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Amp has no tone control: Sansamp or EQ?

I disagree with people dogging your amp. One of the great things about the VJ is that your preamp is modular.

The biggest difference between a Sansamp and a normal eq is that the Sansamp has a bit more of a baked in sound than an eq will. 1001 sounds, but all centered around a 'Sansamp' tone. If you like the Sansamp, then it's the best. If you don't, it's less so.

Any old pedal will get you started, IMO. New Behringer, old DOD, pick one.
 
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The biggest difference between a Sansamp and a normal eq is that the Sansamp has a bit more of a baked in sound than an eq will. 1001 sounds, but all centered around a 'Sansamp' tone. If you like the Sansamp, then it's the best. If you don't, it's less so.

This provides the basis for me to decide my answer perfectly.

From here, I can do some rough testing with my computer and some amp sims and figure out which direction I want to go.

Thank you.
 
I have a Fender Champ 600. 5 face melting watts of tube power. It has a volume knob, an on/off switch, and hi - lo inputs. I use it for practicing guitar since I don't own a guitar amp anymore. Decided to plug my bass into it and it sounds pretty good all things considered. Mine has an upgraded tube and speaker.

I'm still in the process of trying pedals out on it but my digitech Flanger sounded pretty good. So did my MXR 10 band EQ pedal. However, if you really decide to push the bass frequencies on the amp, it becomes less and less useful.
 
Yes. Get a Sansamp

I like the one with sweepable mids. I'm not sure if these are pros or cons:

*The pedal's tube emulation character will overwhelm that of the amp.

*3 EQ bands...enough for me.

*Some degree of compression and OD by design.

*Can be used if you upgrade to a larger amp.

Two of my rackmount preamps are essentially glorified BDDI's.

Riis
 
For quiet practice sessions, I would not do a guitar amp. I'd do something like this:
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And those stellarlabs headphones are the best under $200 headphones I've ever experienced ($20 at MCM). Bass that makes you think there is a subwoofer in the room yet not a bit boomy.
 
My bass sounds like crap through headphones without this WMD - Utility Series Pedals but you need a 9 volt supply, no battery compartment.

I would go with a little amp if I had to do this again though like the tc electronics BH250, amp, tuner, eq, headphones out, di, mp3 in, even some grit or compression to boot. Costs a little more than just an eq box, but all my pedals, and power supply cost me way more.
 
Given your goals, I have a unique suggestion. It sounds like what you're missing is the lowest tones. That means that your speakers are inadequate, not your EQ or amp. So you need speakers that can produce lower tones.
Look at Parts Xpress or Amazon for a Dayton Audio Puck (get the 8 ohm version) and DTA-1 amplifier. You can split the output from the Zoom to a pair of headphones and to the DTA and then to the Puck. The Puck goes into a pocket or you can rig a way to hook it to a belt or your bass strap. The Puck vibrates and sends the low frequencies to your ears via nerve conduction and the headphones provide everything else. This will give you what you're missing and be a damn sight cheaper and less bulky than a proper bass amp. Total cost is around $70.
And even if you can't afford that, the Puck is $20 and you can use your Epi Jr. to power it. You can split your Zoom signal to the headhphones and Epi Jr. PM me if you're interested and I'll walk you through the procedure. Cheers!
 
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