| Reviewer
| Marck
|
| Experience
| 20
|
| Review date
| January 30 2004
|
| Manufacturer
| Tech21
|
| Model
| SansAmp Bass Driver DI
|
| Price
| $225 list
|
| Item owned for
| 1-6 months
|
| |
|
| Dimensions
| 1-3/8" H x 4-7/8" W x 3-5/8" D
|
| Weight
| 14.9 oz. w/battery
|
| EQ
| Bass, Treble, Presence
|
| Other
| 1/4" out, 1/4" parallel (uneffected) out, XLR out
|
| |
|
This is it. I sold my rack stuff, and this is now my preamp. I run it
direct into the board, and into a power amp. I was using an Ampeg SVT-IIP
preamp and a separate compressor previously, but I was kind of tired of
carrying my rack case with me everywhere, so I figured I'd try the SABDDI
again. See, the first time I tried it, I didn't really understand what
all it's supposed to do, and how to use it, and I didn't like it. I
still don't like most of the suggested settings that Tech21 has in their
manual. However, I've found settings I like, and I think I sound better
than I ever have.
The SABDDI is a preamp, amp simulator, and speaker simulator as well as
being a DI. The controls are deceptively simple: all you get is level,
blend, bass, treble, drive, and presence. However, you can do a heck of a
lot with these few knobs. The setting I usually use is Blend at 2:00,
Bass and Treble at about 11:00, Drive at about 2:00, and Presence at about
1:00. Then I can turn the Level knob up and down to adjust volume. With
a P-bass, I get solid thump and a "supercharged" tone control using
these settings. With the tone up, I get some trebly grind, and with it
down a bit, nice solid thump. If I dig in, the SABDDI overdrives a bit
and rounds off the edges.
Is it perfect? Yes, for me. But here are some caveats: I don't like how
it sounds in front of a bass amp or preamp. I've tried this with a
couple of different setups, and got thick, muddy, indistinct tone. This
is one reason I took the first one back for a refund. Also, the suggested
settings DO NOT work for me. None of them sounds good to my ears, with me
playing. However, they may work for you, I can't say. Also, this isn't
an overdrive pedal. If you want a good overdrive, try a Fulltone Bass
Drive instead. Overdrive is just a part of what this box does, but it
doesn't have the versatility of a dedicated overdrive pedal. Also, if
you twist the bass and treble knobs much past 12 o'clock, you can get
into mid-scoop territory pretty fast. If you're a slapper, that's
probably a good thing, but for fingerstyle maybe not.
Conclusion: this is the one for me. I'm totally satisfied with it, and I
don't see any reason to even try other preamps (I tried the MXR M-80, and
I'm sticking with my SABDDI). I may pick up a nice overdrive pedal, but
this is an amazing little box, and well worth the money.
| Construction
| 95% | 
|
| (Excellent, but don't hammer nails with it.)
|
| Clarity
| 100% |
|
| Versatility
| 95% |
|
| (Versatile enough for anything I want to do.)
|
| Customer Service
| 98% |
|
| (They respond to emails.)
|
| Value
| 98% |
|
| (It's pricy, but worth it.)
|
| Overall
| 98% |
|
| (Nothing's perfect I guess, but this one's close.)
|
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The BGRA is generously underwritten by David King.
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