I have been looking for a good preamp for DB. I have a sans amp bass driver DI for my electric setup and have recently started to use it on my DB through a SWR baby blue II. It definitely sound better but Im not sure if it was designed with DB in mind. Is the the bass driver suitable for DB or should I try some other preamps. Thanks, Jim.
The SansAmp Bass DI has an input impedance of 940K ohms, reasonably close to the 1 megohm or better that most piezo-based URB pickups like. Whether a higher input impedance is necessary depends on your pickup. I'll agree that the SansAmp doesn't have the most neutral-sounding response, from reports I've heard the Acoustic DI is better. That said, I've used my Bass SansAmp DI with my Bass Max-equipped Kay in a couple outdoor shows with no stage amplification, so I could drop a line to the board (rather than take a chance on their DI), and the sound was fine, from the floor monitors and from FOH reports. It's up to your ears and SansAmp tweaking skills.
I second Bob's comments. I have been using the SansAmp Acoustic DI with a K&K BassMax pickup. I am very happy with the sound and I got it for a killer deal. The parametric mid control is quite effective. I may upgrade soon (I would love a mute and a tuner output) but I think I will always keep the ADI. Some possibilities include the Raven Labs series, the Presonus Acoustic-Q. For festival shows, when I do not bring an amp, the ADI is clearly superior than the ratty DIs that usually suck the life (and tone) out of a DB. YMMV..... Touch
A friend of mine uses an aguilar outboard preamp with his double bass and it sounds great.... and he only paid $25 for it plus 3 free lessons to the guy who sold it to him.. not to bad of a dea if you ask me.
