Bongo with sansamp

[LoEnd]

hey, have any of you ever used a Bongo with a sansamp bass driver petal?? How does it sound? is it worth the $200?

Thanks in advance

 

[miliouz]

(be carrefull, i'm a frenchie with a desesperate english....)

I have a bongo and a SansAmp (bass driver DI).
Without it, the MM sound is huge and powerfull...But with SAmps... Woaoh! (My Amp : Markbass 121p).

If you're not sure, try it before!

 

[LoEnd]

cool, thanks man. I've been looking around but have been unlucky in my quest to try one out. I am a little leary on OD petals to begin because some just drain out the tone of the bass. Im hoping this is not the case for the sansamp. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Spot]

i had one in the past and it was really really nice. I had no problem to get a sound like Geddy Lee and the tone of the bass was still there, it worth every $.

 

[miliouz]

I am a little leary on OD petals to begin because some just drain out the tone of the bass. Im hoping this is not the case for the sansamp. Thanks for the reply.

I think NOT. Stand 2hours (it's 5PM in france and i'm "working"). I quickly come back at home and scientifically test it!

(my neighbouring will love me )

 

[LoEnd]

i had one in the past and it was really really nice. I had no problem to get a sound like Geddy Lee and the tone of the bass was still there, it worth every $.

Awsome. thanks, this is pushing me further to check it out.

Oh the GAS hurts, why do I have to be at work today

 

[Spot]

Btw, 200$ looks like a deal to me, i paid mine 350$CAD 3 years ago.

 

[oli@bass]

If you go for the pedal, go for the Programmable Bass Driver DI. You get 3 presets, which can come in handy depending on the type of music you play. Or if you can, consider the rackmount RBI which offers an additional mid control. It sounds best to my ears. I've not yet had the opportunity to try the RPM, but some people over on TalkBass prefer that to the RBI. It seems that all the SansAmp products suck out the mids a bit (but EBMM basses and MB amps have plenty of them anyway), except for the RPM.

All that said, I don't play without a SansAmp anymore. It was the final answer to my twenty years of search for the perfect bass overdrive sound.

 

[slucas]

It is the only pedal I use. The only time it I turn it off is when I am finished playing.

 

[Micolao]

(i have a stingray 4 , not a bongo)
I can't live without the sansamp, it's my sound,
really, I can't play without it.

 

[Psychicpet]

without doubt (and whatever bass you use) the Sansamp is great

... with that said.....

you might also want to check out the Aguilar Tone Hammer. Might not give the same overdrive as the Sansamp BUT I do believe the eq section of the Aguilar far exceeds the Sansamp.

 

[oli@bass]

you might also want to check out the Aguilar Tone Hammer. Might not give the same overdrive as the Sansamp BUT I do believe the eq section of the Aguilar far exceeds the Sansamp.

We need proof on OVRDRVN!

 

[b-unit]

Not to be the negative nancy here but I feel like the Sans Amp Bass Driver DI sucks too much life out of a good growly Stingray tone. Sure it will add some overdrive but there is a loss of mids that absolutely cannot be replaced simply by turning down the bass and treble controls.

If you really like what the pedal does, then of course, there is no reason not to use it, but plugging a 2 thousand dollar bass into a "magic tone box" seems counter productive to me. I have bought and sold three different Sans Amp units and recently bought and returned the VT bass pedal as well.

To my ears, they mess with the tone, I cherish from my Stingrays way too much to be worth keeping in the signal chain. I'm not slamming the sans Amp, I just prefer the tone of my basses much more without the added coloration.

 

[oli@bass]

Not to be the negative nancy here but I feel like the Sans Amp Bass Driver DI sucks too much life out of a good growly Stingray tone.

I know what mean, and generally agree BUT.... what amp do you use? I ask, because pretty much every classic bass amp does exactly that: Suck out some midrange. Some bass amps offer an additional pre-shape filter to suck out even more midrange. And of all the graphic EQ settings I've ever seen, probably 90% were a smiley. Seems that bass players generally like less midrange.

Take a classic SVT all tube head with the 8x10 cab which by many is considered the best match for a classic StingRay: The cab sucks out some upper mids and some ultra low end, and cuts a lot of treble, thus creating a "tight" sounding low midrange heavy sound. The head offers a bright switch to add the lost sparkle, it offers the deep switch, which actually cuts some of those lower mids, so the ultra lows don't seem as much cut out. It seems also that many players like to engage both the bright and deep switches, thus creating an even more scooped sound. Now the interesting part is, that driving that tube head hard, it will create a very nice overdriven and slightly compressed sound that adds back some of that lost midrange. Fact is that this amp is probably one of those that "messes" the most with the tone, still it's probably one of the favorite bass amps of all time.

I found that the SansAmp very closely recreates that what most players seek in the an all tube SVT + 810 cab. Plus you can mix in some of the dry bass signal: And IMO that is the key to get back those vital StingRay mids.

Also, if you generally like how the SansAmp works but don't like the mid suck, give the RBI and RPB rack mount units a shot. The RBI does suck out the mids but has an additional mid control (500 Hz) and the RPM is said to not cut out any mids at all and it offers semi parametric mid control. I'm going to try the RPM as soon as I can (afford it).

I'm very well aware that the SansAmp might just not be your cup of tea, but I still wonder: What amp and cab do you use? And what settings do you have there? How do you make sure that the precious midrange of your EBMM's is preserved?

BTW, I once used the PBDDI in front of a SVT stack... I had to push some mids on the amp head because that combination definitely had some serious mid cut.

 

[b-unit]

Well, my main rig is an Eden Navigator with a QSC PLX1804 power amp powering a 210XLT on top of a 210XST. I run the amp dead flat with a slight boost in the mids and bypass the Eden "enhance" feature as it scoops the mids.

I also have a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 powering an Eden 410XLT. On this amp, I tend to dial in a tad more low end and mids. I keep all the tone switches bypassed.

My past rigs have included Gallien Kruger, Trace Elliot, SWR, BBE and a long time ago, Peavey. I also had an Ampeg 810 cab powered by a big ol Traynor YBA3 Custom Special which now sits atop an Eden 115.

I used to eq the crap out of everything and was always searching for the perfect tone. Once I graduated to my Stingrays, Everything just seemed to fall into place gear wise and i could not be happier with the two rigs I use now.

 

[ptuckerbass]

I have to agree with b-unit.
I found that the Sansamp BDDI took the character and punch out of my Bongo's tone. To me, the BDDI is great for making mediocre equipment sound better. However since I've had my Bongo, there is just no need for it my live signal chain.

 

[LoEnd]

Thanks guys for your feedback, i'll have to do some playing around and see if the BDDI is for me.

Yea, I will have to check out that Tone Hammer Psychicpet, thanks

 

[Aussie Mark]

I find my Sansamp PBBDI is great for adding character to passive basses, but is totally unnecessary for Stingrays or Bongos. If I switch from a P bass to Stingray mid-gig I kick the Sansamp off completely.

 

[b-unit]

I agree that if you played a passive bass, the Sans Amp might be very appealing. I loved it when trying out a P-bass once. I don't miss having one at all now.

 

[phat5]

Thanks guys for your feedback, i'll have to do some playing around and see if the BDDI is for me.

Yea, I will have to check out that Tone Hammer Psychicpet, thanks

LoEnd, did you ever test drive a Tone Hammer? I just borrowed one from a friend, and although I love the sound of a Bongo thru a passive d.i., the Tone Hammer really adds the punch to my signal. Can hardly wait to try it thru the house system.