Looking for affordable second Preamp - DI pedal --> board

[kevinpmajka]

I have the TC Electronic SpectraDrive pedal - which is a single pedal with 1/8" stereo headphone out, 1/8" stereo aux in, and 2 quarter inch and 1 XLR outs. I travel to play with my old cover band. I need something to run tunes in the hotel or at the house the day off - I use the pedal as a mixer on my regular board for practicing (No preamp/di on ever)- and take it with me for these travel times. Has a basic compressor and drive on it too. I don't really use those. Plenty of signal. Works with a 1 spot power supply too.

These pedals were discontinued - they were $199 - now I'm seeing them used for half of that. I won't sell mine. It's valuable. It's not my favorite but it works.

It's an ok preamp - I prefer a cab sim after for full tone - but it sounds just like their bass amps that were discontinued - but prevalent in the 2010's.

Discontinued product page for more pics/videos from Sweetwater - I bought mine from there - not affiliated or promoting them.

 

[Gervais Cote]

I don’t know what you feel is affordable but the new Mesa/Boogie Subway+ Bass DI Preamp II pedal is phenomenal and a steal at $199.00.

Here’s a link to a thread about it and a link to the pedal on Sweetwater.

Thread 'Subway+ Bass DI-Preamp II'

Apr 16, 2026

• gtirard
• Replies: 847
• Forum: Effects [BG]

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Mesa/Boogie Subway+ Bass DI Preamp II Pedal | Sweetwater

Only at Sweetwater! ✅ Bulk Pricing, ✅ Easy Payments, and ✅ FREE Shipping for your Mesa/Boogie Subway+ Bass DI Preamp II Pedal!

www.sweetwater.com

I simply can’t imagine a better deal than this !

 

[dave_bass5]

I went direct through a Behringer Ultra DI as a test and it sounded great, go figure... This system is to practice along with recorded music, possibly some recording. A friend recommended the Tech 21 Sansamp... used they are over $200. The Behringer Ultra DI 2 channel is $29... am I missing something. Not really into boutique gear, just need it to work and be dependable.

The Ultra DI is a bit of a sleeper pedal. I use it with my Taylor acoustic direct into the mixer, almost as nice as going from the Loudbox amp DI.

Just wondering if anyone has run into this?

Why the Ultra DI and not the BDI-21? Thats the clone of the Sansamp. It's great, ive used one on and off for decades.
Id certainly give another vote to the MUX ML preamp. Sounds great and having the IR's on either outputs really makes a difference IMO.

 

[agedhorse]

Could a tuner out be used as a pass-through?

In many cases, yes. It depends on the design, but it’s usually some form of buffered pre everything output. The advantage of this is that it’s buffered from the bass so whatever you connect to it can’t load the pickups anymore than the input of the pedal itself.

That Mesa preamp is really compelling with two sweepable mids and HPF but doesn't seem to give any compression or OD.

I'm a fan of the Sansamp VT Bass DI. It serves as an EQ, compressor, amp sim all in one box and the pedal is basically flat with the controls at noon unlike the BDDI. I'm especially happy with the way the VTDI compresses. And it can be run on a 9V battery for the ultimate in portability.

The Subway Pre can be run off of a 9V battery by using a battery-cable, but most players are using these on pedalboards with onboard power supplies.