Modeling D.I. boxes

[bryan gibson]

I just picked up a WTDI for my ampless setup. Not sure if I love it yet or not. There's a ton of sweep in every knob, so finding a "sweet spot" is a time consuming adventure. Not to mention it's really sensitive to input gain. But it's built like a tank and I'm slowly dialing it in. As long as I don't switch basses during the gig.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey bass dudes

I'm considering buying a pedal-sized amp modeler which I can leave in my bass bag for emergency situations at gigs - XLR out is pretty much essential.

There's quite a few different ones out there nowadays - I usually play Rock'n'Roll/60's/Motown kind of stuff so I'm after something that can accurately get those old school muffled sounds well. I like tubes but for emergency situations it's not essential really so long as I've got a bit of tone-sculpting...

I've got a Line 6 PodXT which is great for amp/"general decent sound" modelling but it's not as portable/pedal-like as it could be...they're pretty big lumps and haven't got an XLR out

Any suggestions I've not put in the poll would be welcomed! (I've probably missed/forgotten about a few options...)

I use the Eden WTDI when using IMEs, but run it flat with a bit of compression. The sound guys love it. Now that said, it is not a modeling pedal, but it’s a great DI and resonable price wise.

As for getting that “old school muffled” sound, that’s going to come mostly from your bass. If you go to the Flat Wounds R Us forum, maybe someone over there will part with a 40 year old set they’ve stashed in the trunk of their car (unwrapped of course) for a special occasion...

 

[fasterpussycat]

I'm considering buying a pedal-sized amp modeler (EDIT: or preamp) which I can leave in my bass bag for emergency situations at gigs - XLR out is pretty much essential.

Have a Darkglass Vintage Ultra for just this scenario.

 

[pbass6811]

None of these are modeling units. They're preamps with a DI.
Out of these, the SCR-DI will be the best fit for a classic rock tone.

Exactly! There's actually only been one or two modelers mentioned and there none on your poll. If you just want a preamp, I'd determine your budget first...

For not much money, you can get a great sound with a BDDI v2, a VT Bass DI, or the SCR-DI

For a bit more money, you can get The Two Notes LeBass, Broughton Messenger, GK Plex, Mesa Subway DI, or Aguilar Tone Hammer. Even though it's at the very top end of what I'd consider mid-priced, I'd look at the Shift Line Olympic MK IIIS

For a bunch o' money, you can get a Noble, a Verellen Meatsmoke, or Jule Amps announced a pedal preamp that supposed to be similar in tone to the Monique(I've got my eye on this).

You can do the same thing with modelers.

For a reasonable amount of dough, you can get the Zoom B3n, or the Vox StompLab

For a lil' mo' scratch, you can get the Atomic Amps Bass Box(I've got my eye on this, too) or the Line 6 HX Stomp

If you can make it rain, you can go top shelf and get a Line 6 Helix, or a Kemper Profiler. I'd mention Fractal, but they don't seem to give a rats @$$ about bass, so take that for what it's worth.

You can get great tones out of all this stuff. Some will say that a preamp alone might sound a bit, dry, and could use a cab sim. Almost none of the preamps in your poll have any kind of cab sim except for the Sansamp and the new Darkglass stuff. You might wanna consider a cab sim pedal. OTOH, all of your modelers will have some kind of cab sim built in. The upcoming Atomic Amps Bass Box is supposed to be coming in at around $300, which is the same price as their HIGHLY regarded guitar version, the Ampli-Firebox. My guitar player uses one and loves it, which is why I'm leaning towards the Bass Box. My goal is to have a complete live rig, with or with cabinets, on my pedalboard.

Sorry that was so long, but I'm really starting to get into this modeling thing. I don't know much, but I'm excited. Good luck!

 

[fauxtoe]

Mesa Subway, either of the models. It's the most well thought out preamp/DI on the market.

 

[BassGH]

I have the darkglass vu and the ampeg scrDi. Like some other ampeg gear, the ampeg box is a very life-giving part of the sound chain. But its also unreliable, at least for me. I’ve had two fail. The darkglass sounds great, has spectacular eq section and is nice and compact. So far it’s been reliable. A little spendy for a backup rig though.

 

[JimmyM]

My favorites in that list are the SCR-DI and VT because of what amps I use...naturally But they're all good in their own ways. Just depends on what you're looking for.

 

[Skybone]

I'd go at it slightly differently, and get a second hand Line6 HD500x and the HD Bass Pack for similar kind of money as the SansAmp's UK RRP.

Before buying mine, I had a PODxt bean and a PODxt Live. Both very good, but there was a few times when the models weren't quite up to expectations, and the effects weren't always that good. I looked around for alternatives, and kept returning to the HDx. The amp & cab models are really good, and the effects models are great. I looked at Helix, but the price was a major stumbling block, and at the time, only the "full fat" Helix was available.

Subsequently, I managed to find a HD Bean as a backup for the HD500x quite cheaply on a forum. Works a treat, and still uses the HD Bass Pack (but a different Editor than the HD500x).

 

[Jay Corwin]

BDDI and VT are both excellent choices. I used the BDDI for years with bass guitar, use the ParaDriver for upright. Last month I used a VT to get B15'ish tone for my DI signal into the board for a record. It did a nice job (though we also had a nice 70's SVT-VR/fridge combo mic'd too). All great products with tons of usable features, and indestructible. Also most experienced sound people are familiar with Sansamp stuff.

OK now Tech 21 owes me and endorsement!

 

[addylewis]

Cheers for the responses so far guys...when I said "Modeling" I basically meant "D.I. + EQ" (it's not amp simulation as such is it really thinking about it now...but it's having control over the tone you send to the FOH at least).

I can't remember if I said in my OP, but I've got a Line 6 Pod which does what I want but is a pretty big lump so something smaller would be good (read - "Boss Stompbox" size ideally...with an XLR output). Pbass 6811 has mentioned LOADS of possibilities I've never heard of before, keep 'em coming! I've looked at the mini Pod's but they've not really got anything for bass on there, and there's no XLR output (normally when I do gigs I just go from the D.I. in my amp, so unplug the house D.I. box and plug their cable straight in...if anything happened to my amp, that kind of 5-second change-around would be great...)

 

[addylewis]

I use the Eden WTDI when using IMEs, but run it flat with a bit of compression. The sound guys love it. Now that said, it is not a modeling pedal, but it’s a great DI and resonable price wise.

The in-built compressor on that one is one of the things that attracted me to it in the first place...

 

[Skybone]

The old Zoom B3?

 

[filwitheneff]

Hey bass dudes

I'm considering buying a pedal-sized amp modeler (EDIT: or preamp) which I can leave in my bass bag for emergency situations at gigs - XLR out is pretty much essential.

There's quite a few different ones out there nowadays - I usually play Rock'n'Roll/60's/Motown kind of stuff so I'm after something that can accurately get those old school muffled sounds well. I like tubes but for emergency situations it's not essential really so long as I've got a bit of tone-sculpting...

I've got a Line 6 PodXT which is great for amp/"general decent sound" modelling but it's not as portable/pedal-like as it could be...they're pretty big lumps and haven't got an XLR out

Any suggestions I've not put in the poll would be welcomed! (I've probably missed/forgotten about a few options...)

Other
I use a Trace Elliot Transit B. 5-band EQ, compression, OD (if you want it), built-in tuner, XLR out (pre OR post), 1/4" out (line OR dry). This thing covers about anything you could want. It's not tiny, at around 12" X 4.5" (give or take), but it still fits in my gig bag. I love it.

 

[FutureTense]

I'd also put in for the Mesa Subway DI. They have come out with a + version that can dial in basically anything that the Subway head can do. I'm sure it can dial in the tones that you want from it.

 

[macmanlou]

It would be cool if you'd share some of those "cheats".

For the VT Bass DI, I usually use something between the "Fat Tube" and "Flip Top-style" from this chart.

 

[bfields]

The Zoom B3n has no XLR out. The Zoom B3 does, and though its discontinued should be easy to find used, but I think it's about the same size as the Line 6 pod. (Which is to say, not big, but not the size of a single stomp box either.)

The Zoom MS-B60 is the right size, but doesn't have an XLR out.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

The old Zoom B3?

I've been using that as a modeler for years. It works great and is much more versatile than lots of the options listed here. It's kinda big, though, and it's certainly not the new hotness.

 

[MyMusic]

Another vote for the Mesa Subway DI/Pre !!!!!

 

[micguy]

I haven't every really found an amp modeller that fits my needs in one package. I need something with A DI, enough eq to tweak my sound a bit (usually a dip around 250Hz, and a peak around 1.6 kHz), and just the right kind of overdrive (very subtle - mostly an "aggression/anger" effect). I haven't found all that in one box, so I use a Tech 21 Q strip for the DI/eq, and a Pike Vulcan for the overdrive.

 

[pbass6811]

I haven't every really found an amp modeller that fits my needs in one package. I need something with A DI, enough eq to tweak my sound a bit (usually a dip around 250Hz, and a peak around 1.6 kHz), and just the right kind of overdrive (very subtle - mostly an "aggression/anger" effect). I haven't found all that in one box, so I use a Tech 21 Q strip for the DI/eq, and a Pike Vulcan for the overdrive.

Check out the Atomic Amps Bass Box. It’s not quite available yet, and there’s, literally, zero demos right now. They just announced it a couple of weeks ago at NAMM. That one SEEMS to check all of your boxes. The guitar version is very highly regarded, so the bass one should be killer as well.