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RBI or Bmax?

T

TortillaChip520

Jun 3, 2008
1,066
63
AZ
#1
So, I have the choice of these lovely jems off the local craigs:
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I have done plenty of digging around TB and can't find much of a comparison.

Who has owned either or both of these, and how did you like it/what was it like, etc.?
 
#5
I _loved_ the RBI with my Warwick Thumb, which had the low-mid punch I've grown accustomed to. The RBI's Mid knob is centred at 1kHz, which doesn't help if you have a thin sounding bass. Overall though, it has a tubey growl which is quite natural sounding, and you can blend in clean signal to taste. Yes, it pretty much is a one-trick pony, but what a trick!

The BMax looks to be every bit as flexible as my old BBE 383 preamp, what with the para mids, compressor & maximiser. I'd say go for the Bmax, and grab yourself a VT bass pedal if you ever want that SVT tone later on.

c-
 
#6
I have had both and I preferred the RBI to the BMAX. The BMAX is really cool if you want that modern, ultra-clean tone, but I liked the RBI because of that gain knob--i loved the growl that I could dial in and it fit in well with my band at the time.
What i didn't like on the BMAX was the tone stack--it was along the same vein of the alembic preamp IIRC where if you set everything at flat, it's not actually flat. I could really get a good sound out of it.
 
#7
Actually there has been a lot of comparos between the two.... owing mostly IMHO to the fact they are the two most affordable bass pre's available, and compete with each other purely on that level.

I have been a components only guy for years (altho that's about to change... :ninja:) and I have used both units extensively and I think that, were it not for the price, these units would not be competing. These are two very VERY different units. The BBE BMax is a traditional bass preamplifier with the fender/baxandall tone stack eq, additional parametric eq, a decent compressor and BBE's sonic maximizer. Voiced in a very traditional way, this unit offers pure, clean, low-noise tones, and can be very versatile if set correctly. Overdrive, distortion, and the like are not possiblewith this unit. It is purely a clean machine. The tone stack is quite different from the standard "Boost/Cut" EQ's found on most other units, and a thorough read thru the owner's manual is a REQUIREMENT in order to get the most from this unit. This unit is, IMHO, a pro piece of kit for anyone wanting a cleanish tone. Mated to a beefy power amp and a full-range speaker cabinet, this is one of the most useful, punchy preamps Ive used. Another great use for this unit IME, is running it as the first unit in a singal chain with a passive bass. In other words, if you use a passive bass, and run an extensive FX chain or board, put this in front of everything else, and run everything else you have in the FX loop. This is a fantastic unit for gentle, up front EQ'ing, and you can run overdrive, chorus or any other effects or tone shaping after the fact, with gentle compression being the first circuit in your chain, and the BBE sonic maximizer being the last. A great setup. I once saw a fellow run his passive Lakland DJ5 straight to this unit, with a large effects pedal board and a presonus 3 band parametric EQ in the FX loop, with excellent results. He achieved his personal tone with the presonus EQ, and used the gentler, wider-Q eqaulization on the BBE to adjust for different rooms.

The sansamp is a VERY different animal. This is an all analog preamp / effect unit made specifically to emulate a tube bass amplifier. The EQ is extremely limited, with only a 3 band, fixed-frequency setup. The unit comes with a DRIVE and PRESENCE knob similar to a tube guitar amp's GAIN and PRESENCE knob. PRESENCE adds a huge amount of treble. DRIVE acts the same way as a pre-GAIN knob would on a tube amp. as you increase DRIVE, the amount of tube-like tubbiness and eventual overdrive and distortion increases. Anywhere past 1'oclock results in some very gnarly overdrive and distortion. At the end of its range the DRIVE knob produces total saturation and almost synth-like distortion. The BLEND knob allows you to mix in your clean signal to taste, so that you can have a very distorted sound, but not lose all of your low-end like you will with most distortion / overdrive pedals. Again, a thorough read thru the manual is essential. One of the most common misconceptions out there is that the BLEND knob mixes the whole circuit in or out. This is incorrect. With the blend at its minimum, the BASS, MID and TREBLE controls still work. This unit, and its little brother the sansamp bass driver are very popular units, especially in a recording situation, as these units come about as close to recreating the tone of an overdriven Ampeg SVT or other all-tube amp as one can reasonably expect without lugging 200 lbs worth of gear. This was my go-to unit for years, but just isnt my thing anymore, as I dont really use overdriven tones anymore... and when I do, I just drop an MXR M80 into the effects loop of my BBE Bmax, so that I can switch in and out. I have seen several people using this unit as an FX box, in the loop of an amplifier, or more often a mic pre. One could do very well using this unit in the FX loop of the BBE as described above for an effective "second channel".

Overall, these two units are like apples and oranges. The style you're playing should dictate which unit you use, and how you use it. Both the BBE and the Sansamp can be used quite well for rock, R&B, Pop etc.... although you're leaving the best part of the Sansamp only half used if your tone is mostly clean) The BBE cannot do OD / distortion, so may not be the best choice for metal (although that's what I do, and I go for a very clean tone).
 
#10
I have tried both, and I will say that I prefer the RBI over the BMAX because of the "fattening" effect and "pseudo-tubey" sound of the Sansamp circuitry. It's also great for recording and as a DI because of the speaker emulation.

The RBI sounds great even if you don't use it for overdrive. I like the effect of the gain knob from 9:00 to 12:00 the best. Depending on your bass's output it just starts to get "wooley" as you reach 11:00 to 12:00.

The BMAX is a hi-fi clean machine, as stated above. The RBI and RPM are "Ampeg emulators". They are really two different animals, but they are both very cool for the money.

Get both! :D
 
#11
All I can speak to with any real basis is the RBI - I like my bass sparkling clean and thumpy, and the RBI can't do that at all to my ears. By the time it gets loud enough it's getting noisy. Least, that's my experience with it and other people may have lower noise thresholds or like the grit, not my bag ethough.
 
#12
Funny thing. I brought a Bmax home today :D I haven't tried the RBI, but I have got the pedal version (BDDI). I have discovered that I prefer a clean sound more than an overdriven/distorted. So far Bmax seems to be (at least in my home tests) kicking my BDDI in every department. But it all comes to personal preferences. The BDDI sounds either overly distorted or like someone has thworn a thick blanket over your bass gear. At least to me it sounds like that. Don't know if the RBI is similiar but I'm guessing it's pretty close. Bmax = clear sound, but you can't get an overdriven sound.

I would say Pablo pretty much nailed to whole thing with the two pieces in question. Guess for what I'll be using the Bmax...................tech death metal :D
 
#14
If you're going to go with the BMax for a clean tone, but are tempted by Sansamp stuff, it might worth looking into trying a Sansamp RPM. I've just bought one, haven't had the chance to try it out yet, but I opted for that over the BMax because it has the Mid Shift function on it which a few people have enthused over on these boards. Geddy Lee also has one in his rack, and switched over from the RBI to the RPM specifically to utilise the Mid Shift capability.

Plus it's a wee bit cheaper than the BMax!:hyper:
 
#16
Son of Bovril said:
yeah the RPM is more of a traditional tone shaping preamp, while the RBi is more of an overdrive unit IMO

the RPm and the BMax would be a better comparison
Click to expand...

+1. Im gonna actually give this unit another shot, as the band feels like a touch of "Edge" might compliment our sound, but I'm gonna run it with a presonus EQ3B in the effects loop to remove some of the low-mid mud seemingly inherent in these units. I remember this being a problem with the RBI, but the RPM may be a bit better.
 

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