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Pickup output not enough for pedal (Behringer BDI21)?

HeavyGroove

HeavyGroove

Mar 18, 2006
739
601
#1
Here's my situation:

I had purchased the Sansamp BDDI knock off Behringer bdi21 earlier this week from Amazon. After testing it out, I sent it back for a replacement because it seemed like the drive knob was not working correctly. Even at 100% it sounded like it was just engaging. I received the replacement today and was experiencing the same thing - knob at full tilt and only a very slight effect. Out of frustration I stated to really dig into the strings and lo and behold, the over-drive became more apparent. I grabbed a pick and it was instant fuzz-town overdriven saturation - aka what I was supposed to be hearing.

I had recently dropped my string height to minimal and dropped my pickups as well to avoid extra string noise. I play with my fingers and hadn't really noticed a volume drop after lowering the pickups. Have you guys ever had this experience before? I assume the pickups are too low now to grab a hot enough signal?
 
#10
HeavyGroove said:
Here's my situation:

I had purchased the Sansamp BDDI knock off Behringer bdi21 earlier this week from Amazon. After testing it out, I sent it back for a replacement because it seemed like the drive knob was not working correctly. Even at 100% it sounded like it was just engaging. I received the replacement today and was experiencing the same thing - knob at full tilt and only a very slight effect. Out of frustration I stated to really dig into the strings and lo and behold, the over-drive became more apparent. I grabbed a pick and it was instant fuzz-town overdriven saturation - aka what I was supposed to be hearing.

I had recently dropped my string height to minimal and dropped my pickups as well to avoid extra string noise. I play with my fingers and hadn't really noticed a volume drop after lowering the pickups. Have you guys ever had this experience before? I assume the pickups are too low now to grab a hot enough signal?
Click to expand...
Try the bass direct to the instrument in of your amp and see if the output seems low.
Does the Bearinthewoods have an input attenuator switch tucked away someplace that is hard to see? Maybe it's on?
 
#11
I wound up raising my pickups so both the E string and G string are just above 2mm away. This seems to have solved my problem as the overdrive reacts properly now. That said, I didn't think that I'd ever need to have the strings that close for a proper signal out to the pedal.

Does that seem excessively close?
 
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#12
No, EMGs can be set even closer. EMGs have ample output and can be set as far off and as close as possible. However, I would not trust any Behringer pedal with a ten foot pole, or food mixer. But they do come cheap. I don't know why people are not checking out second hand stuff of more "decent" pedals. You don't have to go high end.

Since both your bass has active EQ and maybe your pedal too are run on batteries you should change out to fresh batteries on the bass, as well as the pedal, or run the pedal with a wall wart adapter, to see if the output ramps up.

Have you checked batteries both in bass and pedal?
 
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#13
Honch said:
However, I would not trust any Behringer pedal with a ten foot pole, or food mixer. But they do come cheap. I don't know why people are not checking out second hand stuff of more "decent" pedals. You don't have to go high end.
Click to expand...

I have the Behringer BDI and also the Tech 21 VT BDDI. The Behringer works well. Lots of good reviews on talkbass. Have you tried one or just Behringer bashing?
Some people prefer it to the Tech 21 pedal. I use the Behringer as my backup.
 
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#14
HeavyGroove said:
I wound up raising my pickups so both the E string and G string are just above 2mm away. This seems to have solved my problem as the overdrive reacts properly now. That said, I didn't think that I'd ever need to have the strings that close for a proper signal out to the pedal.

Does that seem excessively close?
Click to expand...

Seems close for passive pickups (fine for actives). Have you tried it with the EQ bypass on the bass? Wonder if the preamp is passing a weird signal.
 
#15
It's not really an overdrive pedal, it's designed to colour your tone a bit and give a bit of warmth. That said, I have never had problems getting fuzz type sounds out of mine, even using a single coil P bass with Stainless strings. If you want a boost, put a cheap drive pedal before it and you have a tone that could give Lemmy (RIP) a run for his money
 
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#16
I used the Behringer unit for years. At church we had a Sansamp. They did the same thing.

I have a good friend that was a sound tech at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville for many years. They had both the Behringer and Sansamp pedals and used them interchangeably for DI's for basses. He was a very good bass player as well, and said other than the Behringer not being able to be phantom powered, they were equal in performance.

I modded mine to be able to remove the mid cut and the mid cut notch inherent in both pedals. (Not referring to the new Sansamp) After the mid mod, the sound techs at our church preferred the Behringer over the Sansamp.

I am a retired amp tech and have played bass since 1969. This Behringer pedal is a solid performer and has withstood my not intended abuse and carelessness for years. I've thrown it in gig bags and cord cases and it has held up.
 
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#17
soflbass said:
I have the Behringer BDI and also the Tech 21 VT BDDI. The Behringer works well. Lots of good reviews on talkbass. Have you tried one or just Behringer bashing?
Some people prefer it to the Tech 21 pedal. I use the Behringer as my backup.
Click to expand...

Why would anyone prefer it to the Tech 21 pedal for any reason other than price? It's literally an exact copy of the circuit, there's nothing to prefer.

"Behringer bashing" shouldn't be confusing; some of their gear (like the X32) is phenomenal and industry standard, but others (like their bass amps and cabs) feel/sound cheap, have notorious failure rates or both.
 
#18
HeavyGroove said:
I wound up raising my pickups so both the E string and G string are just above 2mm away. This seems to have solved my problem as the overdrive reacts properly now. That said, I didn't think that I'd ever need to have the strings that close for a proper signal out to the pedal.

Does that seem excessively close?
Click to expand...

It does. Those pickups are pretty high output, seems like something else in that signal chain isn't functioning as it should.
 
#19
Thank you everyone for the input. To answer the questions:

I my setup is: bass -> pedal -> efx return.
I am running new this month steel rotosounds.

The reason I went with the behringer is because I'm just playing at home and $30 is a lot better than $100+ for a used sansamp. With the pickups this close I can hear the actual hit of my fingers against the strings....which I actually don't mind as it adds a nice bit of grit and let's me play with an extremely light touch which = greater speed.

I did put a new 9volt in the bass a month ago, but it was from a pack that had been sitting around for a while. It's probably a good idea to grab a new pack from the store.
 
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#20
I am not sure about the string and pickup height, but I have A BDI21 and I would echo what father of fires asked, where do you set you blend? Turn the blend, drive, and level up all the way and you should have all of the distortion that you will ever need. I just tested it with a passive PBass to BDI 21 to GK Backline 600 with pick and fingers at low volume and it was buzzing like a hornets nest.
 

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