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Speaker Simulation D.I. Box?

Joe Lonsdale

Joe Lonsdale

Jan 12, 2019
185
218
London
#1
I currently use an all analogue pedalboard with a Sansamp Programmable as my last pedal that I use for three tone selection and DI. I would like to add a limiter pedal AFTER the Sansamp so am looking to buy a D.I. box to have last in my chain. I thought it would make sense to use a D.I. with speaker simulation to improve my FOH sound when not mic'd up. Any recommendations? They all seem to be aimed at 6-string so are probably voiced inapropriately for bass.... Keen to avoid digital solutions at this stage. :)
 
#3
Shift Line make some amazing gear. They’re a little difficult to get hold of at the minute though. How about a Darkglass Element? It’s a very decent practice tool too: dual headphone out, Bluetooth in for playing along, and a good configurable set of features. I keep one on a practice board and my main board.
 
#8
Joe Lonsdale said:
Keen to avoid digital solutions at this stage. :)
Click to expand...
Not sure how much you're going to be able to avoid digital with a cab simulator. That said, Two notes has a cab simulator they call the Torpedo Captor they claim is analog. I discovered it when I was looking for preamp/DI units. (I ended up going with something else, but the Two-notes Le Bass looked very intriguing. It includes a cab sim too, btw.)
 
#11
Joe Lonsdale said:
I currently use an all analogue pedalboard with a Sansamp Programmable as my last pedal that I use for three tone selection and DI. I would like to add a limiter pedal AFTER the Sansamp so am looking to buy a D.I. box to have last in my chain. I thought it would make sense to use a D.I. with speaker simulation to improve my FOH sound when not mic'd up. Any recommendations? They all seem to be aimed at 6-string so are probably voiced inapropriately for bass.... Keen to avoid digital solutions at this stage. :)
Click to expand...

Why do you feel the need to add a limiter in line with the pedal? Are all you presets set to the same level. The SansAmp has an analog speaker sim built in. The thing to keep in mind is that the Blend control mixes between your uneffected signal and the amp emulation. You may want to run the Blend full up and readjust your settings if you feel the analog speaker sim isn't enough.
 
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#12
tech21nyc said:
Why do you feel the need to add a limiter in line with the pedal? Are all you presets set to the same level. The SansAmp has an analog speaker sim built in. The thing to keep in mind is that the Blend control mixes between your uneffected signal and the amp emulation. You may want to run the Blend full up and readjust your settings if you feel the analog speaker sim isn't enough.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I love the SansAmp but if I do all my compression before the distortion stage, I lose the dynamics - the ability to really dig in and get extra bite out of the distortion applied by the SansAmp. What I would ideally like is a send/return on the SansAmp pre-speaker SIM, post-distortion to slot some compression into! Don't get me wrong, my rig sounds great and the SansAmp is a big part of that, but I don't get to put my compression where I really want it - after distortion.
 
#13
Depending on the settings of the Drive control, the SansAmp will provide its own compression which is a byproduct of that type of tube emulation. Even if you do want to run a compressor after the SansAmp's distortion I'm not understanding why you think it should be between the distortion and speaker sim?
 
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#15
tech21nyc said:
Depending on the settings of the Drive control, the SansAmp will provide its own compression which is a byproduct of that type of tube emulation. Even if you do want to run a compressor after the SansAmp's distortion I'm not understanding why you think it should be between the distortion and speaker sim?
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That is where I would instinctively put a compressor - after the sound has been created but before it reaches the amplifier/speaker. I know this is a matter of opinion.
 
#16
Joe Lonsdale said:
Thanks for the reply. I love the SansAmp but if I do all my compression before the distortion stage, I lose the dynamics - the ability to really dig in and get extra bite out of the distortion applied by the SansAmp. What I would ideally like is a send/return on the SansAmp pre-speaker SIM, post-distortion to slot some compression into! Don't get me wrong, my rig sounds great and the SansAmp is a big part of that, but I don't get to put my compression where I really want it - after distortion.
Click to expand...

I got a Sansamp Deluxe for that purpose. You get an FX loop that is capable of just that.

Other than that, I can recommend a simple variable HPF and LPF plus a DI. The broughton High&Low Pass Filter is a good pedal, in Europe there is the Schalltechnik_04 Vong Filterung kit. This is HPF + LPF +DI out.

There are a lot of things a cab CAN do for your sound, but only a few it NEEDS to do.
The bandpass filtering is the only thing that matters if you want to send a signal straight to FOH and want it to work right out of the box.

However, the Sansamp already does a good job at that.
 
#18
Could you not just use a regular DI after the limiter? I mean the sansamp is literally designed to emulate a mic'd bass amp, you seem happy enough with that and all you want to do is add a limiter to the end of the chain. I don't think you'd need a second cab sim as the one in the Sansamp is, I assume, still in play. You just need a plain old DI box after the limiter.
 
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