Hey guys, I found a good deal on a SansAmp Para Driver V1 and was wondering if it’s compatible with active pick ups / preamp?
I’m playing a Stingray.
Thanks for your time!
I’m playing a Stingray.
Thanks for your time!
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Sans Amp Paradriver V1 w Active Preamp Pickups?
- Thread starter lowend4life
- Start date
Thanks everyone, I purchased it. Such a great deal and the condition is mint. Tin box and manual included.
Forgot to ask, how do I use the three switches if I were going to use it in front of my amp, and also for plugging straight into my Focusrite USB Audio interface with a XLR cable?
I've used both V1 and V2 with active basses and no problems—other than having way too many EQ choices between bass/ParaDriver/amp.
I'd really recommend to trust your ears. Plug it, push the switches in different combinations and the best sounding one, that is.
Thanks for your response. I was referring to "Line Inst Output, Line Inst XLR and Phantom Ground" I just want to make sure I have it set up properlyI'd really recommend to trust your ears. Plug it, push the switches in different combinations and the best sounding one, that is.
Thanks for your response. I was referring to "Line Inst Output, Line Inst XLR and Phantom Ground" I just want to make sure I have it set up properly
Line level is louder than inst level, can start off with inst level and switch to line if necessary.
Except for PhantomThanks for your response. I was referring to "Line Inst Output, Line Inst XLR and Phantom Ground" I just want to make sure I have it set up properly
, I really referred to that for those controls, too. For example, I've found I always prefer my active basses connected to the passive amp input, and I generally prefer the normal input instead of the FX return, even with MultiFX. 
I like what I like, whatever the manual says... and hope I'm not breaking anything.Thanks everyone. For the “on” position, is it to the right? Doesn’t say in the manual.
It should be delivered sometime this week.
It should be delivered sometime this week.
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Played a bddi v2 with a stingray for a while… no issues. Paradriver is only a lil different.
The blend knob is your friend!
The blend knob is your friend!
Sansamp Paradriver is great. It has lots more control over the mids.
It seems to get more overdrive/distortion as well.
It seems to get more overdrive/distortion as well.
Can it give you that “grind” / “gritty” tone? I’m just looking to have it add some dirt. I might pair it up with a bass distortion pedal that way I have my gritty bass tone and then full on distortion.
The Para Driver is a great pedal. I use both active and passive basses with it, as well as guitar. No issues at all.
Play with the midrange knob - it's very versatile with the adjustable midrange.
One thing to keep in mind with this, it's a little different than the BDDI in that the Treble and Bass knobs affect the signal after the drive knob, while the midrange is before the drive. In other words, if you boost the midrange knob, you'll get more distortion from the drive knob, or less if you turn it down, but that doesn't happen when you adjust the bass and treble. It took me a while to get the hang of this because I had skimmed over that section of the manual.
Play with the midrange knob - it's very versatile with the adjustable midrange.
One thing to keep in mind with this, it's a little different than the BDDI in that the Treble and Bass knobs affect the signal after the drive knob, while the midrange is before the drive. In other words, if you boost the midrange knob, you'll get more distortion from the drive knob, or less if you turn it down, but that doesn't happen when you adjust the bass and treble. It took me a while to get the hang of this because I had skimmed over that section of the manual.
You posted this question while I was writing the last comment, which kind of answers it, but to expand on it - yes, you get some grind if you adjust the drive knob and get the midrange set where you want it, but I also use a few different dirt pedals in front of it because sometimes I want a different flavor of distortion, and stacking those with the ParaDriver gets good results to my ear. Just keep in mind that if you increase the overall signal level with a pedal, you'll push the drive harder on the SansAmp (much like a boost pedal in front of a tube amp).
Because of the way the drive knob interacts with the EQ controls, it's not quite as gritty as the BDDI, but it definitely gets some grit, and I think it sounds good. I tend to keep the grit level on the SansAmp pretty low and boost it with the other dirt pedals when I want more.
Thank you very much for your informative answers. Does the Para have enough "grind" to get into Geddy Lee territory?
