I love my Bass Master. I find all the controls actually useful: when I am having trouble with the sound of a bass, or the sound in the mix, there is a knob which does just what I want. This goes beyond just "eq": being analog, the responses are more complicated than that.
It's a beautiful, clear sound, with a lot of flexibility.
In my opinion,
Pros:
- baseline sound: better than any comparable unit I tried, at any price point.
- versatility: Controls on the cab sims actually do sonically useful things. There aren't a million controls to do everything; DSM has focused on doing the core, useful things well.
- all analog: this is totally a personal thing, but every digital unit I have tried, even high-end ones, sound to me like fluorescent lights being dragged across a chalkboard. Worse, their response sucks out all my will to live. The bassmaster responds like an analog unit. A preamp like this is never going to be like plugging into a real amp, but it's as close as you can get.
- parallel effects loops: the setup isn't perfect, but it is the best parallel effects loops option in this price range.
- recording: this is IMO the best direct box, unless you get into $$$ pro units.
Cons:
- like every other preamp, the "drive" sounds awful. That is not unique to this unit, I think it's true for every preamp on the market. Though that's a matter of taste: if you like Ampeg's awful preamp drive, then you'll like this one. IMO, you can use the DSM drive to add a little bit of sauce, but no more. Don't buy the DSM (or any preamp) for the drive: get an actual drive pedal that you like to run with it.
- all analog: if you like the added versatility of digital, and you don't share my fluorescent bulb thing, then you will find the limits of control frustrating.
- not really built for live: this is not something that lives on the pedal board. You need to use the many tiny switches. If you're using it live, you need to velcro it to the top of your cab (in my experience), so then need to run cables off to floor pedals.
- spotty QC: the first unit I got had seriously scratchy pots, and the parallel channel was overdriving. The replacement unit had slightly scratchy pots, which I just put up with. I bought mine after a period where they went out of stock, so my guess is they were rushing to keep up with demand. That may be better now.
I wouldn't want to live without mine! For recording direct, it does just what I need, and no more. It's the best headphone amp. For live, it's not as essential—why have a cab sim when you have a cab?—but it's often useful, especially if you like having parallel effects loops.
