I recently got a Para Driver and it quickly replaced my BDDIv2. I like the mids better. I use it at home with my Fender Rumble 40, and with backlined amps.
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Sure, stacking BDDI with SH1 should work fine!
What’s that? Could you write a bit the background story of that amp? Cheers.
I stack a YYZ Shapeshifter and SH1 with fabulous results. The clean tone is more "3D" and I have two drives by stacking as well.
@IvanMike aren’t you glad I didn’t buy the SH1 now? 
I had the 2112-DI and wish I could have kept it but if I ever run two amps like I was planning to do with it, I’ll buy one again. I’ll definitely be getting the SH1 within the next 2 months. I want to just use it for gigs that have back lines, etc…
And look, this is post 666! I saw Mr. Harris for the first time on the Number of the Beast tour. They were opening for the Scorpions and it was Bruce Dickinson’s 24th birthday that night. I had already been a fan since the first album. My father took me. He’d already seen them on the Killers tour. Such a great night that was for me. Though I was a drummer then, I was still attracted to Maiden years before because of those bass lines. It definitely stood out in comparison to most of the other metal bands at the time. Just like Geddy’s lines (even amongst all the other rock/prog/conceptual artists at time…was a great place in time to be growing up and hearing these guys for the first time and then witnessing their careers blossoming. They’re still blooming and booming, which is totally cool and has always been inspiring.
Thanks Tech21 for putting out great signature products on these artists! I used the VT Bass for years. Got it early in its release. I definitely see the SH1 in my future as well as the ParaDriver.
Cheers
I had the 2112-DI and wish I could have kept it but if I ever run two amps like I was planning to do with it, I’ll buy one again. I’ll definitely be getting the SH1 within the next 2 months. I want to just use it for gigs that have back lines, etc…
And look, this is post 666! I saw Mr. Harris for the first time on the Number of the Beast tour. They were opening for the Scorpions and it was Bruce Dickinson’s 24th birthday that night. I had already been a fan since the first album. My father took me. He’d already seen them on the Killers tour. Such a great night that was for me. Though I was a drummer then, I was still attracted to Maiden years before because of those bass lines. It definitely stood out in comparison to most of the other metal bands at the time. Just like Geddy’s lines (even amongst all the other rock/prog/conceptual artists at time…was a great place in time to be growing up and hearing these guys for the first time and then witnessing their careers blossoming. They’re still blooming and booming, which is totally cool and has always been inspiring.
Thanks Tech21 for putting out great signature products on these artists! I used the VT Bass for years. Got it early in its release. I definitely see the SH1 in my future as well as the ParaDriver.
Cheers
This is the only tube bass preamp that Tech 21 made. Here is the description from the website:
Private Stock Formula 21 Vacuum Tube Bass Pre-Amp
Andrew Barta created this because he was curious how the SansAmp Bass Driver would sound if he made it with tubes. It was an interesting and challenging project because certain tasks had to be accomplished in completely different ways.
Striving to capture the functionality and basic nature of the SansAmp Bass Driver, Andrew ended up with a product that is unique on its own with old-school analog, vintage sound.
For bass, in particular, most of the tone traditionally comes from the pre-amp stage of a bass amp. Therefore, you have a lightweight tube-driven pre-amp and the flexibility to choose the power amp and wattage that best suits your needs.
The Private Stock Formula 21 Vacuum Tube Bass Pre-Amp is custom-designed by Andrew Barta, hand-built, tested and tweaked at our factory in the United States. It is available direct from Tech 21 only.
Private Stock – Tech 21 NYC
Anyone try the new Frank Bello pedal yet? I'm so happy with my dUg and SH1 that I'm not really looking elsewhere, but of course I'm curious.
I have inquired with Tech 21 on a couple of occasions about future availability of the F21. The answer is always the same. There are no plans to build any more of them. I would have loved to have gotten one. Michael - if you ever decide to sell it.. let me know.
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The BDDI v2 have a mid control now, I never tried the Para and the BD side by side but they should IMHO sound very similar except the little filters hi/lo in the BD is probably tuned more for the bass, the para is a general purpose d.i.
Matter of taste.
I have the same config: PDDI+Rumble 40.
I find myself activating the "Rumble Filter" - no pun intended - as it gets very muddy w/o it.
Do other people have similar experiences? I guess this rumble filter is there for some reason...
Tks
To my understanding the PDDI has the mid EQ pre-drive (the manual says boosting the mids will increase saturation). On the BDDI v2 it seems the mid EQ is post drive (like 'treble' and 'bass'). This could in more extreme settings make the difference more clear I expect. But I do not know, I haven't heard the PDDI and BDDI side by side in the real world either
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There is some tonal overlap between the Bass and Para Driver DI pedals' but they are different circuits and neither can do everything the other can. The Programmable Bass Drivers' EQ is different from the current Bass Driver v2 with the midrange control. On the Programmable unit when the Bass and Treble are boosted you get a midrange dip and when they are boosted you get a bump in the Mids. The Mids on the Bass Driver do not alter the gain like on the Para Driver. The active EQ will affect the "volume" though.
In the end it depends what you are using the products with. All bets are off when you go into the front of an amp with its own EQ pre-shape and tone network.
In the end it depends what you are using the products with. All bets are off when you go into the front of an amp with its own EQ pre-shape and tone network.
To my understanding the PDDI has the mid EQ pre-drive (the manual says boosting the mids will increase saturation). On the BDDI v2 it seems the mid EQ is post drive (like 'treble' and 'bass'). This could in more extreme settings make the difference more clear I expect. But I do not know, I haven't heard the PDDI and BDDI side by side in the real world either
Interesting points. I never owned the PDDI. I did however own the RBI and RPM, which at their core are rackmount versions of the BDDI and PDDI respectively (though the RBI had a mid control unlike the BDDIv1). I ran them in tandem back when I was rack-rigging. The RBI was similar enough to the BDDI in that it had a mid scoop when Blend was fully wet -- sometimes that mid scoop worked great, but when it didn't, I'd roll back Blend (same as I did with the BDDI). The RPM seemed ruler-flat -- no inherent mid contour. Also, the RPM was capable of heavier distortion that seemed grittier than the overdrive from the BDDI.
I don't use the Rumble Filter because I cut the bass instead of boosting it. But I can see how it would be helpful if you were boosting it. Especially on the Fender, which is kinda muddy to begin with.
As to the general discussion of Para Driver vs Bass Driver, I found that the settings I used on the Bass Driver were easily dialed in with the Para Driver. And then I could get more mids as well, which is one thing I was looking for. My GK 115 cab is mid focused, and being able to dial that in better with backlined amps is something the BDDI just wasn't succeeding at. It sounds good, it's just not what I'm going for. So we'll see how the Para Driver does in those situations as they come up.
I know it was a typo, but just in case somebody at a later date gets confused by it.
Just keep in mind thar the para is a general purpose preamp, for example, with an acoustic instrument as a acoustic guitar on a stage, the rumble filter is very useful for controlling low frequency feedback.
Hi everyone, in the end I decided to buy the bass fly rig v2.. apart from this I would like to ask you if it is normal for there to be a lot of background hiss.. and when I press the button on the pad it emits a popping noise from the speaker.. more light when I press the char or bite button..thank you so much
@tech21nyc I have 3 Sansamp, each of which can be phantom powered. Can I power the last one in line with the phantom power from the xlr and then power the other 2 by daisy chaining the power supply jacks together? Thanks
