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mxr m80 bass di...

J

jpark369

Jun 2, 2007
498
6
Portland, Maine
#1
i just got the mxr bass di. i used it in a gig tonight and i have to say i do like it, but it is a little weak on cutting through the mix. it puts out some deep bass tones, and i was rockin the whole bar, thats or sure, but its not as good as i expected. and the distortion sucks.

im in a toos up betwe the mxr and the sansamp. im looking into trading it in for the sansamp di. ive read alot of good things about this di and i was wondering if you think this is better than the mxr. i mean better like, overall sound quality, projection, shaping, and tone modeling. help me out. anyone experianced both of these products and have an opinion? thank alot...
 
#2
Haven't had any experience with the Sansamp, but I did a session a couple of months ago and the producer wanted to use the MXR on my bass. I hadn't really heard of them before that. It sounded awesome on the track. Gave my Warwick Fretless the warmest sound. I'm now running the EBS preamp/DI which sounds great (not real easy to use though).
 
#3
What bass were you using? Did you use the color button on the MXR?

I use it with a Precision bass and through my amp I don’t like the sound of the color button. It just adds to much bottom end and the mid scoop makes it muddy. Through the PA though the color button does fatten up the DI signal.

I don’t mind the distortion, with the blend set at 10:00 you get plenty of your own bass tone to keep the lows in.
 
#4
keep in mind: the recording world and the live world are... worlds apart. two different animals. yes, they're both animals... but one's a tiger and the other's a killer whale.

personally, i prefer the sansamp. i feel it has a much better sound, overall. if you like the tube-amp warmth, then you'll dig the sansamp. you may want to consider the Para Driver DI over the Bass Driver DI. they are essentially the same, but the Para gives you a little more control over the mids. the mids are very important when dealing with "cutting through the mix." you won't get crazy distortion out of it, but you'll get a good amount of grit and drive.

i like the sansamp for recording, as well... but there are usually so many more tools used in the studio than live. a typical bass line is split into at least two simultaneous tracks (say, sansamp on one, clean amp tone on the other) which are then mixed together for the best possible tone. not to mention the fact that you get many more chances to get it right.

i'm not sure if this post has been helpful.... if so, cool!
http://[malware url removed].net/vicious-smiley-1815.gif
 
#5
im trying to deside which of these two pedals to get too. what i like about the mxr is you can easily use it without the dist. and then turn the dist. on with a stomp, while with the sansamp you either use it as a distortion pedal only or have to turn the drive knob.

my question is do you guys "who have one of these pedals" use it as a DI/to shape your tone or as a dist. pedal; or both.
 
#6
I use my M-80 for tone shapping.
First channell for fingerstyle, second for slap (no distortion).
And, of course, I use it as a DI when needed.

But I wanna try the SD Paranormal, since it has eq, slap switch and a DI - all the things I really need.
 
#9
bass_Lee said:
im trying to deside which of these two pedals to get too. what i like about the mxr is you can easily use it without the dist. and then turn the dist. on with a stomp, while with the sansamp you either use it as a distortion pedal only or have to turn the drive knob.

my question is do you guys "who have one of these pedals" use it as a DI/to shape your tone or as a dist. pedal; or both.
Click to expand...

All three, tone, distortion and DI
 
#10
I've owned the MXR and the Sansamp. In my book, the MXR wins, hands down.

But if your bass isn't cutting through, maybe the pedal isn't what's to blame. Maybe it's your guitar and your amp? The MXR only enhances what's there in my experience, it doesn't make up for anything else you're missing.
 
#13
The Mxr sounds very good for me, I use it with the color switch on and then I put lots os mid on the eq with the lows and highs flat. The distortion with the gain at 12:00 and the blend knob at 9:00, I set the volume of the distortion channel a little bit louder than the clean (about 15%), so it works as a boost channel with a little grind.
I use it with my Jazz Bass with Noiseless pickups and my B2-r with GK 4x10 cabinets.
It seems to me it works better with passive basses.
 
#15
I posted this on another thread about the MXR M80 but that thread was specifically about the color button and it may have got a bit lost so apologies for repeating this here.

In the M80 manual it has some sample settings used by Robert Trujillo amongst others. He has 2 examples, one called IN-LINE SETTINGS and the other TOBIAS CLASSIC 5. The TOBIAS CLASSIC 5 are self explanatory as that’s what he’s using with that bass but what is meant by the IN-LINE SETTINGS ?
 
#16
the low one said:
I posted this on another thread about the MXR M80 but that thread was specifically about the color button and it may have got a bit lost so apologies for repeating this here.

In the M80 manual it has some sample settings used by Robert Trujillo amongst others. He has 2 examples, one called IN-LINE SETTINGS and the other TOBIAS CLASSIC 5. The TOBIAS CLASSIC 5 are self explanatory as that’s what he’s using with that bass but what is meant by the IN-LINE SETTINGS ?
Click to expand...

I would guess In Line refers to settings used through an effects loop, as opposed to in front of the amp? That's just a wild guess though. Seems weird to make that distinction, but I can't imagine what else that could mean.
 
#17
I've only used it as a DI live once, but I do like the distortion sound!at least while playing with a pick, I still havent found an adequate fuzz/od/distortion for fingerstyle playing!
In any case, I'm going into the studio to record a new album with my band next week and I will be sure to use it there!
great pedal!
 
#19
Try both! Works for me. Just got the new SANSAMP BDDI V2 with mid controls and extended low range. (note: MXR M80 and M87 Bass Compressor work best, IMHO, before the SANSAMP because SANSAMP has tube emulation and cabinet simulation. In addition, the BDDI
IMG_20160924_170538.jpg
acts as my amp going into the Radial SB-2 and to the effects return of my amp )
 
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