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Sansamp BDDI vs Aguilar Tone Hammer

BDDI vs Tone Hammer

  • BDDI

    Votes: 37 29.8%

  • Tone Hammer

    Votes: 87 70.2%
  • Total voters
    124
#21
Andy Will said:
Hi Joker,
Thought I'd answer your question first as you have helped me out with amps a lot in the past!;)

Just picked my Tonehammer up today and yes it can go straight to overdrive. Just leave the 'AGS' (right switch) on then use the 'Engage' (left button) as your on/off switch.

Concerning this thread as a whole, my initial thoughts are that the Sansamp would be considered more of an Amp simulator doing different forms of amp sounds and overdrive, while the Tonehammer is more of an AG500SC with a D.I. and E.Q.'able overdrive in a pedal. So, while similar in principle, aren't actually for 100% the same purpose.

B.T.W. The Tonehammer Rocks!:hyper:
Click to expand...

good stuff, thx for the heads up!

and good to know i steered at least one person in the right direction... ;)
 
#22
Andy Will said:
Just to help a little before I go and test the Tonehammer some more. Most of these answers are all on the Aguilar website!:hiding:

But.......it's 18v, has an 'optional power supply and a Boss style plug.:)
Click to expand...

18v?

hmm... that pretty much sent it off my board. :(

i have a dual 9v to single boss connector adapter that i got w/ my diamond halo chorus, but i'm afraid to think what it might do to the tone hammer.
 
#31
For those of you using the Tone Hammer - or planning to get one...what's your planned use?

I could see it being used as:

  • a tone shaper that's always engaged
  • a dry/solo dual sound setting
  • a dry/overdrive dual sound setting

I can't imagine using the Tone Hammer in the normal mode and then shifting on the AGC...there's a lot of gain that's suddenly brought in...unless it was kicked in for a much louder part of a song.
 
#32
Right now, my signal chain is:
Bass -> Tone Hammer -> Crown XLS -> Speaker Cabinet
So, right now I'm really counting on the Tone Hammer for all my EQing and tone shaping, and it's working quite well. The parametric Mid Freq is crucial, and effective. So when I'm playing, the TH is always on. Most of the time, I leave the AGS on with the gain between 10 and 12. It's really a great sounding pedal. I agree that as a dual mode (dry/solo) effect, engaging the AGS does add a lot of volume, and I don't use it this way in the middle of a song. I will switch modes between songs and back of the bass volume to bring it down a little, while still getting the AGS sound I want. I've only had it for a week, so I haven't totally gotten used to it. Having never owned 2 overdrive pedals at the same time, I found things can get a little hairy when you put a BassDrive MOSFET in the signal chain. That's 4 gain stages, and my first experiment with this setup almost cost me some new PA speakers. :eek:
 
#33
tornadobass said:
For those of you using the Tone Hammer - or planning to get one...what's your planned use?

I could see it being used as:

  • a tone shaper that's always engaged
  • a dry/solo dual sound setting
  • a dry/overdrive dual sound setting

I can't imagine using the Tone Hammer in the normal mode and then shifting on the AGC...there's a lot of gain that's suddenly brought in...unless it was kicked in for a much louder part of a song.
Click to expand...

I noticed that. There's no way to balance the clean output with the AGC output. It could use a separate gain and volume knob for the AGC.
 
#35
Originally Posted by Munjibunga
I noticed that. There's no way to balance the clean output with the AGC output. It could use a separate gain and volume knob for the AGC.
Click to expand...

Do other preamp/drive pedals typically have this feature? My BassDrive does not, and operates the same was as the TH. I've gotten used to it, but totally agree that it would be nice to balance the outputs. I'm guessing this would take the price of both pedals well over the $200 mark.
 
#36
Brought the tone hammer out for jamming today. And i really enjoy using this pedal as a drive pedal. Getting the exact sound i want with the 3 band EQ. And the mid freq helps alot.

The really high headroom makes it sound very open as well. Big + for me on the drive. I cant live without my BDDI for the colour it gives my tone. And i put the TH after for dirt and slight variations in EQ. Highly recommended! Im just happy that they can both live with each other. :hyper:
 
#38
how do u guys who have had the chance to play the tone hammer think it would compare to the Tech 21 VT bass? im deciding between the sansamp BDDI, the Tech 21 VT bass, or the tone hammer...how do you think it compares in terms of tone, sounds you can get out of it, etc?
 
#40
Just received my TH today - amazing. Running a JoBo5 passive and while it adds an enormous amount of color, clarity, and power it doesn't really change the core sound of the bass - Briefly ran through my Ashdown EVO 500 and 210 cab flat EQ on the amp and TH engaged, very nice - the mids are all you've been hearing about. Then I bumped up the bass on the TH, rolled off a bit of the neck PU, hit the AGS and KNOCKED MY DOG OVER!! Punchy, vintage tight and basically sounded like I bought an entirely new cab system. The little 210 really came alive. Have fun TH'ers!!
 

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