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TECH 21 DP-3X and TECH21 SansAmp programable Bass DI
- Thread starter Jens4343
- Start date
Honestly, I am a huge, huge tech 21 fan and own a ton of their pedals and the DP-3X is an amazing pedal but I don't really think you need it because your GK R450 base tone is so good. I think you'd be better served by getting a nice distortion pedal that either blends in clean or doesn't cut any lows. Might I recommend the Idiotbox Landphil or Blower Box or Fuzzrocious Demon or Cat Tail or Darkglass Alpha/Omega for distortions and if you want fuzz you have a billion great fuzz options from Earthquaker Devices, Fuzzrocious, Wren & Cuff, Earthbound Audio, etc.
If you're planning on doing any serious home recording I'd get the dUg for sure but GK has a really nice, solid tone that you can build some nice distorted tones over. Honestly it really depends on how heavy the kind of music you are doing is.
If you're planning on doing any serious home recording I'd get the dUg for sure but GK has a really nice, solid tone that you can build some nice distorted tones over. Honestly it really depends on how heavy the kind of music you are doing is.
HI Chris:
Thank you so much for sharing your opinion - I sort of had the feeling it that the pedal might not really add anything to my rig.....
It depends on what sound you are looking for the Dug can creat a very modern bass tone it is very different from typical bass distortion. Much brighter and really stand out in a live setting. I’m punching mine with a Mesa m2000 and a ART nightbass out of a powerhouse 1200. It was way better than I anticipated. The EQ has a lot of range to shape the sound and you can switch the Dug effect off when not needed.. if you play modern rock then you will,luv this. If your sound is more traditional the. It won’t be for you. ReVv
hi there - Well i must admit that i’m playing rock (thin lizzy Whitesnake motorhead and deadly Daisies type Music )
Thank you so much for your advice
Do you have Any suggerions for pedals for that type of Music?
I just got a Dug pedal. I love it! I run it through a GK Mb 500 with a 4x10 Avatar cab or a GK MB112 combo. I use G&L l2000s or any of my various Fenders. I'll be honest, I tried a lot of Darkglass stuff only to return it. I wish I had this pedal years ago. It is super versatile and easy to use. Grindy to fat, you name it. One of my best purchases ever and I have been playing for over 40 years..
IMHO. Yes. 2 pedals that come to mind that will meet 90% of your needs. Tech 21 bass driver deluxe and a BBE sonic stomp. You will sound like gold! What I like about the deluxE is that you can easily program 6 different 3/3 patches to meet your needs, it has a DI out that can go right into the board so you don’t have to carry your rig. Also the deluxe adds the ability to add a second bass. I always gig with 2 plugged in. For me they are the same bass as I break strings, but for others they can be set up with a totally different sound to give you more versatility with just single tap he gives you three additional presets. The BBE just adds sprinkles on to you sound. Those who try it then turn it off usually respond with “Damn that makes a huge difference..”. BBE. Used about 50. Tech 21 250 new 160-200 used super well built and reliable. Hope that helps. ReVV. You can check out the reviews on YouTube there’s plenty Just as a sidenote I tried the VT version for me it wasn’t the same.
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God I love mine too! It is a sound I’ve been looking for for sometime.
Hi :
Well just got hold of the BBE sonic Stomp as well - so now Im ready to go...
Any suggestions for the "line-up" ie right now Im plugged in the DP tech21 then comes the BBE sonic stomp and then straight into the "input jack" on the Amplifier.
Do you have any better ideas? please share...
The dUg is top-tier for me. I love overdrive/distortion for all kinds of music. For rock I go for aggressive high end but definitely do not want farty lows. The dUg gives me all the distortion I want and keeps lows nice and clean and phat. For blues and other non-rock genres I throttle back the distortion and treble and still get great tone. Love the versatility.
Getting late here on the east coast, I can ping you back tomorrow. Here's a couple of things to keep in mind, though: first, my settings will vary depending on the style of music I'm playing, the bass I'm playing, the band I'm gigging with, and the venue. Also... what mood I'm in! Sometimes I feel extra dirty, sometimes not. All that said, I can get back to you with a typical setting.
You have to spend some time with the dug to fully understand what it does and just how versatile it CAN be. There are plenty of suggested settings in the manual that are helpful, as well as many demos on YouTube, I use mine with a Peavey MiniMega for my big rig, and with a Fender Rumble 500 combo & 210 extension. When combined with the Fender 500c/210, it turns that lil' 410 vertical stack into a BEAST...seriously, I was amazed. As Fuzzbass stated, it keeps the low end clean and phat! There is plenty of info in the DP3X thread here on TB too, if you havent already checked it out. The dug is the only overdrive pedal/preamp I have loved, or really liked for that matter 
General notes: the knobs on the dUg are small, and as with most Tech 21 devices, the controls are powerful. The good news is that you get lots of versatility, but the downside is that a small tweak can have a large impact on your overall tone. Also, as explained below, the controls are highly interactive. Bottom line is that there's a learning curve involved with the dUg, but with practice you will get the hang of it.
Chunk is kind of where the magic happens: the balance between clean/compressed lows and dirty highs. As you tweak other controls, you might need to return here to rebalance.
EQ (High, Mid, Low): the dUg has a dip in the midrange between the clean lows and dirty highs. That's by design, it's part of dUg's tone. I often voice my midrange by boosting Mid. Mid frequency is selectable via Shift. I forget which setting is which on the Shift (and the manual is incorrect), so I just use my ears and typically go for low mid boost. For me, High and Low depend on other settings. For example, turning up Comp will accentuate bass frequencies, so you may need to adjust Low (and/or Chunk) accordingly. You may want to save EQ changes as the final touches once other settings are dialed in.
Drive is distortion level. The associated Gain switch gives more volume and more distortion. Keep in mind that this is for mids and highs only, not the lows. When adjusting Drive and/or Gain, return to the Chunk control to rebalance.
Comp is compression that is applied only to the low end. It's a brilliant feature that keeps the clean lows cohesive with the distorted highs. You may want to increase Comp as you increase Drive, but use your ears.
Volume is master volume, simple enough. FWIW I always run the dUg at unity gain - that is, no boost.
Finally, a sample setting. No guarantee it will work for you, but this is from my last gig back in mid-September:
Volume: 8 o'clock
Chunk: 8 o'clock
High: 2 o'clock
Mid: 4 o'clock, low mid setting
Low: 1 o'clock
Comp: 2 o'clock
Drive: 5 o'clock, all the way up, but Gain button is out so it's not max distortion
P.S. Obviously, the settings on your bass and amp matter too, and will add to the complexity. So, when I use the dUg, I usually keep my amp settings flat (I run the dUg into the front of my amp, not in the FX loop). I will also use the passive tone knob on my bass to roll off aggression from the dUg when I need a mellower sound... this is an amazingly useful trick IME.
Holy mo... Thank you so much that was really helpfull.
Now do you guys put the DugPennig pedal in front of or at the end of your chain?
Im using this setup right now:
Bass - tuner - distortion pedal - Dug P-Tech pedal - BBE sonic Stomp - amp input
Im on the right track here?
Now do you guys put the DugPennig pedal in front of or at the end of your chain?
Im using this setup right now:
Bass - tuner - distortion pedal - Dug P-Tech pedal - BBE sonic Stomp - amp input
Im on the right track here?
That will work!
Keep in mind that the order of distortion, DP3X, and BBE is a matter of personal taste. Actually, it does make sense to put BBE last, but I encourage you to experiment with the order of the two distortion pedals. FWIW, I usually put DP3X last when stacking dirt, but there have been exceptions.
P.S. The built-in tuner in the dUg pedal is really good! I'm not saying you should ditch your tuner pedal, maybe it has some advanced features you need (?), but if all you need is basic tuning and your pedalboard starts getting cramped, I'm just sayin' you have some redundancy there.
