM

Also, the SKB professional pedalboard has a built in power strip, its quite expensive though.

EricF · #14 12-26-2007, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbird

Thanks guys for the feedback. It's helping me thru this decision making process. I found another GC store that has the Muffin & the power adapter, so I'll bring it home & comppare the two tonight.
The guy at GC said I cant use this on my pedalboard since it has a propriatary power adapter. I searched the threads on TB & see there are some other solutions. I' m curious as to what most guys do with their Muffin. Do you just put it on your board & run the power adapter separately to a power-strip?

What kind of pedalboard/poswer supply do you have now?

The Muff'n requires 12VAC (1000mA) power with a special end plug. In other words, you pretty much have to use the proprietary power adapter. The best way to power it is with a 120V outlet on your board - by powerstrip or otherwise.

nickbear · #15 12-26-2007, 06:14 PM

im a muff'n man !

love mine, i use it to add a slight amount of dirt to my tone, sounds great when using a pick i find, though i can also get a great fat fingerstyle tone out of it.

i just have a 3 way power strip attached to my pedal board, one socket for my diago powerstation to power most my pedals, one socket for my muff'n and one for my micro korg synth.

jbird · #16 12-26-2007, 07:12 PM

Thanks for all the help here guys. I picked up the Muff'n this afternoon, and I'm busy playing with both of them now. So far, I agree with Mr. Assboglin as to the Muff'n not mess'n with my tone at all!!
However, I do kind of dig the tone & sound I'm getting from the Sansamp too. They both seem to get me just the right amount of OD/warmth I was looking to add to my SS Markbass amp. I'm also trying to dial them in, to use both of them on at the same time....anyone else using these together?
Anyone see any reason why I can't keep both of these? ;-)

Thanks for the tips on the power-strip & the Furman pedal board too.

Hookus · #17 12-26-2007, 07:34 PM

I actually use that exact same pedalboard, and it is awesome. The only thing I don't like, is that you need to unplug the wall warts to get the cover on.