redzombie

The Sansamp Bass Driver ain't bad, but the Sansamp VT Bass is effing blinding. IMO of course

I find my NS-2 does a great job of eliminating noise, but it does alter my tone ever so slightly. By that, I mean I can only tell the difference if I listen very carefully or with a decent pair of high-quality headphones (even then the difference is still rather negligible).

I'm still gonna get myself one of those ISP Decimators though, as soon as I've got some more important stuff out of the way.

I should add though, that the real reason for me getting a noise suppressor is to eliminate feedback. When my dirt pedals are off, my rig's not too noisy.

Vocals - Layne Staley
Guitar - Jimi
Drums - Dave Grohl

Very good amp for the price, damn loud too for it's wattage. I've A/B'd it with an Ashdown ABM-300 EVO II head into a 210 ABM cab (so the head was running at only 230-watts rather than the usual 325-watts), and the TNT kicked the Ashdown's arse volume-wise.

Seems Peavey may have been a bit conservative with the wattage rating or Ashdown are just liars?

Anyway, yeah a good deal. I'm flogging mine soon, but I'll do the right thing and wait until this one's sold before I put it up.

Bump.

Friendly, fast and well packaged.

Nice one mate, you saved me having to fork out for a brand new pedal. Much appreciated!

[quote name='WarPig' post='383055' date='Jan 17 2009, 10:26 AM']. Theres no danger in using the XLR straight to the input of the head? Some kind of impedance or something im not thinking of?

Sorry for the hijack [/quote]

This I cannot be certain of, I have a strong feeling that the only difference between the 1/4" output and the XLR output is the level, but I think just to be on the safe side you should probably wait for someone who can tell you for sure. I'd be surprised if there were any kind of issues that could blow your amp up, but then I'm no expert.

If I some way to plug an XLR into my old Peavey I have here, I'd happily try it now.

Have a good one, can never have too much bluesy 70's rock

[quote name='WarPig' post='382938' date='Jan 17 2009, 12:17 AM']Rather than start a new thread, ive got a question about the BDDI:

If i used a female XLR - jack cable, could i use the BDDI as a splitter to send 2 effected signals to 2 different amps?

Ive tried it with the parralelle output, but that bypasses the effect.[/quote]

Not tried it myself, but I'm certain this can be done, so long as you have some way to connect the XLR cable to an amp input or effects loop return. You may need to use the 1/4" Out Boost switch on the Sansamp though (older models don't have this), to keep the 2 lines level with each other. Even that may not be enough though, I'm not sure. You could always throw a clean boost or EQ pedal (using just the level slider) after the Sansamp, to boost the 1/4" output line a bit more.

EDIT: I should also add, be careful with the master volume on yr amp if you do try it. This will be LOUD, a fair bit louder than a regular instrument level line.

Just completed my first BC sale, the buyer (who I should add was a top guy, great comms and quick payment) has kindly offered to leave some feedback for me so I thought I'd set up a thread, to let you folks know how it went

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='380979' date='Jan 15 2009, 08:54 AM']They're pretty good actually. A bit dark but clean and the kit is reasonable too (I think they supplied Trace Combos for the bass players). More than useable and a decent sound.

The PA was fine too- nothing special but more than adequate.[/quote]

This is exactly how I'd describe my rehersal experience there a couple of years back. Was definitely a nice Trace combo I used back then.

Actually I'm glad this thrad came up, I'd forgotten all about the "dungeon" at the Peel. We were gonna start going down Scream in Croydon again (a bit of a dive), but on second thoughts perhaps the Peel would be better. It's got nothing to do with the beer and strippers next door, honest!

I've also been neglecting my bass playing a tad of late. I've sold a couple of my bass effects, and have a couple more in the ads section about to go on ebay. And I've joined a covers band as lead guitarist, and bought a nice sized pedalboard for the several pedals I'm planning on getting for guitar. I'm also GASsing for Orange and Fender tube guitar combos which should both be obtainable in the not too distant future, and some nice Seymour Duncan 'buckers for my SG. Maybe an electro-acoustic too.

As for bass I'm just getting another Sansamp VT Bass pedal for now. To be fair though, I started playing both around the same time, and compared to bass I've hardly touched a guitar for the past 7 years or so (apart from the past month). It's time the six-string got some action.

One thing that's surprised me, is it didn't really take too long to pick up where I left off even after all this time. But regardless, I still consider myself a bassist first and foremost. I've 2 bands and another in the making for bass and just the covers band as a guitarist. I don't think I'll ever turn to the dark side completely.

[quote name='Toasted' post='378812' date='Jan 13 2009, 11:44 AM']It's really easy indeed, if Bremen has any problems I can do it for you.[/quote]

No probs, Chris has already sorted it for me. Cheers for the offer tho Toasted

[quote name='simwells' post='377450' date='Jan 12 2009, 10:35 AM']Very interested in the DHA VT1 but won't know til wednesday (am a poor student and it depends on whether I get a job I'm being interviewed for or not!)[/quote]

Good luck with the interview!

SOLD.

[quote name='Boneless' post='374841' date='Jan 9 2009, 10:06 AM']redzombie,



what I meant is "if you have a nice clean tone and you just need some distortion, get a VTBass, if you want to switch between beef and drive, then get a BDI for the beef and a Bad Monkey for the drive".

If the VTBass had two footswitches, one for colour and one for boost/drive, then it would be the ONLY way to go.

EDIT: I just discovered with horror that Tech21 is using the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans"]Comic Sans MS[/url] font for the Character series.



I COULDN'T buy something with that crappy font on it, it's offensive [/quote]


Ah my apologies, I didn't consider that option. I think too much about how I myself would use stuff, and not enough how other people might use a setup. Turning beef off would be totally alien to me, but of course not everyone would do things the same.


[quote name='nick' post='375841' date='Jan 10 2009, 12:45 AM']Which brings us back to the 'Bad Monkey'! [/quote]

Haha, very good point, sir!

Just brought a pedal from this guy via ebay, after seeing his thread in the ebay links. The auction had ended, but he agreed to put another up. In no time he'd sorted that out and I'd bought the item.

John's a top bloke. Friendly, polite and helpful. Got the package delivered in no time, with everything in as it should be.

Cheers.

I'm bloody hopeless, god only knows how I managed to complete my BYOC clone (after much strife). I've just tried to repair the crushed LED on my DD-3, but instead ended up detaching the orange and green wires from the small LED PCB and burning my finger. Rather than screw things up anymore, can anyone recommend any good pedal repairers?

Scott Reeder (Kyuss)

Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots)

Justin Chancellor (Tool)

[quote name='Boneless' post='373187' date='Jan 7 2009, 04:05 PM']Well, sorry for the mistake then I thought the VTBass was only supposed to be a kind of "overdrive". So can it actually drive a power amp? Is there anyone who has tried to do this and succeeded?[/quote]

No problem I wasn't too sure myself, until I read the manual.

[quote name='Boneless' post='373187' date='Jan 7 2009, 04:05 PM']Anyway yes, the BDDI is NOT an overdrive (despite reading about it very often in threads about overdrive-distortion). It might give that HINT of saturation nicely, but it's not a drive, and it doesn't work nicely when cranked, IMHO. Although you can happily drive it with another overdrive before in the chain, I used to drive my BDI when I had one* with a Bad Monkey, which for rock I find it is a perfect complement for it. If you prefer a grittier tone, you might also like the Sansamp GT-2, or the Ashdown Drive Plus. Some like the Guvnor as well, but I hated it.[/quote]

+1 on the Sansamp GT2, another great Sansamp pedal. I've just been using mine, plugged straight into my sound card for the first time (even though I've had it for a couple of years now). I didn't even think of trying this until today, I had no manual since it was second hand. Works brilliantly, it probably has a similar Low Z feature to the VT Bass.

[quote name='Boneless' post='373187' date='Jan 7 2009, 04:05 PM']If you're happy about your clean tone, and you don't have any modeling needs (so you don't need the general sound of the BDDI), the VTBass will be loads better. Otherwise, if you prefer having something that will beef up your clean tone, and OD/Distortion as well, I suggest the cheap combo, Behringer BDI + Digitech Bad Monkey (you can always upgrade to the Sansamp if you feel you need to do it).[/quote]

It's more the other way around with the VT bass. The tube emulation will beef up your tone, in a similar way to the BDDI but even better (IMO), only it will add more drive unlike the BDDI. Basically it will do the same job as a BDI and Bad Monkey together.

I guess it depends on your budget. The BDI + Bad Monkey combination works very well and both are great value for money, but if you want the more expensive boutique equivalent all in one neat package then you can always try the VT Bass. As for the Sansamp Bass Driver, I really don't see much point in getting one, when you can get a VT Bass instead for about the same price or a BDI for a whole lot cheaper.

There was a time when I was in love with my Sansamp Bass Driver, then I bought a VT Bass and the Bass Drive hardly got a look-in anymore. As a stompbox overdrive, I effing love it. It wont do anything fuzzy or approaching fuzz, like a Big Muff or a Sansamp GT2, but it does subtle to medium-high gain overdrive exceptionally well IMO. This is all without losing any fullness in your sound. The Bass Driver is renowned for fizzling out, and becoming thin at drive settings past 2 o'clock., but I've experienced none of this with the VT Bass

As for the character of the tone, if you want something that sounds like an SVT, the VT Bass is streets ahead in that department. I've not tried it with an SVT, but I've heard it works well as an overdrive stompbox when plugged into the front end of one.

And don't worry about it's lack of a DI out, the manual states the following -

[quote][b]AS A DIRECT RECORDING DEVICE into a mixer or computer.[/b] All of the tone shaping and cabinet emulation needed is already incorporated into the pedal, giving you the perfect sound "right out of the box." The Character Series pedals automatically convert your guitar signal to Low Z allowing you to plug into a variety of inputs that would normally load down your guitar's signal. These pedals can be plugged into mixers (live and studio), workstation/recorders, and even directly into the sound card on a computer.[/quote]

Oh and it's got a mid control too.

Not sure if they meet yr footprint criteria, but I've been thinking about picking up a Planet Waves solderless pedal board kit. From what I understand, it's a similar concept to George L's. They're going for around £35 for a pack of 10 jacks and a roll of cable over on ebay.

[quote name='Boneless' post='370929' date='Jan 5 2009, 02:22 PM']The VTBass is a modeling pedal, it isn't a preamp, so you might think of it as a distortion pedal (no DI then), it's supposed to be better at mild-medium drive than a normal Sansamp (they say "think of it as a Bass XXL into a Sansamp BDDI"), I have never tried it, but by what I hear from the samples, it sounds just like a Sansamp with an overdrive before it, as they say. Not modern, though, always "vintage-y".[/quote]

Well technically, all Sansamps (this includes the VT Bass) are preamps in that they're recommended by Tech 21, to lead straight into the effects loop return of the amp (thus bypassing the amplifier's preamp). It states this in the VT Bass manual (BDDI too). The VT Bass and other new pedals from the same collection, don't have DI out, but according to Tech 21, the signal is automatically converted to a "Low Z", meaning it should, theoretically at least, work fine going straight into a power amp, mixing desk or sound card, with no need for a DI out. I've yet to try this myself, I'm intending to find out just how good it is as a preamp when I pick mine up from our rehersal space tomorrow.

As for the sound, I own both the BDDI and VT Bass, both are very good value for money but IMO the VT Bass definitely tops the BDDI as a regular stomp box overdrive. It's still reminiscent of a BDDI. Like it's predecessor, you wont get any wild fuzz sounds out of it, but it does everything from subtle, barely noticeable OD to full-on Motörhead-esque overdrive. The fact that at higher drive settings, it doesn't seem to sound thin but keeps a nice full sound, is where it really surpasses the BDDI in performance IMO. To me, it also sounds a fair bit closer to what I regard to be the SVT sound. Closest I've heard in an effect unit yet.

The VT Bass is easily, the best buy I've made yet, with regards to effects. But, I must say, if you're not a fan of the Ampeg sound, this pedal is most definitely not for you. It [u]will[/u] colour your original tone, afterall it's primarily designed as a preamp to always be left on and only as a stompbox in a secondary nature (though I find it does the latter extremely well).

I'm seriously close to picking one of these up. What I'm looking for is an overdrive pedal, that wont lose any bottom end, or add or take any other frequencies for that matter. Basically, something that will be totally transparent and not colour my tone, apart from the glorious amounts of overdrive that are being added. Think the flat voicing of a Barber LTD SR, this is what I'm after, but with some real tubey goodness.

Does the VT1 Std Bass fit this description?

EDIT: Nevermind, I should find out for myself soon enough, won one 2nd hand on eBay last night

Cheers for the review, I really fancy getting my hands on one of these for my grit channel. You're not selling yours by any chance?