::anyone using a Tech21 Bass Driver just as an effect?::

[lowbasslowbass]

Is anyone using a Tech 21 Bass Driver just as an effect and not as a DI box?

 

Where do you put it in your effects chain when it is not used as a DI?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

[beam]

A few people on here use it as a distortion box, though I think that's probably not the best use of it.

 

There are, however, a lot of people on here that use it as a preamp.

[JC Bass]

I use it for it's warm goodness. My chain looks like this:

 

Bass -> BDDI -> GT-6B -> Amp

 

I don't use the BDDI & GT-6B at the same time. When I'm not playing a song that has effected bass, I bypass the 6B and just use the BDDI. If I'm playing something like Sharp Dressed Man or American Woman, I turn the BDDI off and use the 6B.

[lowbasslowbass]

Anyone else?

[megadan]

I just got mine... so I would also like to hear an answer to this

[januaryscar]

Yes...

My chain is bass > tuner > compressor > BDDI > amp

 

i use it basically as a tonal boost. everything is set to 12 oclock on the BDDI, and the output set to instrument.

 

I get the sound guy to run direct from the BDDI and not my amp though.

[lowbasslowbass]

Anyone else using the Bass Driver as a preamp and not a DI?

[lowbasslowbass]

well?

[Groovin' Hippo]

I use mine as a preamp. I have my amp's tone controls at 12:00 (flat, except for the highs control which is rolled all the way off to defeat the tweeter/horn) and run bass-->tuner-->BDDI--> amp.

 

I use the BDDI level as my main volume control, and the EQ/drive/presence as my main tone shapers.

 

I find I keep it mostly at the 12:00 (or thereabout) positions, and slightly tweak to taste.

 

I run a Kawai bass (using the passive P pickup) and Yorkville BM200 combo, with an Avatar 1x15 extension cab. We play a wide variety of songs/styles, and I try to get the tone of my bas to be "Deep, clean, and clear." (All the while avoiding any top end, 'cause I like the sound of old Motown-y thump better than anything else. No zing/clank/rattle for me, thanks. )

 

The BDDI is a really sensitive controller, a little tweak makes a big difference.

[lowbasslowbass]

Come on, Sansamp users: share your wisdom.

[megadan]

I'm having a hard time getting my sansamp to be anything but a treble booster.... I have brand new strings, a J pickup, an SWR amp, and 10's with a tweeter, I don't need any more treble!!!

Where's that warm tubey sound? Blah.

 

Sounds good for recording though. It scares me when I play through my rig, cause I hear overdrivage, and think my ultra clean rig is clipping, when really it's just mr. sansamp donig his thing (I hope!)

[bassman1956]

Sometimes I use it to help push the gain a bit for a grittier sound.

[JeffBass]

I use it if we are doing a "bluesy" set because I like the way it warms up my usually bright'n punchy Spector + GK setup. I can get a near "fretless" smooth (on roundwounds) using the Sansamp as a pre-amp. It's also good for a boost on rock parts where you want the bass to scream (think old King Crimson with John Wetton).

I always have it with me in case my head blows out. It beats a standard direct box because of the nice EQing options and the parallel, uneffected output signal which means you can run stereo out into the PA.

[lowbasslowbass]

Thanks, JeffBass.

Anyone else?

[johnp352]

I started using it as a preamp when it came out. The more I do studio work/headphones..the less i use it, as in turning down the blend control to the point where it's off..because it interferes with the natural sound of the bass. I've also used it as an insert..and have tried recording with it on only as a monitoring device..then folding it back through in the mix..BUT..I have the priviledge of sometimes using really good stuff like an old Neve pre at the places I work(such as it is)..so guess what I don't use then? that's right..

 

I was using it for a while as a dub box..radical eq I could throw in..but the fx25 with a shut filter/sensitivity works much better.

 

I don't like the od sound at all. but then again, the best "od" sound to me is James Jamerson pushing a Fairchild compressor into the red..thick..not some wanker playing an active bass with a pick while the singer who looks like a monster cartoon character is arrrfing about his big ass set of problems..

 

It's ok live, but really..by the time your bass sound gets shoved thru 3 different gain stages/eq's, mangled by ignoramous sound "techs" who spend and hour on the kick and 20 seconds on the bass, then funneled into a {censored}e PA..I don't think anyone cares..might as well use the cheapest thing you can. behringer comes to mind..just make sure you buy 2..

[lowbasslowbass]

Thank you for your input. I use the Bass Driver as a dub box, too.

[januaryscar]

 

Originally posted by megadan I'm having a hard time getting my sansamp to be anything but a treble booster.... I have brand new strings, a J pickup, an SWR amp, and 10's with a tweeter, I don't need any more treble!!! Where's that warm tubey sound? Blah. Sounds good for recording though. It scares me when I play through my rig, cause I hear overdrivage, and think my ultra clean rig is clipping, when really it's just mr. sansamp donig his thing (I hope!)

 

 

If your rig is clipping, try plugging in to the active input (assuming you aren't already). Even if you are using a passive bass - the BDDI pushes SWR amps to clipping point with ease IME.