SansAmp BDDI vs. VT Bass: Am I nuts?

[John Bigboote]

Or (tone) deaf?

I recently acquired a VT Bass here on TB, and dialed it in to "my sound" (as I imagine most everyone does; I'm sure it's a very subjective thing). And after playing with it for a few days, I decided I was very happy with it.

So tonight, I rigged up an A/B setup with the BDDI Deluxe I've been using to gig, and... yeah, you guessed it... they sound almost exactly the same.

True, I'm not going for an overdriven sound for either. But I do get that round, full, meaty sound that I love through my rig. And I know that, in a live setting, the two would be indistinguishable.

With all this love for the VT Bass (and much corresponding contempt for the BDDI), am I nuts? Or do these pedals sound virtually the same at moderate levels, and the differences only show themselves if you push the pedals into overdrive (which I don't care for)?

-jb

[cybersnyder]

Don't take this wrong, but since you asked, yeah I think you're nuts.

To me the BDDI kills the mids and the VT has a feel and a presence that the BDDI doesn't have. IMO, IME, YMMV....

[pasta4lnch]

ooh, curious to know - I really dig my SABDDI and wanted to know if the VT would be redundant . . .

[bass dan]

i had a similar experience with my vt pedal. It just so happened that the sound i liked with the vt pedal was the same sound i liked with the bddi. The vt can do alot of different sounds but the one i liked best was just like the sound i dialed in on my bddi. Ended up selling the vt because i already had the bddi.

[cybersnyder]

Just curious, the sounds that you think are similar between the two - are you using distorted sounds? I'm primarily use my VT for low to no drive sounds. That's where I think the two are night and day different.

[jmattbassplaya]

I`m interested in this too. I`ve been looking into getting the BDDI and I`ve been curious about the VT.

[dkhp124]

I'm thinking.. Even if your rig sounds great to you when it's right next to you, wouldn't the BDDI get more lost in the mix than the VT Bass in a band setting at a gig? I think VT Bass's mid presence would help it cut through better and the BDDI's tone might end up being slightly muddy. Is there too little of a difference in the two to have that be a problem?

[WildTrkey]

I just finished a little AB test myself with the two. (Currently building my board)
I tried my best to find the settings on these pedals that most resemble each other and I couldn't. They just seem to be voiced different. The BDDI seems to have a nice presence besides the lack of mid CONTROLS. The reason I bought the BDDI was to cut through and it does just that. Given, I have been running mine through my amps instrument input, so I have been able to counter-balance any loss of mids. The mid loss is certainly more prominent when used as a pre-amp through my effects return (where it sounds best, IMO). The VT, to my ears, has a much higher sensitivity to upper harmonics and that seems to present itself in the form of distortion, breakup, etc.. Where the BDDI is more of a guttaral distortion, the VT is SCREAMING. The mids and upper mids just seemed to be voiced differently than on the BDDI, which has a pre-set mid freq., I guess is what I'm trying to say.

[MIJ-VI]

Does the BDDI have the VT's 8x10 cab sim roll-off below ~60Hz?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

Or (tone) deaf?

I recently acquired a VT Bass here on TB, and dialed it in to "my sound" (as I imagine most everyone does; I'm sure it's a very subjective thing). And after playing with it for a few days, I decided I was very happy with it.

i think most of us do that with gear, and if we were given both, we would try to make them sound similar. i greatly prefer the vt, but i imagine if i had a bddi i'd try to get a sinilar tone.

[Nikoubis]

Originally Posted by MIJ-VI

Does the BDDI have the VT's 8x10 cab sim roll-off below ~60Hz?

Tech21's "cab simulation" is merely a roll-off of the extreme lows as well as anything over 5-6kHz and IME it's roughly the same on all their offerings. I haven't heard anything distinctly "8x10-ish" on the VT...

[DosiYanarchy]

Originally Posted by bass dan

i had a similar experience with my vt pedal. It just so happened that the sound i liked with the vt pedal was the same sound i liked with the bddi. The vt can do alot of different sounds but the one i liked best was just like the sound i dialed in on my bddi. Ended up selling the vt because i already had the bddi.

This is essentially hitting the nail on the head. I love my VT and loved my BDDI before that (until i realised i couldn't hear myself properly in the mix), I far prefer the VT because of the abundance of further controls over the midrange, but if you love what the BDDI does for you then there is NO REASON to get the VTbass if you're just going to go for the same setting on it.

I seem to pick up on alot of people who hate mid-scoops because it can loose you in a band mix, but a mid-scoop can also provide a very smooth pleasing bass tone to the ears. I prefer a mid-heavy tone, which is why I have the VT now.

[Volume4]

I wouldn't say owning both is redundant.

First. Before the VT, the BDDI was the cats meow for many years....I had one for a long time and it was an essential part of my rig.

When I picked up bass again last year, I chose to go with the VT pedal first but I am going to buy another BDDI when I can.
I also bought the Behringer BDI21, which for $30 is great. If you like the Behringer, you'll LOVE the BDDI.

Without having them head to head yet, from what I remember... while not so thrilled about the VT with the drive past 1 o'clock, I used to happily put the drive on the BDDI at 3 o'clock. Everything else though, I prefer the VT.

If you're buying one or the other to cop an SVT vibe, than go for the VT, but both are much more than just an "SVT in a box" pedal.

[John Bigboote]

Originally Posted by cybersnyder

Just curious, the sounds that you think are similar between the two - are you using distorted sounds? I'm primarily use my VT for low to no drive sounds. That's where I think the two are night and day different.

No, I'm decidedly *not* using distorted sounds. On the VT, Character and Drive both a bit below noon. IIRC, I found happiness with the bass around 1:00, the mids around noon and the treble around 11:00. If I understand correctly, the VT is voiced with some treble, so noon on the treble (all others being equal) is actually boosting the highs a bit.

Also, all this talk about the BDDI scooping the mids... First, if the VT settings above describe scooped mids, then I guess it does. But at those settings, both units sounded virtually identical to my ears, and through my rig. I guess I take T21 at their word: You want to boost mids on the BDDI? Cut treble and bass, and adjust level/drive accordingly. On my rig at least, my mids sound fine.

Disclaimer: This is in my practice space, at reasonable volumes. Both would be subject to change at a venue.

BTW, I'm going directly to a power amp with both. No eq after either box.

-jb

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

No, I'm decidedly *not* using distorted sounds. On the VT, Character and Drive both a bit below noon.

drive a bit below noon and it doesn't sound distorted? my vt screams pretty good with the distortion up that high. definitely enough distortion for bowzer to yell at me..."Hey, ACDC! Don't forget you're playing doo wop!"

[John Bigboote]

Well, IIRC. Things got ugly real quick from noon on up. Of course, all the damn knobs interact to drive the final sound. And I don't know about you, but I'm driving a power amp and not a head or preamp, so I'm not overcooking the signal.

... I guess...

-jb

[svtb15]

Thanks i needed a laugh today.. Thats pretty funny! Hey AC-DC... genius.
Man i saw bowser years ago when they opened a show for Frank Zappa at the Nassau collesium in NY.. I was a Zappa fan way back..

Originally Posted by JimmyM

d"Hey, ACDC! Don't forget you're playing doo wop!"

[mellowgerman]

I've owned both... liked the VT more... but I no longer have either.
I found all that I need in my amp and my MessDrive Hybrid Plus.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

Well, IIRC. Things got ugly real quick from noon on up. Of course, all the damn knobs interact to drive the final sound. And I don't know about you, but I'm driving a power amp and not a head or preamp, so I'm not overcooking the signal.

... I guess...

lol! ok, good enough for me

[*insertcoolname]

The broken record is playing again...Yes, the BDDI cuts mids with all controls at noon. Yes, that will get you lost in the mix. I never found it terribly difficult to cut the lows and highs on my BDDI, allowing for a mid boosted signal. It literally takes the twisting of two knobs.