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Sansamp

P

Piezoman

Nov 29, 2002
345
2
36
Bronx, New York
#1
Im looking to put a power/pre rig in my home. Young guy, miniumum wage job looking for a bigger rig. Only getting 260 watts out of my workingmans 4004.

Im either planning on trading in my WM cabinet and buying a 4ohm Avatar 4x10 to get the extra 140 watts out of my amp and giving me a better tone.

or

Selling all of it and buying an Avatar 4x10, A cheap Power amp(behringer) and running it all the the sansamp DI.

Which would be a better setup?
 
#2
I guess the first question is, do you like the sound of the 4004?

Could you save up for a second cab? Assuming weight isn't an issue, an 8 ohm 1x15" or 2x12" would go great with the 4x10" you already have. Not only would you get the full 400W, you would get the added benefit of more speaker area.
 
#3
The tone is ok...nothing special. Ive played through sansamp DI's and that would be a cheap pre-amp for now until I save up for better stuff. I like the sansamp tone better.

I figure the second option would only cost me about 3-400 after I sell my workingman's rig.
 
#4
years ago I had a swr bass 350 head and ran a sansamp RBI as my preamp and used the return on the effects loop to get the signal to the poweramp section of the 350. this DRAMATICALLY improved my tone. later I bought a separate power amp.

maybe you could do that? if tone is top priority. if more volume is needed try adding another 8ohm cab to the amp??

also going from workingman cab to avatar might not be that much of an improvement from what I remember from my limited avatar exposure. I've owned some wm cabs. maybe this is predictable, but check into Aguilar GS112 or 112nt (no tweeter) for about $375 new or 200-300 used. much better lows, but softer mids. maybe a bit power hungry to sound their best.
 
#5
Mcrelly said:
years ago I had a swr bass 350 head and ran a sansamp RBI as my preamp and used the return on the effects loop to get the signal to the poweramp section of the 350. this DRAMATICALLY improved my tone. later I bought a separate power amp.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea. Buy the SansAmp RBI now, and use the 4004 as the power amp. Or if you are only looking for the tone, get the SansAmp BDDI and put it in front of the amp.

The advantages of the RBI is that if you go the power amp route in the future, you already have the preamp. The advantage of the BDDI is that it is cheap. If you buy the BDDI used you can probably sell for what you paid for it.

Remember if you buy the RBI or get the preamp/power amp rig you will also need a rack case/bag of some sort. That will run you another $100 or up.
 
#8
seanm said:
That's a good idea. Buy the SansAmp RBI now, and use the 4004 as the power amp. Or if you are only looking for the tone, get the SansAmp BDDI and put it in front of the amp.

The advantages of the RBI is that if you go the power amp route in the future, you already have the preamp. The advantage of the BDDI is that it is cheap. If you buy the BDDI used you can probably sell for what you paid for it.

Remember if you buy the RBI or get the preamp/power amp rig you will also need a rack case/bag of some sort. That will run you another $100 or up.
Click to expand...

I use the sabddi as a preamp with my SA Focus poweramp. You can totally use the pedal version as a preamp. It has plenty of output signal to drive a poweramp. I used to have a stewart 1000w poweramp and the sabddi worked great with that as well.. being used as a preamp.

You should also consider the sansamp para driver, which is basically the same unit except that it has no presence knob (you probably wont miss it unless you use a lot of distortion) but has sweepable mids thru which you can drastically alter your tone. Other than that it has all the features of the sabddi. I sold my sabddi and bought the para driver and I am quite pleased with my decision.
 
#9
VEGANBASS said:
You should also consider the sansamp para driver, which is basically the same unit except that it has no presence knob (you probably wont miss it unless you use a lot of distortion) but has sweepable mids thru which you can drastically alter your tone. Other than that it has all the features of the sabddi. I sold my sabddi and bought the para driver and I am quite pleased with my decision.
Click to expand...

according to the tech21 website it is a pedal version of the RPM not the RBI so the tone should be significantly different. in my opinion if a person likes a darker sound get the RPM if you like a greater potential for bright AND dark get the RBI or BDDI. even though I tend not to use my 'presence' or tweeters I prefer the RBI over the RPM.

I HAVE OWNED BOTH!!! :cool:
 
#10
Hmm.. interesting different ears I guess.

I own both pedal versions right now and I dont notice any difference b/n the two when run flat. I am not into distortion for bass so the presence knob does little for me, but the sweepable mids knob on the para driver is extremely useful.
 
#11
I've got an RBI and an RPM back at home [i'm in a dorm now]. I've been thinking about picking up one of the pedal versions so that i have something here with those tones.

For my rig-i started off w/an RBI + Carvin Power Amp. Definately worth the money.

I have no experience w/the pedal versions.

That's all
 
#12
I am finding it strange that people associate the presence knob with distortion. To my mind they are quite different. Now the presence does colour the sound a lot when cranked... but that is what I bought the SansAmp for.

I never use the SansAmp for distortion. I probably *would* if they had added a second switch to switch it in and out.
 
#13
I was told by Lloyd at Tech 21 that the primary purpose of the presence knob is to alter the higher frequencies of the drive/distortion knob. I find this to be true. At lower settings, as far as I can remember, the presence knob does not do much.

I used the sabddi presence/drive knobs on a punk song that I wrote with my band and it sounds very grindy/good. The para driver cannot achieve this tone with just the drive knob, but still can get distortion... just not nearly as good sounding.
 

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