Help needed with SansAmp bass DI !!

[tabasco]

Hi,


I’ve been all over Google to try and find my answer and on this website too but despite the usual reviews I have not found any. I have just bought this wonderful pedal two days ago and despite being very pleased with the results I find the owner’s manual so concise, that’s its actually very enigmatic to me.

So if I may, and assuming I’m in the right place to do so, could someone help me out with the three little switches specifically and maybe advise me on which position best suits my needs?

I find very disconcerting that both switches have 3 names to them !! Line/Inst/Output
and Line /Inst/XLR. Also, is Phantom and Ground Connect one and the same thing or should it say Phantom or Ground connect?

I use this DI primarily as an amp simulator that I plug into to my sound card (Motu 8 pre). First question here is: XLR or ¼”? (Does ¼” mean jack ? as in cable? ) And which position do I put the switches to here? Is the -20db on my soundcard of any relevance?

Should I pay attention to the phantom position at all? From what I understand it’s a way of using the pedal without electricity. I have an adaptor so can I switch this position off?

And lastly, if anyone has the patience, what is Parallel Output for? I have the explanation here in front of me in the manual but it means nothing to me. Maybe I’m lacking a college degree in electronics!

Ok, if you could… it would be a great help to me. Thanks.

 

[PICK]

Let's see how i go. I don't have any experience with the SansAmp, but i'll say what i can.
Ok, XLR and 1/4 are the connectors on the end of cables. So you would be telling it what you're using.
Phantom, is for Phantom power. I believe some sound boards use this to send power back down the line to power phantom power devices without the need for power adaptors. Keep using your adaptor.
The -20db switch drops the input level by 20db, this stops you clipping (distorting) thing with too hot of an output.
Parallel output, on the Sansamp, would be, I believe, an uneffected output, which you could send to another amp if you wanted.
Hope that was some sort of help.

 

[slaerts]

parallel out is an unnafected out, a good use for it is for your tuner.

line/inst output is for running a power amp as a pre-amp. You will notice one has a greater output this should only be used for running a power amp. In a regular amplifier just run it in the quieter mode.

Phantom power / ground connect (on my deluxe model) you press it down to allow the acceptance of phantom power. If you are not using phantom power then it is a feature you don't need to worry about.

 

[tabasco]

Ok good ! Thanks, I understand now what parralel output means: it's the sound of my bass without the sound of the Sans Amp.

And as for Line/inst Output I m still not sure. I use a sound card ! can we slow down even moreso and tell me what "switch pushed to the right" does and what "switch pushed to the left" does ?

In any case thanks to you both !

 

[cheapbasslovin]

The two switches marked 1/4" and XLR control the range of output on your ..... um... outputs.

Line level is for running a hot signal into a power amp.

Instrument level is for running an instrument level signal (similar in output to your bass) into your amps input or into other pedals.

Instrument level signals are not as hot. If you are having trouble with clipping the input on your amp or some other device, then you will want to check this switch to see if you are sending too hot a signal (switch to instrument to lower the signal). If you are having trouble getting enough volume to sound good for an application, then you can switch the output to line and see how that sounds.

So in short:
Line= really hot signal

Instrument= not as hot of signal