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Tech 21 Sansamp BDDI fail

Mad Mux

Mad Mux

Guest
Apr 12, 2013
37
11
SOCAL
#1
I just bought a new Sansamp BDDI, worked great the first time I plugged it in...went to try it on my new homebuilt 115 last night, and the blend pot is not working...signal gets quieter as you turn blend up, until totally quiet with blend at 100%. Called tech support, nice guy, he said sometimes they have experience the blend pot shorting to ground because the mounts are too long or something, and they contact the case, thus shorting...encouraged me to take the back off and take a look, maybe trim the mounting posts or put some thin insulation (elec tape?) to keep it form shorting. But wouldn't doing so void my warranty? I could still take it back to GC, 'cause it's within the 30-day return window, or I could send it to Tech 21 and have them fix it, or I could open it and check it out.....what to do? I was so excited, read many many forums about the BDDI, how reliable they are....had to be MINE that is substandard!

Appreciate your thoughts on what to do. Thanks.:crying:
 
#2
Mad Mux said:
Appreciate your thoughts on what to do. Thanks.:crying:
Click to expand...

Make sure the drive and especially the LEVEL controls are turned up. For a clean bass tone, try the drive control at 9 o'clock and the level at noon.

The "straight" DI signal seems to be a lot louder than the "SansAmp'd" signal at most settings, that's apparent as you sweep the blend knob. The drive and level controls don't affect the dry signal.
 
#4
SansAmp makes good stuff, but flub ups happen. Probably the fastest solution is to take it back to GC and swap it for a different unit. Otherwise, get the guy at SansAmp to shoot you a quick email saying he told you to open it up and try some insulation. If you have it in writing from them, that should avoid any warranty voidance issues. But I don't think they would give you any trouble anyhow since they generally back their products well.

Personally, I'd say go swap it out for the SansAmp ParaDriver. It's everything good about the BDDI plus you get a mid boost!
 
#5
I've never used a pedal of ANY kind before...been happy with just my GK 400RB for all these years... but I played through an SVT-3PRO and 810 a couple weeks back, now I gotta have that tone without the $$ and lbs, from research this seemed one of the better solutions. It's a weird failure mode....all other pots still work find, just not the blend pot...1 week old! I know, as you say, flubs happen. I will drive it to GC tonight and see what they say....if they have the other processor you mention, I may try it out, but honestly I really like the BDDI....just hope I can get one that will work for years and years, like my GK!
 
#7
I'd suggest bringing it back and getting another one. If you're dead set on getting it, that's what I'd do. I've had mine for 10+ years and never had ANY issues with it other than the pots getting a little scratchy. It's a great lil DI/preamp/EQ IMO. I hear the PBDDI is better, depending on which camp you're in, because its the same thing practically with a mid knob. It'll be worth it to take it back and do it right. The odds of you getting another bunk one is pretty slim I think. Overall, I think the BDDI rocks. I've had mine a long while and will probably hold on to it for longer rather its used or not.
 
#8
Mad Mux said:
I've never used a pedal of ANY kind before...been happy with just my GK 400RB for all these years... but I played through an SVT-3PRO and 810 a couple weeks back, now I gotta have that tone without the $$ and lbs, from research this seemed one of the better solutions. It's a weird failure mode....all other pots still work find, just not the blend pot...1 week old! I know, as you say, flubs happen. I will drive it to GC tonight and see what they say....if they have the other processor you mention, I may try it out, but honestly I really like the BDDI....just hope I can get one that will work for years and years, like my GK!
Click to expand...

If you're looking for an "SVT" type pedal, the VT would be a better choice than the BDDI in my opinion.
 
#10
Thanks all for the advice....I'll let you know what happens.

I just discovered another way to get that Ampeg tone that I crave :hyper:...I went from Direct Out on my beloved Ampeg BA-112 (tiny tone king!) to the Effects Return on the GK 400. Voila....much better. Sorry, I love the GK for its reliability and power and clarity in the mix, but I can't get that Ampeg coloration out of my head (literally and figuratively). OK, here we go, off to GC.
 
#11
Took the failed BDDI back to GC, sure enough exchanged it for another one (actually, gave refund, then, after seeing that they had no VT Bass pedal, I bought another BDDI).....so far so good, fingers crossed.

Thanks again for the recommendations and advice.
 
#12
Mad Mux said:
Took the failed BDDI back to GC, sure enough exchanged it for another one (actually, gave refund, then, after seeing that they had no VT Bass pedal, I bought another BDDI).....so far so good, fingers crossed.

Thanks again for the recommendations and advice.
Click to expand...

Good stuff mux. Hope you find what you're looking for in the BDDI. I know it stinks when you can't get what you want at a bigger music store. IME the VT is hard to find in stores. I had to special order mine.
 
#13
This one appears to be a good one (knock on wood, fingers crossed). I was evaluating my homebuilt 115 outside on the patio, and accidentally pulled the BDDI off the rig onto the concrete...'bout had a stroke right there....but it still works OK, so I'm hopeful that this one is a survivor! Makes my cheesy Home Depot-built 115 and ebay Frankenbass sound awesome!
 
#14
dude, that very same thing happened to my BDDI! it worked for about a week, then it came up with cracking/popping sounds as blend was turned up, till it became completely quiet.
your luck, though, is that you could easily trade for another unit at the GC... in my case, I live in Brazil and bought the pedal while travelling to the USA. Had to send the pedal to a local repair store, and its been more than a month since they're waiting for the (imported) defective piece to arrive. I miss my BDDI... couldn't even use it at one single gig before it stopped working. Hopefully it will be back this week!
 
#16
Sorry to hear that, man! I hope it gets corrected the right way, and not too expensive. The tech at Tech 21 said he thought it was easily correctable by insulating the blend pot from shorting to the case or chassis, but when I took the cover off, the pots are mounted ABOVE the circuit board, so you'd have to take that out to get to the pots, which is beyond my electronics repair capability....and I didn't want to risk voiding the warranty any further.

Best of luck to you....I know what you mean, once you get a taste of that tasty SVT-like tone, you never want to play clean again!
 
#17
Haha, thanks a lot for the optimism! It is indeed hard to play without its SVT-ish flavour after tasting it for the first time.
I had the same expectations about fixing it: I was willing to isolate something possibly loose inside, but when I opened the back plate I realised the pots were mounted above the circuit board, so I instantly gave up on fixing it by myself.

I must confess though, that when it comes back, I'll probably trade it on the incoming VT Bass DI. I originally wanted the VT Bass instead of the BDDI, but its lack of a blend knob and DI made me get the bass driver. Now that VT Bass DI looks really promising!
 

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