Is a SansAmp Bass Driver all I need?

[topo morto]

All you need is a bass and a cord.

what's the point of the cord, if you don't have an amp? Strangling people in the small hours?

EDIT: I initially thought you had said 'all you need is a bass and a carrot', which I do agree with. Gives you better eyesight so you can spot people to strangle...

 

[pgolliher]

There are three main bass tones : boom boom, cling cling and grrr grrrr.
The Sansamp does boom boom very well, it's not very good at cling cling and while able to deliver an honest grrr grrr is rarely used this way because other boxes do it way better.
Hope it helps.

Well said. I agree. The bass driver and some compression added on the tracks sound like it will fit the original poster's needs well.

 

[dhsierra1]

Let's not forget that the quintessential "LA thunk thunk" sound was really a production trick where the bass track would be doubled by a relatively clean electric guitar being palm muted. It gave the bass a false sense of presence in the mix, but it came at the expense (or bonus, depending on your perspective) of having that thunky sound.

Listen to Steely Dan's album "Aja" for some good examples.

I was thinking more of Joe Osborn's sound back then as well as a number of Joni's albums like "Hissing Of Summer Lawns". No doubling there.

 

[Bassbubble11]

I thought I would never need a BDDI until I got one.
It really is that good IMO.

 

[Duke21]

If you like the tone of the BDDI then it is a killer box and really all what you need.

 

[jg42]

Even better - sansamp RBI, you get mids as well, aside from bass and treble.

 

[wshines1892]

Another vote for the BDDI here for a simple plug and play. Even if you find that it's not working for a certain song, though I'm not sure how, just click it off and it works fine as a direct box. It takes phantom power from the board too so you're not losing out on convenience by picking the Sansamp. The blend knob makes it useful for almost anything though, if you find your mids are too scooped out, just dial in some clean tone.

 

[jaywa]

I was thinking more of Joe Osborn's sound back then as well as a number of Joni's albums like "Hissing Of Summer Lawns". No doubling there.

The doubling thing was called "tic tac" and while it can be heard on many records of (and before) that era, this is correct. Osborn's classic sound did NOT come from doubling, but rather a beat to hell early 60s J-Bass with deader than dead flatwound strings, played over the neck pickup (bridge pickup volume rolled off), with a big ol heavy pick.... and of course Joe's otherworldly timing, taste and touch.

Carol Kaye achieved much the same sound through much the same methods in the same general timeframe, but favored a P-Bass IIRC.

 

[silky smoove]

Even better - sansamp RBI, you get mids as well, aside from bass and treble.

That mid knob is Tech 21's biggest failing. The thing is centered at 1khz, and to my ears (which don't agree with the specs in this case), there's a ton of overlap between that control and the presence control. When the gain knob is pushed higher, the overlap seems to get worse. Still capable of achieving great tones with that pre, but they should have done something different with the midrange control.

 

[jg42]

That mid knob is Tech 21's biggest failing. The thing is centered at 1khz, and to my ears (which don't agree with the specs in this case), there's a ton of overlap between that control and the presence control. When the gain knob is pushed higher, the overlap seems to get worse. Still capable of achieving great tones with that pre, but they should have done something different with the midrange control.

Maybe, I find that if I'm using mid knob, I almost never use the presence, just the drive.

 

[zarmex]

i am very happy with my sans amp bass driver, it makes the crappy amp sound like a modern beast, i always got a good feed back from the other people every time i go out for jamming, good tone, good attack

 

[nashman]

Why not a Zoom B3 instead - for about the same $ ?

 

[dhsierra1]

The doubling thing was called "tic tac" and while it can be heard on many records of (and before) that era, this is correct. Osborn's classic sound did NOT come from doubling, but rather a beat to hell early 60s J-Bass with deader than dead flatwound strings, played over the neck pickup (bridge pickup volume rolled off), with a big ol heavy pick.... and of course Joe's otherworldly timing, taste and touch.

Carol Kaye achieved much the same sound through much the same methods in the same general timeframe, but favored a P-Bass IIRC.

ditto, I recall the tic-tac bass more from the Owen Bradley era of Nashville production, ie early 60s. Sometimes I think they also used a Fender VI over a double bass. Glorious stuff

RE Joe et al, at least in the 70s IIRC a lot of tube compression, UREIs or whatever else was the big deal at the time, really helped get a percussive sound.

I realize tube compressors were around before that, but it seemed they really went for heavy compression on some of those recordings in that particular era. Just my impression, though

 

[tech21nyc]

That mid knob is Tech 21's biggest failing. The thing is centered at 1khz, and to my ears (which don't agree with the specs in this case), there's a ton of overlap between that control and the presence control. When the gain knob is pushed higher, the overlap seems to get worse. Still capable of achieving great tones with that pre, but they should have done something different with the midrange control.

This is why we also offer the RPM/Para Driver. For players that require more control over their midrange content.

The presence control on the RBI/Bass Driver DI is roughly in the 2.5kHz but works differently than a simple tone control. It also adds upper harmonic distrotion like in a vintage tube amp.

 

[Duke21]

This is why we also offer the RPM/Para Driver. For players that require more control over their midrange content.

The presence control on the RBI/Bass Driver DI is roughly in the 2.5kHz but works differently than a simple tone control. It also adds upper harmonic distrotion like in a vintage tube amp.

As I mentioned on the other thread, you guys should really update the Bass Driver. It is about time to add the mids feature from the RBI into the Bass Driver. Many of us wants both presence AND mids control on the Bass Driver.

 

[silky smoove]

This is why we also offer the RPM/Para Driver. For players that require more control over their midrange content.

The presence control on the RBI/Bass Driver DI is roughly in the 2.5kHz but works differently than a simple tone control. It also adds upper harmonic distrotion like in a vintage tube amp.

Absolutely; but to be fair, the RPM has a different "baked-in" voice than the RBI, and the distortion sounds noticeably different than the RBI as well... at least to my ears. It's not an apples to apples comparison exclusive of the mid knob, but I see your point.

 

[boynamedsuse]

If you know how the level/treble/bass controls interact in the BDDI, you don't really need a mids control (as has already been posted here and in other threads). I would be pretty unhappy if they changed anything on this great pedal. (I already have mine, so I guess in a way I don't care, but still. . . .) My [DEL]two[/DEL] one and a half cents.

 

[lustersilk]

I have been using the BDDI for about four months now (first pedal in over 20 years of bass playing). I love it. I've played dozens of times straight out of it into the P.A. I highly recommend it. I'm using a Fender Jazz into a Carvin BX1500/BRX 4.10NEO rig (almost no color at all, very clean tone). The BDDI really lets me add a variety of tone and I love the sound.

 

[Vinny_G]

There are three main bass tones : boom boom, cling cling and grrr grrrr.

Best comment I've ever read All you need to have is a bass guitar and a good amp

 

[Kael]

no. a sansamp para driver is what you need!

+1, paradriver is way more versatile. It won't quite do the same thing as a bass driver, but it will get fairly close while still having quite a few other tricks available.

To be fair, I've found one setting with my paradriver and I leave it there. If the SABDDI had that setting, I might feel differently. All you really need is one tone form a preamp. It is just a matter of finding that tone.