- Thread starter LoEnd
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Sting
Well-known member
I have the three channel programmable SansAmp Bass DI and I use it with my Stingray 5 HH. The Stingray sounds aggressive enough on its own and already has plenty of harmonic complexity but I still like to get an "amped" sound when running direct to the board. I play in a lot of situations where I don't have an amp or the house amp is inadequate, this is where the SansAmp comes in handy for me.
For my main sound, I set the gain at about 1/3 (10 o'clock) so its not overdriving but adding the color. The bass, treble and presence are set flat and I use about a 50/50 wet/dry mix. This gives me the warm tube amp sound but preserves the mids and highs. Great sound, I never have any complaints and frequently get compliments from the sound people.
What I don't like the SansAmp for is slap and fretless. I don't do much slap but when I do it I like a cleaner sound. The fretless loses too much of the "mwah" sound through the SABDDI.
The SansAmp is just one of those things where you either love it or absolutely hate it. The only way you can know for sure is to try it out.
Hope this helps.
For my main sound, I set the gain at about 1/3 (10 o'clock) so its not overdriving but adding the color. The bass, treble and presence are set flat and I use about a 50/50 wet/dry mix. This gives me the warm tube amp sound but preserves the mids and highs. Great sound, I never have any complaints and frequently get compliments from the sound people.
What I don't like the SansAmp for is slap and fretless. I don't do much slap but when I do it I like a cleaner sound. The fretless loses too much of the "mwah" sound through the SABDDI.
The SansAmp is just one of those things where you either love it or absolutely hate it. The only way you can know for sure is to try it out.
Hope this helps.
Actually yes I did, I own one now. I love how I have extra control on the overall tone. I do have to admit that it dose seem like a little overkill with the 18v preamp on the Bongo, but none the less a great investment in my opinion. Im still in the learning stages though.
kirkm24
Well-known member
This is strictly my opinion but I don't like to have too many preamp/EQ's in my signal path. Between the Bongo's onboard EQ and the amp's EQ, you can really muddy up your sound if you put something else in the path. Unless you want the overdrive/distortion quality of the Sansamp, I wouldn't mess with it. But then again, to each their own!
If you do use it though, I would recommend setting the Bongo flat and seeing how that sounds. You could also leave the amp flat and just tweak the Sansamp and this would probable be clearer sounding.
If you do use it though, I would recommend setting the Bongo flat and seeing how that sounds. You could also leave the amp flat and just tweak the Sansamp and this would probable be clearer sounding.
phat5
Well-known member
Good on ya LE! I'm considering buying one. My former Sansamp steered me away from active d.i. boxes. But the TH is the exception.
Smallmouth_Bass
Well-known member
I really like my Programmable SansAmp. On lower drive settings, it adds just a little bit of a cushion and at high drive settings with a pick it is downright nasty (in a good way) without having to lug a 100 lb head around with an 8 x 10 cab.
Busterkilrain
Well-known member
I'm interested in this thread too. I"ve wanted to pick up a BDDI but have heard bad things about using sansamp and GK together losing too much mids. I was able to try this out at a GC a few weeks back. Seemed fine as long as I kept the "Blend" knob low enough. No Bongos to try out the experiment with though.
Brent
Brent
This is a great thread. I'm pretty new to this forum and just bought a bongo. I already run my SR5, SR4 and another bass through an RBI - I love the RBI but haven't had much of a chance to play the bongo through it and was actually curious what others experiences have been. thanks for the input all!!
Tyrone
Active member
I run a SR5 through the Sans Amp and you couldn't pay me to play without it. Our last practice my cord crapped out so I had to run naked to the amp. I was missing so much of my tone, I didn't feel like playing. The difference of running my SR5 against my Conklin GT4 through my Ampeg setup is big enough, but when you add the sans amp it's such a huge improvement.
It gave me the perfect growly, in your face tone I needed for the hard rock band I was in.
It gave me the perfect growly, in your face tone I needed for the hard rock band I was in.
kirkm24
Well-known member
One thing to remember is the Sansamp scoops the mids. Some might not like that. The Sansamp Paradriver has a mid control and so does the VT Bass which many people are raving about too. You might also want to look into the Aguilar Tone Hammer or the Sadowsky outboard preamp DI (if you're only wanting a clean preamp/DI).
dunno if this is going off topic, but since it's been mentionned a lot that this pedal cuts mids, i would like to point out what the manual says about it:
BASS & TREBLE: Unlike passive controls that only cut,these activetone controls cut or boost ±12dB from unity gain (12 o’clock).This powerful EQ section effectively reduces the need for a fixed frequency mid control and enables you to achieve an extensive variety of curves --including a “mid-cut”
as well as a “mid-boost.”
Adjusting Mid-Range Content: The mid-range level is preset.Boosting Bass and Trebleyields a “mid-cut” (at 750 Hz) where the relative mid-range level is lower than the Bass and Treble frequency levels.Cutting Bass and Treble yields a “mid-boost” (at 750 Hz) where the relative mid-range level is
higher than the Bassand Treblefrequency levels.NOTE:The overall output level will change relative to
your EQ settings.Simply adjust the Level control accordingly.
like any effect i've tried before, it effects the bass's EQ. SO the question is: is the result worth the effort....so far i like it a lot, can't wait to record with it and try it with the band. so knowing about the bass & treble effect on the mid, i will them use sparingly.
anyhow, if you want a tubey tone that sounds like a bassman or SVT, you gotta expect a mid-cut.
BASS & TREBLE: Unlike passive controls that only cut,these activetone controls cut or boost ±12dB from unity gain (12 o’clock).This powerful EQ section effectively reduces the need for a fixed frequency mid control and enables you to achieve an extensive variety of curves --including a “mid-cut”
as well as a “mid-boost.”
Adjusting Mid-Range Content: The mid-range level is preset.Boosting Bass and Trebleyields a “mid-cut” (at 750 Hz) where the relative mid-range level is lower than the Bass and Treble frequency levels.Cutting Bass and Treble yields a “mid-boost” (at 750 Hz) where the relative mid-range level is
higher than the Bassand Treblefrequency levels.NOTE:The overall output level will change relative to
your EQ settings.Simply adjust the Level control accordingly.
like any effect i've tried before, it effects the bass's EQ. SO the question is: is the result worth the effort....so far i like it a lot, can't wait to record with it and try it with the band. so knowing about the bass & treble effect on the mid, i will them use sparingly.
anyhow, if you want a tubey tone that sounds like a bassman or SVT, you gotta expect a mid-cut.
snowbum
Well-known member
I used a sansamp all the time with my 75 reissue Jazz... but since I have gotten my sterling.... I have not kicked the sansamp on very often, I am liking the uncolored sound of my bass much more.... I use the Fulltone bass drive for my overdrive, and that is a sexy beast.
I also have a custom made 18v DI that a sound engineer I work with built for me, I have just gone back to just using that mainly to run to the house,
But in saying all of that... the Sansamp is a glorious piece of gear for passive instruments, or any bass that might need a little extra oomph... which as you know none of our musicmans need at all
esp... like many others have said you don't want the scooped mids.
my .02
I also have a custom made 18v DI that a sound engineer I work with built for me, I have just gone back to just using that mainly to run to the house,
But in saying all of that... the Sansamp is a glorious piece of gear for passive instruments, or any bass that might need a little extra oomph... which as you know none of our musicmans need at all
esp... like many others have said you don't want the scooped mids.my .02
oli@bass
Well-known member
I find it interesting that many players think the BDDI/PBDDI/RBI are good for passive instruments only. To me, that would be the same as saying the Ampeg SVT is for passive instruments only.
The Sans Amp products are shaping the singal similar to running it through a tube amp (and miked cab combination). Hence their name: Sans ("without") Amp. IOW, they are designed to replace an tube amp & cab, and best results are achieved when the following amplification stages are not colouring the signal anymore, i.e. go direct to the mixing console or to a very linear amp.
BTW, the RBI has a mid control. It's great to get some of the mids back. Or use the mid control on your bass to get more mids in... as you would if you played through a classic stack.
The Sans Amp products are shaping the singal similar to running it through a tube amp (and miked cab combination). Hence their name: Sans ("without") Amp. IOW, they are designed to replace an tube amp & cab, and best results are achieved when the following amplification stages are not colouring the signal anymore, i.e. go direct to the mixing console or to a very linear amp.
BTW, the RBI has a mid control. It's great to get some of the mids back. Or use the mid control on your bass to get more mids in... as you would if you played through a classic stack.
bass4worship
Member
I try both Samsamp drivers the RPI and the RPM. I have kept the RPM because of the mids controls which help to cut thur while on stage. Both are good and I keep the programable in my bass gig bag when don't have the rack.
Sting
Well-known member
+1
I don't use mine in front of an amp, only for DI to the board. In front of a good bass amp I would agree with the SansAmp nay sayers, but in my case where I play a lot of gigs without an amp the BDDI really shines. IMHO it sounds better than my bass POD.
kirkm24
Well-known member
I agree wholeheartedly. It's fine to use direct if you aren't using an amp (because that becomes your amp essentially) but to run in front of an amp would add 3 layers of EQ'ing which to me, would be harder to dial in and sound muddier.
Personally, I think the new SansAmp VT Bass is a superior unit to the original Bass Driver DI, but that's my opinion only.
Busterkilrain
Well-known member
Using the BDDI in front of an amp is where the blend control comes in handy. I agree with kirkm, too much eq can be a real bad thing. But with the blend it allows you to focus more on the OD/distortion capabilities than actual eq.
Brent
Brent
snowbum
Well-known member
I have to agree with you 100% here, i am in the same scenario (lots of gigs w/o amp)... Only use the sansamp running direct to the board, otherwise I set my amp flat and do the coloring from my bass itself.
Bass Control
Well-known member
Holy search result, Batman!
Anyway, has anyone tried running the Sansamp through the effects loop of their amplifier? What would this sound like? I really loved the sound of my Sterling 5 through the Sansamp when I had it, but now I use a Bongo and am sans-Sansamp. Are there any improvement or advantages to running it in the effects loop of a bass amp?
Anyway, has anyone tried running the Sansamp through the effects loop of their amplifier? What would this sound like? I really loved the sound of my Sterling 5 through the Sansamp when I had it, but now I use a Bongo and am sans-Sansamp. Are there any improvement or advantages to running it in the effects loop of a bass amp?
