Tube Emulation

[BadMonk]

I did some research about finding a big, fat, bottom end tone that sounds tubey. Searching for the SVT sound on a budget of $200 or less. Seems like there's a lot of confusing choices.

The easier to use, the better. I play blues and classic rock. Here are the choices that I found:
Guyatone Bass Driver
SamsAmp BDI
MXR M080
Line6 BassPOD
Fulltone BassDrive
Homebrew Electronics Hematoma

Am I on the right track with any of these? Which is best in your subjective opinion?

Current rig is Fender P and J bass, Peavey 450 Max head, Fender 210 Pro cab.

 

[nad]

I'm fully convinced that my BJF Blue Berry has a pair of power tubes buried inside its small, yet oddly heavy, metal canister, but it isn't exactly cheap or easy to find. Due to this pedal, I'm trying to sell my old all-tube Sunn amp right now because I no longer need it.

The Fulltone and Homebrew can get you close enough I would imagine, but they are both variations on the theme that is a Tube Screamer clone. If that's your bag, either one should be fine.

EDIT: somebody please correct me if I'm wrong on this whole tube screamer business.

 

[bassteban]

W/O a lot of experience w/SVTs I will say I LOVE my Guyatone Bass Driver. It's got a lot of variation in there & can make a crappy old Crate 1B(their first bass amp- from '79)sound MUCH better. I also have a Mesa D-180, so I do know what tubes sound like. Second to the Guya(IME)is the Dan-O Daddy-O. I'm only selling mine because the Bass Driver is so sweet.

 

[JanusZarate]

The SansAmp was my personal favorite choice for SVT-like tube emulation. Go for a used Programmable Bass Driver if you can, for extra flexibility!

IMO, The MXR M-80 is more of a compliment to a tube amp. The clean channel was nice, but it is by no means a tube emulator - rather, it's a tone-shaping tool. As for the distortion channel... it wasn't too great, and on high settings, it just didn't sound good. I'm guessing a tube amp would do it justice, but on solid state... ugh.

 

[Adam Barkley]

I'm fully convinced that my BJF Blue Berry has a pair of power tubes buried inside its small, yet oddly heavy, metal canister, but it isn't exactly cheap or easy to find. Due to this pedal, I'm trying to sell my old all-tube Sunn amp right now because I no longer need it.

The Fulltone and Homebrew can get you close enough I would imagine, but they are both variations on the theme that is a Tube Screamer clone. If that's your bag, either one should be fine.

I've never had a bassist not like the Blueberry. It is the drive with which I compare all others. The price point keeps away all but the select few who are serious about stepping outside the world of the Sansamps and Muffs. But really, EBS and Fulltone's drives are fairly close in the grand scheme.

I didn't realize that the Hematoma was a TS clone.

 

[nad]

I didn't realize that the Hematoma was a TS clone.

I'm pretty sure it is, considering how close in flavor the overdrive character is between it and the Fulltone, which I know to be TS-based.

Of course now that I'm trying to find a concrete answer I'm coming up empty, better clarify my original post...