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Sansamp BDDI vs Aguilar Tone Hammer
- Thread starter Steve Zapp
- Start date
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.
i am currently waiting for bestbassgear to let me order a TH and, i really wanna get a bassdrive, do they combine well at all?
how does the drive compare between the two?
Dan
I've spent some time at home with the Tone Hammer, playing it and listening to recordings I've made.
Its drive is musical throughout and goes from barely noticeable to full-out saturation.
No experience with the BassDrive, but I'd suggest trying the Tone Hammer by itself before deciding if another device is needed.
It really all depends on what sound you're going for. All that follows is based on that fact that I don't want a fuzzmetaldistortionoverdrivewhatonearthisthatnoise mess. Because you can certainly get that from these pedals combined. If you want something somewhat recognizable as a bass guitar, then feel free to consider my thoughts on the matter.
When engaged in any mode, both pedals send a really hot signal. I am using an 18v supply on the BassDrive, which adds a significant amount of headroom.
Bass -> BassDrive -> ToneHammer.
With the BassDrive first, It's easy to overdrive the front end of the TH, even with the AGS off. A (relatively) clean signal from the BassDrive (comp cut) sounds pretty good, but with the AGS on, the effect will not be subtle. There are a lot of options on the BassDrive, and each has a profound effect on the signal. And you can forget about using the BassDrive's Boost feature. In any case, you will need to have the BassDrive volume extremely low, which is unfortunate because it sounds better the more you turn it up. Overdriving the TH frontend doesn't necessarily sound bad by itself, to me it doesn't not help in anyway the sound of the AGS feature. I mean, it's just overdriving the AGS, so with the AGS gain at 2, it's rather like having it at 10. So when you have the AGS at 5 or 6, it's sounding pretty nasty(<-relative term alert!!
) . I much prefer the sound of the AGS engaged over the BassDrive overdriving the TH. It is a delicate balance of getting the Volume and Gain knobs just right to get usable sounds (other than full on distortion) this way, and to me it's not worth the trouble.Bass -> ToneHammer - >BassDrive
This seems to be a much more appropriate setup, considering each pedals design. Having the TH first gives you the ability to EQ your bass's clean signal, and send DI that's not loaded with effects (you can do that later in the studio, and FOH doesn't want 'em.) Plus, the AGS sounds much better without another overdrive in front of it. AND the BassDrive (with all it's 18V headroom) accommodates the hotter signal from the TH nicely. I like to use the BassDrive in the comp cut mode mostly, as it just fattens things up and adds a little hair (as they say). The only thing to watch here is, again, that the BassDrive output is really hot, and without liberal attenuation, its easy to overdrive whatever comes next in your signal chain. That's all fine and dandy on my V4, but anything that's not your poweramp is likely to start clipping when you've got both pedals engaged.
In the end, it's doubtful that I'll use this combo very often. Trying to get the volume right while using 2 overdrive pedals is too much for me. If I happened to get a gig that really needed a fuzzy bass, then sure I'd have everything I needed for that. The ToneHammer gives me EQ, DI, and dirt; it's exactly what I need right now in one box.
They are quite different. Comp Cut is my favorite setting on the BassDrive, but if you needed some real dirty fuzz, well it's got that in spades, too. To me it sounds fat and, with the tone down, dark. It's mean and sounds great loud and with a loud band. Personally, I wouldn't put "SVT" and "BassDrive" in the same sentence, unless I was actually going to be using both of them (which is awesome). If you need an extra gain stage (2 actually), then the BassDrive also delivers fully.
To me, the ToneHammer's drive, to use the parlance of our times, sounds hairy, gritty, wooly, fuzzy, round, and big. And it can be subtle or very out front. To me, it just sits in the mix nicely. (I play mostly blues and rock)
See if you can get the sound you want when you get the ToneHammer. If you're looking for more gain and some real fuzz, check out a BassDrive.
hey NoHomework thanks for the detailed response, definately gonna get the TH first and probably the bass drive a little further down the line.
Subscribed. I was debating between the BDDI and the BassBone when I came across posts about the TH.
My playing is almost exclusively straight-to-PA praise & worship. I'm looking for a good bass DI with some nice tone-shaping for rock, ballads and funk/blues.
Look forward to more info on the TH as more TBers use them.
My playing is almost exclusively straight-to-PA praise & worship. I'm looking for a good bass DI with some nice tone-shaping for rock, ballads and funk/blues.
Look forward to more info on the TH as more TBers use them.
sniff...
I want to resurrect this thread.
Anyone pick up the Tone Hammer? How's it working out for you? What about you guys who already got the TH - still liking it????
Must... Have... Opppinions!!!!!!!!
Anyone pick up the Tone Hammer? How's it working out for you? What about you guys who already got the TH - still liking it????
Must... Have... Opppinions!!!!!!!!
Found some clips for the Tone Hammer, some of them are with the tone hammer on all the time, others are of the tone hammer off the first half of the clip then the tone hammer on the second half:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Have the Tone Hammer, love it , use it as a DI into the house PA every week. Sweepable mid range is my favorite feature. You can hear the voice of each bass you play through it. (I also use a GB Shuttle 9.0, it's like an amp'd TH)
Had an SanAmp RBI, sold it. Adds to much color and gunk to the tone. All the basses sound blah blah blah.
Had an SanAmp RBI, sold it. Adds to much color and gunk to the tone. All the basses sound blah blah blah.
I want to resurrect this thread.
Anyone pick up the Tone Hammer? How's it working out for you? What about you guys who already got the TH - still liking it????
Must... Have... Opppinions!!!!!!!!
Tone Hammer owner here.
I personally love the pedal. It helped me add that little bit of juice that was missing from my Jazz. Love the way it shapes my tone. Very warm, very functional. I use it as a pre/EQ for my normal setup, and have incorporated it twice now, cutting some tracks. No experience sending the TH to the front of the house, however, but it's nice to have that option available in a pinch.
The Tone Hammer is a great tool to have. While I do like to preamp for adding some character to my tone when using an amp I don't love - the DI is just incredible. It always sounds better than a house DI and can really save your ass if the amp fails.
Last month I did a fly date where the backline provider brought 3 different high end amps/cabs and none of them worked properly...blown cabs, broken heads, etc. Considering that it was a 5000 seat venue and I was sight reading the gig....I was needless to say, freaking out. I just told the sound guy not to worry and run me direct through the TH and bump up my monitors. It sounded so good I hardly missed the amp!
Last month I did a fly date where the backline provider brought 3 different high end amps/cabs and none of them worked properly...blown cabs, broken heads, etc. Considering that it was a 5000 seat venue and I was sight reading the gig....I was needless to say, freaking out. I just told the sound guy not to worry and run me direct through the TH and bump up my monitors. It sounded so good I hardly missed the amp!
Yeah, I actually saw those clips when I first heard about the Tone Hammer. There's some really good stuff there, thanks for posting it!
I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about the Sans Amp.
I'm definitely steering more toward the Tone Hammer or a Sadowsky outboard pre.
Yup that's what I'm looking for - to juice up my passive Jazz bass. I'm considering making all of my basses passive and just having an outboard preamp so I can have the best of both worlds.
Wow, that's quite a testimonial for the Tone Hammer! I play a lot of gigs at church and our guitar player just shows up with a POD and goes direct. It would be nice if I didn't have to lug amps around and could just bring this and run direct as well.
Have you had any experience with the Sadowsky outboard preamp as well?
I know a lot of folks say the two are similar, but everyone always has their preference.
I've owned the Tone Hammer, BDDI, Sadowsky preamp/di, Bassbone and VT Bass. The only one I STILL own is the Tone Hammer. I use it in a lot of settings, including a church environment. It owns all those other pedals IMHO.Wow, that's quite a testimonial for the Tone Hammer! I play a lot of gigs at church and our guitar player just shows up with a POD and goes direct. It would be nice if I didn't have to lug amps around and could just bring this and run direct as well.
Have you had any experience with the Sadowsky outboard preamp as well?
I know a lot of folks say the two are similar, but everyone always has their preference.
I don't think the TH and Sadowsky are similar. The Sadowsky can't do half the things that the TH can do. Since the Treble and Bass settings are very close, the TH does sound a bit like the Sad when you leave the mids flat and the AGS off. The Sad still has a more glassy ping up top, but the TH is close but a bit warmer sounding. Not different enough to matter IMO.
As for TH compared to the BDDI and VT Bass, there are pros and cons. The VT Bass to me is too clanky and harsh, but it does have a pleasant overdrive that's different from the Tone Hammer's, which I also like. The BDDI's blend control lets you do some cool things. For me, the Tone Hammer is the winner though in all-around usability.
I also have the Aguilar Agro which, combined with the TH, is really the ultimate setup. It has a different kind of overdrive that compliments the TH very nicely.
The 18v design of the TH is really nice. Headroom for days, and it has way more output than those other pedals if you want to push a poweramp, although those others will do it fine as well.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no way to use the EQ on the Tone Hammer without the DI coloration (like you can do with the Sansamp Paradriver)?
