Sansamp VT Bass or BDDI for AMPEG B100R

[envirogeogdan]

Hi, I am pretty new to Talkbass and this will be my first "thread". I recently bought an Ampeg B-100R (USA) and a Fender P-Bass (USA). And I have a few questions:

1) I am looking to add some versatility to the amp by adding a VT Bass or a BDDI. Which would sound best with the B100R?

Is adding a preamp pedal overkill? I have heard that you can not bypass the B100R's preamp because there is no effects loop.

I am looking for the "classic" Ampeg tone. I listen to a lot of Blues/Rock/Prog. My favorite bass players (and their tone) are: John Stirratt (Wilco), The Black Keys (No bass player), Jack Bruce (Cream), Chris Squire (Yes), Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), and Colin Greenwood (Radiohead).

2) This is my effects chain: TU-2>EHX Bass Big Muff>Depth Charge>DD-3. I know it's ok to put OD/Fuzz in front of the preamp but should I not run the DD-3 if I have no effects loop?

If I do use a preamp pedal, where in the chain should it go?

I appreciate any input on this. Like I said, I'm new to Talkbass but I love it. There is A LOT for me to learn. And the pedal board threads are great, although I try and stay away because I realize getting really into effects is quite the slippery slope

Thanks in advance.

[1009]

Typical answer is always mess around & see what works for you. But I've been gigging on a b100r for almost a year now & had my VT for the past four months or so. I love the VT, but I find that I need to crank the gain on the amp way down to 3.5 or so. Of course you could always go through the -15db jack too, but I'm way too smart (um) for that. The BBM into the VT sounds pretty darn sweet if you're looking for a bit'o doom. In fact the BBM also benefits from some experimentation with the VT, since I've gotten extremely interesting tones through all three switch settings.

But I've never used the BDDI so take all of that with a grain of salt.

[JimmyM]

1. VT kicks ass all over the BDDI. The BDDI hints at that Ampeg tone. The VT nails it. A VT through your B100R would nail the 60's B-15 tone as close as you can get without owning a B-15.

2. Be careful of all the preamping you're doing. The BBM, Depth Charge, and VT each contain enough preamping power to blow your B100R's speaker to smithereens. Unity gain is your friend. If you're looking for it to act as a "clean" preamp, I'd put it last before the amp.

[1009]

Of course that's right. The volume on my VT is about 8:00.

[envirogeogdan]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. I'm going to go with the VT Bass. And I am definitely going to look into this Unity Gain thing, because if it is my friend than I should learn a little more about it. Blowing my amp to smithereens would be a bummer.