When I was thinking about buying this pedal I had done a search and didn't find much, if any, info about it here. So I thought I'd post about it for anyone else (like me) that spends waaaaay too much time scouring Reverb, eBay, TB classifieds, looking at effects and trying to find affordable solutions that can work for them.
I was looking for a nice preamp pedal. I have experience with the Sansamp BDDI, Behringer BDI21, Aguilar Tonehammer, MXR M80, and Hartke Bass Attack 2. I don't currently own any of those but I'm familiar with them.
Anyways... about the pedal.
There are a few Buffalo Bass DI pedals out there. I think there's a "version 1" "version 2" and "cab sim". This is the all black one that says "Speaker Simulator with DI" across the front. It's actually the one that I think is the most attractive. Nice and clean and simple.
First Impression: Super solid. Heavy. Sturdy. Does not feel cheaply made at all. All the knobs turn smoothly and feel secure. All metal body.
Plugged it in at home into my ampeg solid state combo amp. I'm playing a 2009 CIC Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass.
I started fiddling with the knobs to find something that I liked the sound of. It did not take long. Even a small amount of bump or cut is very noticeable. Not in a frustrating way that a hair one way or the other is a drastic jump, it is very smooth, but just that you can hear it shaping clearly and nicely.
I bumped bass up a tad, experimented with cutting some high mids, then ended up bumping up the low mids. Cut the treble just a bit to take away a bit of the brightness of my bass (personal preference) and it sounds great.
The gain knob works whether the pedal is engaged or not. It is does not introduce any overdrive or distortion that I was able to discern (that being said... through my Ampeg at home the amp itself can get a little muddy if pushed too hard) so YMMV, but what I'm saying is that you're not going to get a BDDI type drive out of it.
After playing with it a while I clicked it off and was shocked. I didn't feel like I had massively colored my bass sound, none of the settings were extreme, but when I turned the pedal off there was a huge difference. It just sounded... limp. And I really LOVE my bass. With the Buffalo engaged it just sounded so much better. Fuller, more present. I was very impressed.
I haven't had a chance to use the DI yet. I will sometime this week.
All in all, I am extremely satisfied. If you don't want a preamp with OD (BBDI, Tonehammer), I would definitely recommend it. I have a separate pedal to dial in the little bit of dirt that I use from time to time (Will Sledge Slimdrive) and that works for me.
For $65 shipped (ebay) this feels like a home run. I had also considered the Eleca Bass Expander (which seems to be a rebranded ModTone Bass DI and Harley Benton Bass DI) but had seen some concerning reviews and went with this instead. Super happy that I did. Will come back after using the DI and report. Feel free to ask any questions!
I was looking for a nice preamp pedal. I have experience with the Sansamp BDDI, Behringer BDI21, Aguilar Tonehammer, MXR M80, and Hartke Bass Attack 2. I don't currently own any of those but I'm familiar with them.
Anyways... about the pedal.
There are a few Buffalo Bass DI pedals out there. I think there's a "version 1" "version 2" and "cab sim". This is the all black one that says "Speaker Simulator with DI" across the front. It's actually the one that I think is the most attractive. Nice and clean and simple.
First Impression: Super solid. Heavy. Sturdy. Does not feel cheaply made at all. All the knobs turn smoothly and feel secure. All metal body.
Plugged it in at home into my ampeg solid state combo amp. I'm playing a 2009 CIC Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass.
I started fiddling with the knobs to find something that I liked the sound of. It did not take long. Even a small amount of bump or cut is very noticeable. Not in a frustrating way that a hair one way or the other is a drastic jump, it is very smooth, but just that you can hear it shaping clearly and nicely.
I bumped bass up a tad, experimented with cutting some high mids, then ended up bumping up the low mids. Cut the treble just a bit to take away a bit of the brightness of my bass (personal preference) and it sounds great.
The gain knob works whether the pedal is engaged or not. It is does not introduce any overdrive or distortion that I was able to discern (that being said... through my Ampeg at home the amp itself can get a little muddy if pushed too hard) so YMMV, but what I'm saying is that you're not going to get a BDDI type drive out of it.
After playing with it a while I clicked it off and was shocked. I didn't feel like I had massively colored my bass sound, none of the settings were extreme, but when I turned the pedal off there was a huge difference. It just sounded... limp. And I really LOVE my bass. With the Buffalo engaged it just sounded so much better. Fuller, more present. I was very impressed.
I haven't had a chance to use the DI yet. I will sometime this week.
All in all, I am extremely satisfied. If you don't want a preamp with OD (BBDI, Tonehammer), I would definitely recommend it. I have a separate pedal to dial in the little bit of dirt that I use from time to time (Will Sledge Slimdrive) and that works for me.
For $65 shipped (ebay) this feels like a home run. I had also considered the Eleca Bass Expander (which seems to be a rebranded ModTone Bass DI and Harley Benton Bass DI) but had seen some concerning reviews and went with this instead. Super happy that I did. Will come back after using the DI and report. Feel free to ask any questions!
Last edited:
