Sansamp + amp user question

[johnthegod]

For any fellow rock/punk players using an always on sansamp, where do you set the sansamp gain vs the gain on your amp? Are you using both? Just one?

 

[Zooberwerx]

For any fellow rock/punk players using an always on sansamp, where do you set the sansamp gain vs the gain on your amp? Are you using both? Just one?

Depends on the existing platform and desired outcomes...but still a good question! I bypass the pedal and set the amp profile then add the pedal and adjust the gain / volume / EQ. I use a Bass Fly Rig and try to get the bypassed and active modes to roughly match. Use your ears as there is no hard & fast rule. Some folks just say "scrap it", bypass the amp's preamp, and use the FX return to minimize conflict. IMO, the SansAmp stuff "plays nicely" when added to the front-side of virtually any amp.

Not sure what SansAmp product you're referencing but mine has a "boost" option so I can kick things up a notch. You should be able to embellish the tonal character of the host amp without any undue / undesired clipping or bumps.

Riis

 

[johnthegod]

Depends on the existing platform and desired outcomes...but still a good question! I bypass the pedal and set the amp profile then add the pedal and adjust the gain / volume / EQ. I use a Bass Fly Rig and try to get the bypassed and active modes to roughly match. Use your ears as there is no hard & fast rule. Some folks just say "scrap it", bypass the amp's preamp, and use the FX return to minimize conflict. IMO, the SansAmp stuff "plays nicely" when added to the front-side of virtually any amp.

Not sure what SansAmp product you're referencing but mine has a "boost" option so I can kick things up a notch. You should be able to embellish the tonal character of the host amp without any undue / undesired clipping or bumps.

Riis

I have the bass driver di. And thats how ive always thought to set things up. Amp settings first, then pedal. But up until yesterday i had been running both my BDDI gain and the gain on my amp (tone hammer 500) at about 10 oclock. I felt like the two different gains were competing in an undesirable way so i tried lowering the gain on my pedal to 0 and just upped the presence knob to full and i think my tone in the mix of my band improved slightly.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I have the bass driver di. And thats how ive always thought to set things up. Amp settings first, then pedal. But up until yesterday i had been running both my BDDI gain and the gain on my amp (tone hammer 500) at about 10 oclock. I felt like the two different gains were competing in an undesirable way so i tried lowering the gain on my pedal to 0 and just upped the presence knob to full and i think my tone in the mix of my band improved slightly.

It is, at best, a balancing act and a conflict in your case. If you think about it, the TH has its own dedicated pedal preamp with a unique vibe which goes head-to-head with BDDI. Not a durn thing wrong with your choice of compensation. JOOC, what happens when you flip-flop the settings: drop the gain on the host TH and boost the drive on the BDDI?

Riis

 

[el murdoque]

It is, at best, a balancing act and a conflict in your case. If you think about it, the TH has its own dedicated pedal preamp with a unique vibe which goes head-to-head with BDDI. Not a durn thing wrong with your choice of compensation. JOOC, what happens when you flip-flop the settings: drop the gain on the host TH and boost the drive on the BDDI?

Riis

Additional note: You can set the gain and drive on the Tonehammer to zero and it will still pass a signal.

 

[Bassdoggydogg]

I have the bass driver di. And thats how ive always thought to set things up. Amp settings first, then pedal. But up until yesterday i had been running both my BDDI gain and the gain on my amp (tone hammer 500) at about 10 oclock. I felt like the two different gains were competing in an undesirable way so i tried lowering the gain on my pedal to 0 and just upped the presence knob to full and i think my tone in the mix of my band improved slightly.

I've ran various sansamps into a couple different amps. It sounds like you EQs might be "fighting" each other. My main amp is a rumble 800 head, and I have to use my own rumble flat setting (contour button engaged, mids fully pumped, treb and bass nobs fully cut) to get the results I'm looking for. Not sure what your amps EQ is like, but you're problem could be more related to that as opposed to just the gain level.

 

[lowdownbp5]

I have the SansAmp programmable Bass Di, when I do use it with an Acoustic combo I by pass the EQ section of the amp and run it to the receive on the effects loop. Much better than the EQ on the Amp. IMHO

 

[Ian774]

Same, I always, always, when possible, play my SansAmp BDDI V2 into the "power amp in"/"return" of the amp I play with. That way, there's no gain or volume issues, everything including the EQ is managed on the SansAmp, it basically becomes THE preamp and the amp is just a power amp.

IF the amp I play with doesn't have such input, I go to the front but usually set everything as flat as possible. I then use my SansAmp the same way I usually set it up, gain wise. And then I'll adjust on the amp, but I'm not a fan of this solution.

 

[lizardking837]

I have the SansAmp programmable Bass Di, when I do use it with an Acoustic combo I by pass the EQ section of the amp and run it to the receive on the effects loop. Much better than the EQ on the Amp. IMHO

I did something kind of similar with a Sansamp clone and an Acoustic combo. I cut the bass a bit, used a lot of drive and presence with the blend at noon. Then one the amp I had a notch filter so I could kind of rebuild the EQ from there. It took a little work and trial and error, but I got a great tone out of that setup

 

[cataract]

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Gain Staging
In all seriousness though, there’s no real wrong way to do it & it’s all part of the fun IMO

 

[Ellery]

Yes! I will set the gain of the amp w/ the Sansamp off first, usually just below "breakup", then I will set the Sansamp so the signal is just a little bit louder with the pedal turned on. Sounds killer!

 

[-Stingray]

Same, I always, always, when possible, play my SansAmp BDDI V2 into the "power amp in"/"return" of the amp I play with. That way, there's no gain or volume issues, everything including the EQ is managed on the SansAmp, it basically becomes THE preamp and the amp is just a power amp.

IF the amp I play with doesn't have such input, I go to the front but usually set everything as flat as possible. I then use my SansAmp the same way I usually set it up, gain wise. And then I'll adjust on the amp, but I'm not a fan of this solution.

This is the way....

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Sansamp gain was too powerful for my needs so it's somewhere out in the garage...

 

[MynameisMe]

I felt like the two different gains were competing in an undesirable way

I think you answered your own question here.

 

[Lowbrow]

Depends on the existing platform and desired outcomes...but still a good question! I bypass the pedal and set the amp profile then add the pedal and adjust the gain / volume / EQ. I use a Bass Fly Rig and try to get the bypassed and active modes to roughly match. Use your ears as there is no hard & fast rule. Some folks just say "scrap it", bypass the amp's preamp, and use the FX return to minimize conflict. IMO, the SansAmp stuff "plays nicely" when added to the front-side of virtually any amp.

Not sure what SansAmp product you're referencing but mine has a "boost" option so I can kick things up a notch. You should be able to embellish the tonal character of the host amp without any undue / undesired clipping or bumps.

Riis

Very nice description of this use case

 

[Hiroi Kikuri]

SVT-350 ampeg with a V1 sans amp my gain is roughly noon, i stack my MXR bass DI+ clean as well. my gain on the SVT-350 is 5-7 and my amp EQ is mid pushed my MXR is mid pushed an bass cut a bit to balance out the Sansamps

 

[burgerdj]

I typically run my PBDDI through the effects loop (sometimes just the return) at unity gain. That way if things aren’t working, I can just stomp on the switch with no major drop in gain or volume.