Preamp/Drive/DI combining

[David Sumeray]

Anyone combine Preamp/Drive/Di boxes?
For example a Vt bass di with a Two Notes Le Bass? Or a VT bass with a BDDI version 2?
I ask because I have a Two Notes le bass and a VT bass di and was considering purchasing the Tech 21 BDDI version 2. Would that be superfluous given I have the two former boxes or would it add tonal options? Your combined experience would be valuable. Go!

 

[basscapes]

Why not just one (or two or three) pedals...

Ampeg SCR-DI is a decent 3 in 1.

Its got an Ampeg low/mid/high tone stack (complete with Ultra Low/High), a VERSION of the scrambler (not the same as the stand alone pedal), and is a love it/hate it effect around here. I think it's pretty good. Lots of deep low end. Gets some Ampeg Mojo...

Has a good sounding DI as well.

MXR M-81 is also quite good. Three band EQ (with sweepable mid), Pre/Post EQ for the DI and a Ground lift too. A little thinner sounding that the Ampeg, but great is you need a different tonal color once in a while. No boost or switchable channel though...

And finally;

Tronographic Rusty Box. Another great 3 in 1. This stomper is a part for part recreation of the Traynor TS-50B bass amp's preamp section, with an Active D.I. output added. It was never designed to be a totally clean box (has a gain boost switch as well as an input pad switch), and all the Input gain/EQ controls are pretty interactive. The DI output level is adjustable, while the line output is not (designed to drive a power amp with input level controls directly). It has a pretty warm to crunchy tone, and hits the nail pretty good on sounding like a tube amp (the gain can go from subtle to Lemmy, depending on the instrument/player).

I own all three.

While I love all three of them, quite honestly, none of them are my favorite!

I use whatever the song/style requires.

 

[knumbskull]

you can get great results from stacking preamps... the only problem is, you won't know which ones work well together until you try!

I would have thought that VT bass into BDDI has potential, but that is purely speculative.

 

[David Sumeray]

Thanks for the replies. I guess my real question now is whether it's worth getting the BDDI 2 given that I'm already stacking the VT with the Le Bass? Would it add tonal options either stacked or isolated or would it be superfluous?

 

[MDBass]

Thanks for the replies. I guess my real question now is whether it's worth getting the BDDI 2 given that I'm already stacking the VT with the Le Bass? Would it add tonal options either stacked or isolated or would it be superfluous?

Not superfluous in any way if it helps you accomplish your tonal goals.

Check out the signal chain for this one: it's six pedals and three preamps

 

[tedious1]

Something cool for Sansamp RBI/RPM users...

 

[knumbskull]

Thanks for the replies. I guess my real question now is whether it's worth getting the BDDI 2 given that I'm already stacking the VT with the Le Bass? Would it add tonal options either stacked or isolated or would it be superfluous?

Oh right, i didn't get that you were already stacking the 2 you have.

I say go for it if you have the cash and the itch - the Sansamp will give you tonal options even if it doesn't work in the stack. And they are generally pretty good as end of chain sweeteners so could be great in the stack IMO.

 

[David Sumeray]

Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[David Sumeray]

Not superfluous in any way if it helps you accomplish your tonal goals.

Check out the signal chain for this one: it's six pedals and three preamps

Sounds great but do you think you might have been able to achieve that tone (or VERY close to it) with half or less the amount of pedals and preamps?

 

[Zooberwerx]

A little over-the-top but who am I to say? I don't think you'll gain anything by adding a BDDI. You'd be better off re-assigning the existing pre's among the other components on your pedal board as there will be a sonic impact. Experiment
!

Riis

 

[el murdoque]

There is only one possible way to get an answer:
Get that pedal and try it for yourself. Too much depends on what you have, how you use it and what you expect from it.

 

[David Sumeray]

There is only one possible way to get an answer:
Get that pedal and try it for yourself. Too much depends on what you have, how you use it and what you expect from it.

You are probably right. I was just hoping that a consensus of opinion might make me more confident that I was doing the right thing by spending/not spending on the pedal.

 

[el murdoque]

In my local shop, I can return a pedal if I don't like it (provided I return it without any signs of usage),
The same goes for ordering online. That makes experimenting a lot easier.

 

[MDBass]

Sounds great but do you think you might have been able to achieve that tone (or VERY close to it) with half or less the amount of pedals and preamps?

You could definitely get close with "just" the AO, BDDI, OmniCab and Monique: those are adding really obvious color changes, whereas the other three are quite subtle.

The Cali is set to slow attack and fast release, only ducking 5dB when I really dig in, the Barbershop is just pushing the mids forward a touch, and the Vintage Ultra is being used as a clean EQ for very gentle boosts and cuts.

 

[Al Kraft]

I'm always in for another Tech 21 pedal and own a BDDI V2 and VT Bass V2. They play well together, but in your case I would expect you already have a wide assortment of great voicing options to choose from with your current set-up.

I'm not sure you would gain a lot over the VT Bass DI that's already in the equation, but depending on what you're looking for tonally/voicing-wise, it could be the missing ingredient. Maybe you could borrow a pedal or try it out at a local shop with your two pedals and see what you think. I suspect the right answer for you will surface very quickly.