im looking at the most basic tech 21 bass driver and wondering how it works. would i be able to plug it into my rig? head+410
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help guys, sansamp bass driver di
- Thread starter joedownunder
- Start date
if your amp has effect loop, you would run it directly into your power amp section, even then you are duplicating the speakers/cab. not sure if you can turn off the sansamp feature? I had the Bass Driver Deluxe but I used it direct to FRFR not an amp. If you go into the front of an amp I doubt it will sound good, as it is another preamp stage, and is applying EQ shaping to simulate speakers/cab.
edit: ok, just looked at the Bass Driver DI on the Tech21 site, it says it has an output for power amp input, so in this case you would not be duplicating the speaker/cab as I said above. to use it your head needs a way to bypass the preamp section and go directly to the power amp section or you will have two preamp stages and may sound muddy or muffled.
edit: ok, just looked at the Bass Driver DI on the Tech21 site, it says it has an output for power amp input, so in this case you would not be duplicating the speaker/cab as I said above. to use it your head needs a way to bypass the preamp section and go directly to the power amp section or you will have two preamp stages and may sound muddy or muffled.
I think the idea is to go directly to the sound board without an amp (sans = without). I've used one at a church gig direct to the board. Gives you more control over your tone than just the sound guy. Works pretty well but can't top the Mesa M6 I have. I tried it with the M6 but found it to be more trouble than it was worth, so I use it as a DI box. Not bad at all.
Best,
sterling4
Best,
sterling4
not sure, you need to check the output levels of the Bass Driver DI and the return of your effects loop, assuming they are both line level. It does say "to drive power amps", which means if you have an effects return and the signal levels are compatible it will work. sounding good is subjective.
Also not sure how to interpret this on the Tech21 site:
"Three different outputs to drive power amps, recording desks, PA mixers, or simply enhance your current rig"
the simply enhance your current rig? Maybe you can run it in front? Like I said, I did not use mine with an amp, I used it direct to FRFR and FOH.
Maybe see if others who use it with an amp can comment here?
Also not sure how to interpret this on the Tech21 site:
"Three different outputs to drive power amps, recording desks, PA mixers, or simply enhance your current rig"
the simply enhance your current rig? Maybe you can run it in front? Like I said, I did not use mine with an amp, I used it direct to FRFR and FOH.
Maybe see if others who use it with an amp can comment here?
i appreciate all the help though, im looking for something to give me distortion plus more tone control with my p bass. any recommendations ?
Maybe an EQ pedal and distortion, something like a Source Audio Soundblox Pro Multiwave Bass Distortion. It has EQ and various distortions in one pedal. I have the guitar version FWIW. Source Audio also has a programmable EQ pedal
While the above posters are correct, there's really nothing wrong with putting the signal through a speaker or even additional EQ. So if it's the most convenient thing, go ahead and plug it into the front of your amp. It will almost certainly not sound that bad.
This is exactly what I do with my Paradriver and love it. Also, if you plan on recording, run into the Tech 21 then to the DAW.
I use mine into the front of my amp and really like the sound. I use it for both of my bands and it works great.
They also have a unaffected or "clean" out so to speak. I use my XLR out to 1 channel and the clean out to channel two for recording. Two tracks and it gives you more control for down the road. I learned to do this when I played on a friends bands track. I didn't include the clean track and the engineer had a little more difficult time getting the tone they wanted. I had a little to much grit on my tube drive. Here's a link. Bass is G&L L1000>BDDI>board. DAW was Reaper I think.
so i read that if you plug in to the input, its a stompbox. if you plug in to the effects loop, its essentially a pre amp
The "intended" use for the Bass Driver was for it to be used as an amp emulated DI. You would plug into the Bass Driver send the uneffected parallel output to your bass amp and use it as you normally would and then send the SansAmp output to the board. This way instead of a DI signal of your guitars pickups you would now have the sound of a mic'd bass amp.
Somewhere along the way players started using the Bass Driver as a stompbox which is fine too but you may need to adjust your amp to make it work properly. When going into a mixer with the SansAmp that platform is considered flat response. When you plug into a traditional bass guitar amp that has a preamp there is an EQ curve that will alter the sound of the SansAmp. Sometimes the setting on your amp will work with the pedal and sometimes it will work against the pedal. By using the FX return of your amp you will most likely be bypassing your amp's preamp section which will make it easier to dial in.
It really comes down to what you want to accomplish with your rig.
Somewhere along the way players started using the Bass Driver as a stompbox which is fine too but you may need to adjust your amp to make it work properly. When going into a mixer with the SansAmp that platform is considered flat response. When you plug into a traditional bass guitar amp that has a preamp there is an EQ curve that will alter the sound of the SansAmp. Sometimes the setting on your amp will work with the pedal and sometimes it will work against the pedal. By using the FX return of your amp you will most likely be bypassing your amp's preamp section which will make it easier to dial in.
It really comes down to what you want to accomplish with your rig.
I tried both methods and I use mine (prog. BDDI version) in front of my amp (SVT-7pro), almost flat setting just to enhance the sound of my amp, for a extra drive without the amp getting muddy(blurry lows) like if the gain is cranked too high.
At home I play through it, and to the computer or my practice amp (old tiny peavey 20 watts), with a more SVT simulating flavor on an other channel. There is tons of way you can use and set this thing, and a tiny adjustment goes a long way IMO.
My third channel is an all out distortion setting... because I like distortion !! |D
At home I play through it, and to the computer or my practice amp (old tiny peavey 20 watts), with a more SVT simulating flavor on an other channel. There is tons of way you can use and set this thing, and a tiny adjustment goes a long way IMO.
My third channel is an all out distortion setting... because I like distortion !! |D
Been messing with my v1 BDDI lately with some new and old gear, I’m still on the fence if I like my dirt before or after in the chain (my personal dirt quest).
Right now the BDDI is at the end of the chain, what I noticed was the compression and focus the bddi provided. May need to flip it back to see how I like and can control it in high gain scenarios.
Is the VT DI voiced differently? For sure would like to try one for more tone options alone.
Now I need to stick in my head the mids are scooped out of the BDDI and to raise these frequencies I need to turn both treble and bass down.
Right now the BDDI is at the end of the chain, what I noticed was the compression and focus the bddi provided. May need to flip it back to see how I like and can control it in high gain scenarios.
Is the VT DI voiced differently? For sure would like to try one for more tone options alone.
Now I need to stick in my head the mids are scooped out of the BDDI and to raise these frequencies I need to turn both treble and bass down.
The poster stating that the SABDDI would sound bad plugged straight into your head is completely incorrect. I most frequently see the SABDDI plugged straight into the standard input of whatever amp is being used stompbox style. You can bypass the preamp and use the return of the effects loop if you want to, but given the simple/basic EQ controls on the SABDDI, you'd have little EQ options at that point. Aside from that, it just sounds better run in front of a head as opposed to the loop. Set the SABDDI for "your tone" then use the amp EQ to adjust for any onstage weirdness that needs adjusting.
The SABDDI has a bit of a learning curve to it. Make sure you keep the blend at about noon, cut frequencies before boosting them and keep in mind that flat on the presence knob is all the way to the left (boost only). A trick I learned was to not be afraid to turn the gain up and the blend more towards clean if the sound was too dirty.
I used a SABDDI for about 8 years till I got a paradriver. Now I use a paradriver instead. Been using that for the past couple years.
The SABDDI has a bit of a learning curve to it. Make sure you keep the blend at about noon, cut frequencies before boosting them and keep in mind that flat on the presence knob is all the way to the left (boost only). A trick I learned was to not be afraid to turn the gain up and the blend more towards clean if the sound was too dirty.
I used a SABDDI for about 8 years till I got a paradriver. Now I use a paradriver instead. Been using that for the past couple years.
...
Is the VT DI voiced differently? For sure would like to try one for more tone options alone.
Now I need to stick in my head the mids are scooped out of the BDDI and to raise these frequencies I need to turn both treble and bass down.
The VT Bass DI is designed to give you classic Ampeg style tones. B-15, SVT etc. It has more tonal flexibility than the Bass Driver.
I think most of this has been said already but you can run it in any of these combinations:
As a stompbox before your amp
Straight into the poweramp of your amp/poweramp
As an amp simulator/DI box straight out to front of house
There's no right or wrong with any of the combinations, try them and see which one sounds best to you. It has an adjustable level on both the 1/4" and XLR outputs so you can adjust them for line level or instrument level to match the input of a power amp. I tried all the above combinations for a few yrs and didn't like any of the sounds (was going for a slightly overdriven P bass). Def listen before you buy if you can. To my ears it scooped out all the mids and all the nice low mid hump of my P bass and added a horrible high freq fizz on top that sounded nothing like an overdriven valve amp...and yes i tried all the tricks such as using the blend, dropping the bass/treble etc. I sold it in the end. It depends on what type of OD/distortion you want. My JOYO Ultimate OD eats it for breakfast in terms of a realistic tube OD and costs about 1/5 of the price.
As a stompbox before your amp
Straight into the poweramp of your amp/poweramp
As an amp simulator/DI box straight out to front of house
There's no right or wrong with any of the combinations, try them and see which one sounds best to you. It has an adjustable level on both the 1/4" and XLR outputs so you can adjust them for line level or instrument level to match the input of a power amp. I tried all the above combinations for a few yrs and didn't like any of the sounds (was going for a slightly overdriven P bass). Def listen before you buy if you can. To my ears it scooped out all the mids and all the nice low mid hump of my P bass and added a horrible high freq fizz on top that sounded nothing like an overdriven valve amp...and yes i tried all the tricks such as using the blend, dropping the bass/treble etc. I sold it in the end. It depends on what type of OD/distortion you want. My JOYO Ultimate OD eats it for breakfast in terms of a realistic tube OD and costs about 1/5 of the price.
