Bass DI Options?

[tubescreamer]

Hi all, I'm a guitarist who plays bass when the need arises. I own an Ibanez SRX 500 and a Peavey Microbass, and would like to purchase a DI. My requirements are an XLR out, as well as a volume control.

I have considered the following:
Sansamp Bass Driver
Hartke Bass Attack
SD Paranormal (no volume control though)
MXR M-80
Sadowsky Preamp
Aguilar Tonehammer

Opinions, as well as information on the cheapest place to purchase would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[wind90]

HEY man , how about the EBS microbass II . great unit ! you can get it at davis guitars

 

[5stringwonder]

just curious. any reason for the volume control? most of the units you named have some form of preamp.

if you just need a DI, i'd go with something passive like the Radial JDI.

 

[tubescreamer]

Apologies. I meant Preamp/DI - i.e. tone shaping and input into the soundboard.

Will take a look at the EBS. Any idea how much it costs?

 

[5stringwonder]

No prob. Never tried the EBS so I can't comment.

Used to have a Radial Bassbone which is a fantastic preamp/DI. Especially if you want to switch between 2 basses or 2 different settings.

There's one for sale in the classifieds now.

http://soft.com.sg/forum/bass-buy-s...ial-tonebone-bassbone-ehx-bass-metaphors.html

 

[shinobi]

xlr out isnt hard to come by but the volume part is abit less common. ever considered a volume pedal? if you're not setting up a separate board for bass then it would have alot of other uses for the guitar too

 

[b33r]

if you're on a really tight budget like me, then give the Bass Attack a try. the 2 band eq might be on all the time, but the notch filter sounds pretty nice.

 

[BlackAcidDevil]

Yeap, the Hartke BA . Good price, good unit.

 

[shinobi]

get the tone hammer. or you could forget the pedal format and go for rack type units

it doesn't have to be XLR as long as it's line level right?

the hartke is great value. but few of us actually are professional bassists. hence any gear that we acquire is pure indulgence

 

[jbarks]

$0.02 -- In my experience the Sansamp and the Sadowsky require the least amount of tweaking, so I'd go with one or the other. Go with the Sansamp if you want a fatter, more amp-like tone, and the Sadowsky if you're looking for "more" of your bass. I have had no experience with the MXR DI so I can't comment, but from what I've listened to at shows, the overdrive is pretty harsh so you might want to take that into consideration as well.

 

[KeDraiv]

harsh as in edgy or harsh as in like fuzz?
cause i lyk my bass to sound a little edgy.
haha.

and yeah.
i'm really confused over D.I and pre amps.

 

[cherns]

If you want thickening up of your tone and all that, then I think the Sansamp BDDI is hard to beat.

Ignoring technicalities...

Preamp = allows for tone shaping
DI = lets you plug directly into PA system
Poweramp = powers cabinets
Head unit = Preamp + Poweramp combined (sometimes also has DI function)

 

[jbarks]

harsh as in edgy or harsh as in like fuzz?
cause i lyk my bass to sound a little edgy.

Sounded like a Boss ODB-3 to me. Wasn't my thing, but it might be yours -- try it out if you're really interested

 

[yuujin]

the sadowsky is awesome.
not because i own one but because it really gives frequency extensions.

 

[shinobi]

rather than 'harsh overdrive' i find it more of a distortion. but it's less of a cutting kind of distortion though, it's just meant to add some roughness to your clean. good for heavier types of music. but personally, it's definitely not something i'd use as a standalone drive effect.

distortion aside, i would say the mxr is pretty clean, compared to the sansamp or sadowsky (disclaimer: i haven't tried those 2) that intentionally colour your tone.

since you're not gonna build a board for bass, i'd say you get something with as many features as possible, rather than minimalistic preamps such as the paranormal or aguilar pedal for example. the metaphors has an eq, drive and compression. the drive and compression don't look that tweakable however, so try it out to see if you like it.

 

[visa]

I used the MXR-80 for a long time. Loved it, lost it.

Here's how it sounds when it's cranked to the max-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avgiZ771aO0

It also can sound pretty good when you turn it down and just get a warm-ish overdrive out of it. I really miss my MXR-80, I could get alot out of it

 

[g13nn]

Sansamp Bass Driver DI

I have the Sansamp Bass Driver DI, Sansamp Programmable Bass Driver DI, Sadowsky Outboard Preamp & Aguilar Tone Hammer.

All these have the XLR DI output. I agree with Cherns that the Sansamps will be hard to beat. From my experience, the Sansamp made some of the lousy basses I tried sound really good... can make the bass a lot more alive.

Sadowsky Preamp - I would recommend this to a user with a passive bass... a good passive bass. This give an excellent tight low end... I can describe this as aggressive low end. The thing I noticed about this preamp is when I use this with my bass with a J-Retro turned on... it does not improve or add something major. I noticed this is perfect for a passive bass or with onboard preamps turned off. Roger Sadowsky really found the bass frequency that is huge, tight and aggressive. Comparing to the Sansamp, the Sansamp makes a more dramatical change your tone... this can be good or bad, depending on your taste. The Sadowsky is transparent... while the Sansamp.... hmmm... kinds of give what I could describe like an aura of hugeness... it makes your sound really BIG.

Aguilar Tone Hammer - I find this one very nice for songs that like the warm fat tone. The mid sweep and mid control are very nice and can help you find the mid freq to help you cut thru the mix. Compared to the Sadowsky this is warmer/rounder sounding, I use this mostly on slow songs where a warm bass tone is preferred. This pedal also has the AGS, its like an Overdrive that I never use... I will not comment on it as I never used an overdriven bass to give a decent feedback. Comparing to the Sansamp, both are warm sounding... has an edge due to the midrange sweep and mid control. But when I used them on a lousy bass, the Sansamp really makes the major difference.... it makes your bass sound HUGE.

Most people may not like the Sansamp coz it can the natural sound of your bass

Dont get me wrong... all those 4 preamp/DI boxes are great, thats why I never disposed any of them. All those preamps are versatile for all types of songs... I just happened that I have them so I just choose which preamp to use for certain songs.

Bottomline, I go for the Sansamp for the hugeness/thickness it can give your bass tone. Just start with all the knobs at 12:00 except the blend knob (Full). If you moving the bass, treble and presence with just a hair can really make a difference compared to the aguilar and sadowsky. My Bass setting never reaches 3 o'clock... always 12 to 2:30 only. If on a live situation your bass sounds to Huge or muddy and the bass knob does not help.... try to back off on the Blend Control.

If you want thickening up of your tone and all that, then I think the Sansamp BDDI is hard to beat.

Ignoring technicalities...

Preamp = allows for tone shaping
DI = lets you plug directly into PA system
Poweramp = powers cabinets
Head unit = Preamp + Poweramp combined (sometimes also has DI function)