Amp in a box DI Shootout

[chechunka]

I tried out 6 of the common all in one amp in a box solutions. Just going for your standard rock p bass with a pick tone. I was working fast so it's sloppy, but hope this is helpful or at least fun for some of y'all.



Will post the DI's in a few days.

 

[Zbysek]

I voted 1 as I liked it the best. I think it might be Aguilar Tone Hammer.

I liked 5 and 6 too. They were different than No. 1 but useable...

 

[Parzival]

3,5,6,2,1,4

That was just listening on my iPhone.

Will listen through earbuds later and see if I think differently.

 

[Spidey2112]

I'm liking #6, #5 and #2 (not necessarily in that order, but maybe)... $5 says one of those is a Sansamp BDDI.*

* If I'm wrong, add it to my ever growing tab.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

3,6,5,2,1,4

For me it was a close call between 3 and 6.

That doesn't mean these tones will necessarily be the best for me personally (I mainly play fingerstyle). With the exception of 1 and 4 (which I found muddy, especially 4) these are brighter, more aggressive tones than I generally use, but that's probably also partly because these clips are played using a pick.

My choice would also depend massively on the song and the mix. Evaluating the tone of a bass guitar outside the context of a mix is rather pointless IMO, but fun nonetheless so thanks for posting this! I guess my answers are based on what kind of tone I THINK will work in a song with this type of bassline. In other words, pure guesswork. But I'm pretty sure I could get good results with 3 or 6, after tweaking the tone a bit.

The tone I would probably NEVER use is number 4. That one sounded really poor to me, but I guess it depends on how you've set the tone controls. I'm sure all these pedals can be dialed in to sound completely different.

I look forward to seeing which pedals these are.

 

[ebo]

I guess it depends on how you've set the tone controls. I'm sure all these pedals can be dialed in to sound completely different.
are.

Difficult to judge pedals against each other when using only one setting on each pedal as they all have many tonal variations possible. When you post what pedals they are, post pictures of what the setting were as well. I'm in the market for something to go ampless with and genuinely curious.

 

[BaltBass5]

3, 5, 4, 6, 2, 1

 

[micguy]

I never play with a pick, and none of those are really "the sound in my head", but I might be able to twist knobs and get #3 or #6 to be something I could use.

 

[waveman]

My guesses so far are this:

1 - EHX Batallion
2 - Darkglass B7k
3 - Darkglass Vintage
4 - Tech21 VT
5 - Sansamp BDDI
6 - Aguilar

 

[3rdcurve]

6,3,1,5,2,4

I've never used a Tone Hammer, but that sounded great!

 

[groooooove]

1 sounds great. less agressive/SVT like than the others - but a beautiful sound. less lows and highs than some of the others.
2 sounds like a sansamp. it is what it is. not my thing, but a great thing nonetheless.
3. also sound great. I think this is my favorite one for several reasons. it's rich and musical, SVT/agressive sound, but realistic and not harsh- just crispy.
4. not my thing. sounds a blended distortion at low gain to me, if that makes sense. i'd guess this is the most affordable option.
5. i think it sounds awesome. it's bright and probably cuts nicely. another very convincing SVT sound.
6. these are all starting to sound the same. also sounds great. I can tell it's going for that SVT thing but it somehow misses the mark to my ears. I bet it sounds very good in a mix though.

for me it's between 3 and 5. no idea what 3 is but i think 5 sounds VT bass - like to me, but i have no idea. I'm fairly confident that i know what number 2 is.

awesome comparison, and i LOVE threads like this where we have to actually listen for reality and can't be fooled by knowing who the endorsee is, cool graphics on the box, and high price tags.

i'll likely buy whatever number 3 is when i'm in the market for this type of thing.

 

[CoreyI35]

6,5,4,3,2,1

 

[sunbeast]

3 pretty much nails "that" sound! (for my tastes of course!) I have a feeling #5 would probably work better for me in a mix where I wanted an up front dirt based on my past experiences (the grit on #3 would blend in more)

 

[ComesATime]

3 - Has that warmth. Maybe a bit of gain. Bit of tube warmth without boosting some of the treble and mids. Would have to hear it in a mix, but this would likely be my pick.

6 - Gets the gain without going too far either way.

4 - Something I could use, but I'd roll of a little of the distortion/gain.

1 - Really heavy on the bass, sounds almost scooped on the upper end.

5 - Some of those higher end frequencies emphasized. SVT-like, but it lacks a bit of that warmth. Not so much my thing.

2 - Really seems to emphasize some of the "clank." If it's the Sansamp like some have suggested, makes sense, as I never really liked mine.

 

[Wherestheone]

3 and 6 appealed to my ears more than the others. Maybe because they were cleaner sounding (but still had some hair/grit/dirt.....on them.
Thanks for putting this up. Looking forward to seeing what each one is.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I hated #1 and #4 (1 turned low notes into muddy fuzz. 4 had a crappy distortion quality, and generally muffled) but I'm sure they could be dialled in to something good.

All of the others would work, according to different mixes, and I'm sure all of them could be tweaked to sound as bad as #1 & #4.

 

[Tweea]

I voted for number 3. It's a very crisp and balanced tone without too much gain; this is the type of bass tone I strive for. I also liked #5.

When will the "amps" be unveiled?

 

[j0616bass]

3 then 6 and 5 could probably be a toss up for 2nd place. The others I'd pass on for this kind of tone (at least work the ops settings).

Fun, looking forward to the reveal.

 

[JKos]

It would be nice to have the timestamps for each. This is what I got.

#1 0:00
#2 0:24
#3 0:48
#4 1:12
#5 1:36
#6 2:00

 

[JKos]

3, 6, 2, 5, 4, 1

3, 6, 2, and 5 are all good. 4 and 1, not so much.