• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Anyone else dislike Sansamp?

#21
What a strange topic for a thread.

I never understood Sansamps myself for the longest time. Then after I saw some explanations about the intended use of their products and starting looking for similar functionality for myself I realized that they were waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy ahead of their time.

They have a big mid scoop because classic amps and cabs have them too. If you boost the bass and the highs on your bass driver and then plug into an amp that has a pre-shaped EQ and then boost your bass and highs again then your tone will surely sound hollow and fake. I know this is an extreme example but I’m trying to prove a point.

I prefer to get my dirt elsewhere and then keep the bass and treble at noon or below. If I want some bite, I’ll boost the presence. Doing this will get you a tone that you can use anywhere with any style. Is it the best tone? Sometimes. Is it a usable tone? Always!
 
#23
What sold me was when I was doing some rough demos of a new song and I played a tube screamer through a Bass Driver. It was one of the best recorded tones I've ever gotten and it was a ****** digital 4-track. I don't use it as my main sound but I plan to add one to a pedal board (when I get one) for the sound guy if he refuses to mic my cab. I will spend some time with it to not get "my" sound (because no one really cares) but a good rock/metal tone that'll sound good through every PA.
 
#25
This is what happened to me. I had a gig with no back line and got the Behringer BDI21, just for that gig. I tried using it a few times after that but didn't feel i needed it, or liked it. A couple of years later i was about to sell it so thought i'd give it one more go. For some reason that night it sounded so good i went out the next day and got a "real" BDDI and never looked back.
The mid scoop thing works for me as my cab is quite mid heavy. I find i get a more even tone with the BDDI, blend on about 11 o'clock.
I recently got rid of it and got the Paradriver, thinking it will be even better, but im finding i fiddle with it more than with the set and forget BDDI.
 
#28
I've owned three Tech21 pedals. The TriAC, the BDDI, and the Acoustic DI. All three had similar tones and problems. The biggest problem was the farty tone of the overdrive, but I was never in love with the EQ of any of the units. Of the three, my favorite was the TriAC in Tweed mode. You should give the Sansamp your full attention to make sure that you don't like it, but don't be made to feel bad when you decide you don't.

To those that say that the only people that don't like it don't know how to use it, pbbbthth! I give the pedal to another player on the same settings I used it, they love it while it was mediocre to me. You sure I don't know how to use it?
 
#29
I'm a huge fan of the BDDI and VT Bass. Both have served very well to get a good tone when going amp-less or when provided with someone else's amp. BUT, the BDDI still disappoints me from time to time. It can be frustrating trying get an driven tone with some mids or a clean transparent tone without any hiss.
When the BDDI can't get the tone, VT is the solution.
 
#30
It's not for everyone. It is for me, though. I have a SABDDI before my SAPBDDI. Adds oomph! My rack has a Parametric EQ (oh, those pesky mids) and a power amp. The SAs do what I need, and they are damn good pre-amps. I get my dirt from other pedals. The SAs are not very good at that part.
 
#32
Nope, I like my BDDI. As another tb'er alluded to, I use it to send a gritty, slightly scooped tone to the FOH and then the clean pass-through goes to the other fx and then to my amp (cab is mic'ed). Using it this way gives me the standard svt type tone as a foundation while I get to play with all of the other noise-makers on the board to change my sound. And I can mix the two channels together with the level knob or have the sound guy do it.

As a stand-alone, I think it's still a pretty useable effect but without knowing how the bass, treble, drive and level knobs work together, I can see where some frustration might be coming from. And there's always a percentage of bassists that you just can't please.
 
#33
scottfeldstein said:
Don't hate. At worst I'm ambivalent on the SansAmp line. I've owned the BDDI and the programmable BDDI; I still kind of pine for the VT Bass.

Thing is, I think a lot of guys (myself included) looked to the Bass Driver as a stomp box to sit in front of their amp. This isn't its primary purpose. Its designed to send an "ampy" signal to the mixing board through its DI while sending an unaffected parallel signal to your amp. The end. Trying to use it for other purposes suits some players just fine--and others not so much. I'm the latter. But the engineer's face when I sent him the DI from the BDDI? He nearly died and went to heaven.

Maybe the VT bass is the way to go as an effect pedal: instant big-rig, retro rock sound. I don't think it's going to satisfy every distortion itch you're ever going to have. It doesn't scratch all of mine. But for that moment when you need to sound like John Paul Jones or John Entwhistle, I don't think there's another pedal on the market that does it better.
Click to expand...

I played a festival gig and brought my bass and a Progammable BDDI and used the provided backline. The soundguy's exact words were "Finally someone who listens". Gig went off without a hitch at least for me. Sounded was good; which I'm willing to bet that because I was willing to work with the soundguy and make his job easier; he was willing to do the same for me. Made me feel like a pro.

I also used that BDDI to push a poweramp for rehearsals and bar gigs. I really only had it for a pinch type situation as I didn't have a proper preamp (my Ampeg tube pre went boobies Up). It served a purpose but when I got a rackmount pre (old Yamaha PB-1 that I still have and love) I traded away the BDDI and I haven't been back to any Tech21 products since. Just not interested and considering I currently run an SVT-CL; I've got the real thing and it's worth the expense, maintenance and weight IMO (although I do find myself lusting after an Ampeg V4b).

Back in my more ignorant and arrogant days; I talked **** about the VT Bass,...but I never played one,...so I really have no experience to speak of with the character series stuff.

Every piece of gear has a voice; it's up to you to find it and decide if it's your voice.
 
#34
I like my PSA-1, I've had it for years. But I rarely use it for bass. It gets used in re-amping guitars or dirtying up synths and vocals mainly. Occasionally I will use it on bass and it does the job fine. They used to be and kind of still are secret studio weapons, very useful to have around when you need them.
 
#35
I loved my PBDDI for both live (into my amp) and recording, until I got my VT Deluxe, which I now love more. Mostly I use it as my live preamp.
This may change when I get my GB Streamliner in the near future.

It seems the "hate" , at least in this thread, comes mostly form people who hate it specifically for the overdrive tone. that's not what a sans amp is for. As a pre amp with a variety of decent sounds it's pretty darn good. If you want bad ass overdrive/distortion/fuzz, get a pedal designed for that.
 
#36
mambo4 said:
It seems the "hate" , at least in this thread, comes mostly form people who hate it specifically for the overdrive tone. that's not what a sans amp is for.
Click to expand...

Imma have to disagree with you on this. If that isn't what it is for then why do they have a clipping section in the pedal that they advertise for getting that elusive 'tube sound'? It's part of the pedal even if it isn't your part of the pedal.

I didn't like the EQ on the BDDI. It was 1,000,001 distinctive tones that did nothing for me. Maybe it was my bass or amp that didn't jive with it, but I didn't even like it that much running direct.

I don't want to tell anyone that the Sansamp is a waste of money or a piece of crap or anything like that, only that it didn't do it for me and I worked that thing for like 6 months before I gave up on it.
 
#38
scottfeldstein said:
Thing is, I think a lot of guys (myself included) looked to the Bass Driver as a stomp box to sit in front of their amp. This isn't its primary purpose. Its designed to send an "ampy" signal to the mixing board through its DI while sending an unaffected parallel signal to your amp. The end.
Click to expand...

+1
i have a programmable BDDI as well. my first bass pedal. i was very dissapointed in it as a dirt pedal. still like it clean & to send signal to my mixer. the phantom power option is nice as well. once i wrapped my head around what it was designed to do, i've been content with it. i'm still catch myself eyeing the Bassbone though.
 
#39
I'm with the OP, in that I hear a "plastic-y" thing in the upper mids and treble that I don't like from the BDDI, Para Driver, et al.

Still, it's a staple for touring pros, and I've heard lots of great bass tones at concerts, that involved a BDDI somewhere in the signal chain.

The character series are different enough, that I think of them as a completely separate family of devices.

I don't like the (IMO) over-sensitive controls on the VT bass for live use- too fiddly. But there are some great tones in there, if that's your thing.
 
#40
mambo4 said:
I loved my PBDDI for both live (into my amp) and recording, until I got my VT Deluxe, which I now love more. Mostly I use it as my live preamp.
This may change when I get my GB Streamliner in the near future.

It seems the "hate" , at least in this thread, comes mostly form people who hate it specifically for the overdrive tone. that's not what a sans amp is for. As a pre amp with a variety of decent sounds it's pretty darn good. If you want bad ass overdrive/distortion/fuzz, get a pedal designed for that.
Click to expand...

I agree. I use it for my clean channel and pre. I use overdrive and other pedals for dirt and distortion. The Sans-amp for distortion is just so-so IMO.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back