SansAmp Bass Driver DI (v2) as Pre-Amp

[AndyBones91]

Hey, apologies in advance if this sounds daft (I am normally a straight into the amp input kinda guy and never used pedals for years, so my knowledge is quite minimal).

But I recently purchased a SansAmp Bass Driver DI (v2) pedal. I wanted my tone to come from this rather than my amp, so I plug into the Input of the SansAmp and use the 1/4" output into the effects loop return on my Ampeg Portaflex 350 head (assuming this bypasses the Ampegs sound giving me just the SansAmp?).

However, the lows seem to always be too "muddy' and I'm struggling to get that classic punchy, but crisp tone.

My question is, if I'm going via effects loop return, does the amphead itself make all that much of a difference? Would a more expensive/higher quality amphead sound better, even if I'm still going via SansAmp into effects loop return?

Gear wise I play a Fender Jazz Bass with Symour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickups and Ernie Ball Hybrid Cobalt strings. Straight into my SansAmp which is going into my Ampeg Portaflex head via effects loop return.

Cheers

 

[MynameisMe]

I've got the Sansamp VT DI. Similar pedal. I would look at tweaking my settings. If you're using cab sims try a different one.
Maybe you're overdriving it a bit?

 

[Inconnu]

I’m blaming the speaker emulation that’s built into the SansAmp. I love my RBI as a DI, but always has a hard time with it in front of a speaker cabinet. YMMV

 

[Parzival]

Set your EQ flat on the amp and try it through the front and tweak the BDDI and amp and see if you like it.

 

[BadB]

No, the amp head probably won't make much of a difference. The drive sounds blurry to me past noon and the EQ controls are sensitive. Also, keeping the blend somewhere between 10 and 2 o'clock sounds best in a mix. I like full blend, but it doesn't work for me.

 

[AndyBones91]

Set your EQ flat on the amp and try it through the front and tweak the BDDI and amp and see if you like it.

I'll give this a go. For gigging, if I did this setup would I still Di through the pedal or would I need to Di via the amphead?

if i Di via the Amphead, Would the desk still capture the sound with SansAmp mixed, or only the Amp? If that makes sense

 

[AndyBones91]

I've got the Sansamp VT DI. Similar pedal. I would look at tweaking my settings. If you're using cab sims try a different one.
Maybe you're overdriving it a bit?

Sorry I should have mentioned I'm also going through a cab.

 

[paskisti]

BDDI gets mushy in low end quite early if you try to reach Darkglass type distortion. Presence helps to get top end hairy, but generally BDDI is best when going to small OD territory but not much further. It is more like amp and less distortion/overdrive.

 

[Citizen Nara]

Your BDDI eq does not behave the same way your amp head eq does - everything at noon will already scoop the sound. It's very easy to step into the uncontrolled rumble territory past that point on a bass knob, depending on your cab, room and instrument.

 

[AndyBones91]

Your BDDI eq does not behave the same way your amp head eq does - everything at noon will already scoop the sound. It's very easy to step into the uncontrolled rumble territory past that point on a bass knob, depending on your cab, room and instrument.

Do you have any recommended SansAmp settings to get a bass tone similar to this?

 

[MynameisMe]

Sorry I should have mentioned I'm also going through a cab.

Yes but the Sansamp has cab sims that can be kind of powerful. If you haven't downloaded the instructions you might want to do that it might explain things.

 

[el murdoque]

The sansamp used to be the cornerstone of my sound a few years ago. Then I wanted a fat low end that has some warmth to it but is clearly articulated - that is, IMHO, the one thing the Sansamp is unable to deliver.
I started looking for other preamps and bought and sold about a million of the things.

 

[Inconnu]

I started looking for other preamps and bought and sold about a million of the things.

Ever found what you’re looking for ?

 

[el murdoque]

Ever found what you’re looking for ?

Not only did I do that, I also documented the process here:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/my-preamp-bender-a-journal.1527426/

In a nutshell:

Pedalboard 1: Broughton RFE into Noble DI

Pedalboard 2: Empress Para EQ Deluxe into ZeroFive LowRider into Effectrode LA-1A.

Board 1 sounds expensive, noble and natural, Board 2 sounds so fat you will have to call it obese.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Is there any improvement when plugging-in to the front-end of the PortaFlex? There's a widely accepted push to bypass the resident preamp but it's not always necessary IME...some stacked pre's "play nicely" together. As already mentioned, it's sometimes advantageous to set the BDDI's blend at 50-70%.

Riis

 

[Gearhead17]

Do you have any recommended SansAmp settings to get a bass tone similar to this?

Level to taste
Blend to around 9 o'clock
Treble at 11 o'clock
Bass shift at 40 or 80 (your call) at 11 o'clock
Mid Shift to 1000, 1pm
Drive at 9 o'clock
Presence - start at 9 o'clock and don't go higher than noon.

When I owned that pedal, these were my go-to settings. It should get you in the realm of that tone. I liked those settings because it gave me a nice overdriven tone and a lot of my clean tone to come through. Extreme or even modest settings on this pedal (V1 or V2) can/will result in a heavily scooped tone. It can easily make you disappear in the mix. For some bands, it might just work for you. Experiment!

 

[AndyBones91]

Is there any improvement when plugging-in to the front-end of the PortaFlex? There's a widely accepted push to bypass the resident preamp but it's not always necessary IME...some stacked pre's "play nicely" together. As already mentioned, it's sometimes advantageous to set the BDDI's blend at 50-70%.

Riis

I'll give this a go and see how I get on. In terms of a live setting, which output would I use to Di the sound of the sansamp mixed with my Amphead?

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'll give this a go and see how I get on. In terms of a live setting, which output would I use to Di the sound of the sansamp mixed with my Amphead?

Use the PortaFlex's DI in this situation and in theory. Truth be told and when dealing with FOH, you MAY get better results coming straight off the BDDI. Nothing wrong with trialing both. The sound guy is your friend and will be brutally honest as which fits better.

Riis

 

[Inconnu]

Not only did I do that, I also documented the process here:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/my-preamp-bender-a-journal.1527426/

In a nutshell:

Pedalboard 1: Broughton RFE into Noble DI

Pedalboard 2: Empress Para EQ Deluxe into ZeroFive LowRider into Effectrode LA-1A.

Board 1 sounds expensive, noble and natural, Board 2 sounds so fat you will have to call it obese.

I see, interesting.

I’m actually looking for something completely different. What I’m after is something that would get my Micro-VR stack a bit more complexity in its sound to get closer to the sounds I get out of my SVT-CL and my SansAmp RBI (into headphones or studio monitors, mixed with a cheap tube DI that works fine with me). In short… I’m after a pedal that doesn’t have speaker emulation but that would ad sort of a 3D effect to my sound, if that makes sense.

 

[el murdoque]

I see, interesting.

I’m actually looking for something completely different. What I’m after is something that would get my Micro-VR stack a bit more complexity in its sound to get closer to the sounds I get out of my SVT-CL and my SansAmp RBI (into headphones or studio monitors, mixed with a cheap tube DI that works fine with me). In short… I’m after a pedal that doesn’t have speaker emulation but that would ad sort of a 3D effect to my sound, if that makes sense.

Yeah, I hear you.

Some part of the "3D Sound" in my setup are done by the tube pedals, the Noble and the LA-1A.
But if you're talking about that subtle saturation that is just hovering at the edge, there are quite a few pedals that can help there, and in recent times, more came out.
The Capo is one that is great in adding that bit of saturation that makes the sound more gooey.
A very mild overdrive like the Barbershop or the Broadcast can do that, too.
The Jive is relatively easy to get and relatively cheap.
The BJFe Blueberry and the Lehle Sonic Spark are harder to find and more expensive, but they will also add another layer.