MXR M-80 Bass D.I. + VS. SansAmp Bass Driver DI? MEGATHREAD

I havent tried the mxr but i have tried the sans amp and it didnt really impress me. I much really prefer the sound of an all Valve amp!

I have a SABDDI, and love it, but the MXR's mid control is attractive. I'd like to try one ... it looks good. BP liked the MXR, but you know they were paid off.

I have the Sansamp Bass Driver. For the most part I am satisfied with it. I have never used it only as a DI box so I am not sure what quality the XLR output provides. I had originally purchased this for the Tube Emulation effect to add some character to my solid state combo amp. The tube emulation works reasonably good and does a good impression of a tube amp. NOTE: THERE REALLY IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A TUBE AMP SINCE THE TUBES ALTER THE SIGNAL WITH COMPRESSION AND TONE ALTERATION THAT SOLID STATE JUST CAN'T PROVIDE. THIS IS A PLEASANT SIDE EFFECT THAT REALLY WASN'T MEANT TO BE DESIGNED INTO TUBES BUT IN THE END IT WAS A NICE SURPRISE BACK IN THE DAY. With that said, the Tube Emulation does a good job of trying. The Sansamp can also be used as a stand alone preamp. The Sansamp provides BASS, TREBLE and PRESENCE controls. The only drawback is there is no MID control but you can get around this by adjusting both the BASS and TREBLE equally which will change the emphasis on the mids by changing the balance of the surrounding lows and highs. Cut the BASS and TREBLE and the mids will have more emphasis or Boost the BASS and TREBLE and the mids will have less emphasis. The MXR provides a MID control. The Sansamp can drive an external power amp though I have never tried. However, I had a problem with an intermittent signal on my Bass Head input jack which came up in the middle of a gig (Damn Murphy's Law) and I used the Sansamp as a preamp and plugged into my amps EFFECTS RETURN jack which sends the signal straight into the power amp section of my Bass Head. This provided a uick and easy way to bypass the faulty preamp on my Head but still use the functioning Power amp Section of the Head. For this reason, I will NEVER get rid of my Sansamp. It paid for itself in one night and saved my A--. The Sansamp sounds decent as a preamp but is not really designed to sound so good that it will send SWR, EDEN or whoever you think sounds good running in their tracks. I would compare the tone to that of a budget amp when used as a Stand Alone Preamp. When I use it with my Hughes & Kettner BassBase 400 head...well...the H&K sounds so good and clean that I don't notice any tone missing. I am also playing thru a G&L ASAT bass which has awesome tone by itself. If you are looking into the Sansamp to give you better tone then you really should look into whether your existing amp and bass should be upgraded or replaced. The Sansamp won't clean up your act if the rest of your equipment is not up to par. I have never tried the MXR but I would imagine that it will be comparable to the Sansamp. In any case, either one is worth having if you ever have a problem like I did with a faulty input jack on your amp. Listen to both in the store or thru mail order (with a satisfaction guarantee so you can return if you don't like) and compare. Let your ears guide you, not the product specs.

Lovin Bass, this is a great post of yours IMHO.
But would you mind to use paragraphs sometimes?
Thanks.

I am new to this and am still picking up on talkbass etiquette. I agree that paragraphs would help. Thank You.

Sound unheard, the good wifey will be picking up an M80 when she's back in the states this month.

The reason?

1) midrange control
2) not just distortion, but switchable contour/boost as well

and the main reason...

3) an adjustable noise gate on the distortion channel

BP gave it a rave review, it's cheaper than a SansAmp, and IMO the SansAmp, while sounding nice, didn't really do much to excite me.

in defense of the Sans Amp BDDI, The controls are interactive with each other to get an ideal tone automatically. It's a fool proof box.

very true, you mid heavy people that hate the SABDDI because of this... try 12" speakers... the SA leaves enough mids to cut if need be.

I like the amount of mid my SA tone has

Hey all,

Here's my 2 cents. I too purchased the bass driver DI after hearing a bunch of good reviews. My current rig is a Spector NS4CR into an Ampeg SVT Pro3 then into a Genz Benz 4X10. I was looking for the lowend growl that I couldn't seem to get. The Sansamp wasn't the answer. It does ad a bit of noise. Not enough to really matter but noticeable. I feel that it just mushes out the bottom end. Definately didn't add the focus or growl that I was looking for. I think this would be more effective for guys running cheaper combo rigs. I just didn't feel that it added anything to my setup that I couldn't get by adjusting my amp's settings (tone, gain etc).

This is just my input your mileage will vary.

Kurt, you hit the nail on the head - the exact same thing I found when i've tried one.

i picked up an m-80 yesterday at guitar center. i've been looking for something to make my amp sound better cause i've never been real happy with it's tone. i tried it out at the store and was like "i need to buy this!" it even has decent distortion with an adjustable noise gate. i guess the higher the gain is the less low end you have but i don't mind that much since i don't need lots of gain. the eq is great though. the color switch adds a little boost and doubles the tone basically. it really makes my amp sound like it cost double what i paid. gives me a good marcus miller like tone that i like. i haven't tried the sansamp yet but i probably wont' since i already bought this. i recommend it. only thing that i don't like about it is that it would be easy to step on the knobs accidentally and move them. otherwise it's great IMO.

i paid about 120
well worth it i think. i was expecting to pay more actually.

Hi all,<-- new here(LOL), saw your post pink and thought I could add a couple of pennies to the mix. I run the SA Rack Mount RBI with my Hartke Head and Other Pedal Effects.....and I get a Kick hinney sound with it!! I love it and plan on buying another to run them together, one clean and hard and the other for hard and raunchy. What I think is most important, no matter how much you learn, hear, see and get completley pummeled upside your head by the great media sales and marketing giants selling us everything in the world and the world too, its all about how "YOU" like your sound! Imho, what you like today, you will change tomorrow, and so it go's, for we are a strange species, plucking at our strings or banging at our skins or tickling our ivorys, whatever it may be...musicians are a fussy breed! Be well and Happy............!

Y.I.T.B.O.T.P.

I am picking up the M80 at Guitar Center today for $112. The best I've seen the SansAmp is $169 at BassNW. We use the Bass DI at church sometimes so I will be able to compare them soon.

MadPink,

Thats about $190 CDN ($220 w/tax)
I just picked up a SABDDI from L + MCQ for $275 (w/tax = $316).

Pretty expensive, actually. Luckily I had some gift certificates left over from X-mas.

I'm still getting used to the SABDDI but it makes a huge difference in my sound

Sorry for my ignorance here, but where does distortion fit into church/praise/worship music?

zZounds has the M80 for $114 at the moment, too...