Sharkfinger

Yeah.... naah. Full preamp, fine. But I've had an ashdown amp and a rack Pre / power amp and didn't like them. Not my bag, man.

Ah right, you might not be able to see my signature. EA iAmp800. One of the first, and in my opinion, best class D amp made. In terms of power section, anyway. Guess it weighs 9Kg instead of 15Kg a 800w MOSFET powered amp would.

I'm really not keen on class D amps. Mine is class D but has a huge toroidal transformer, which makes it about 9Kg. Go figure. Well, I'm putting my BDDI Deluxe up for sale.

Not really sure I want two actual bass players at one of my gigs, picking me up on my mediocre playing

The saturation is indeed nice. Sounds like the drive and compression you would hear on a Phil Spector track. Good sounding pedal but not really what I'm after, particularly.

Hmm, I'll have a look out for one of those then. Seem to go for about £40 on the bay, so worth a punt. That's certainly part of it. It's the part I'm not getting from OD/preamp pedals or the amp I'm using. Those that have said to just get the amp you're trying to emulate are of course completely right and were it not for my back problems, I'd do exactly that. I'll probably end up buying a Mesa head, like the Big Block 750.....

This is my view. In my ignorant opinion, most preamps are mainly EQ, with a bit of Gain. The harsh, buzzy kind. Others, are just OD with EQ thrown in. What I'm after is more richness in the form of harmonics and a gentle and pleasant clipping, rather than OD. The SFT clone survived so long on my board because it offered some of what I'm after but I ultimately got frustrated with it because I feel they overdid the simplicity and crippled it. It's geared up to be an OD. There's some really fancy parts in that Pedal, I'm sure it's capable of a lot more. If mods became available to unleash it's potential, I'd be really interested.

Here here!

No sooner said than bought. INCOMIIIING!!!! Will report on how I get on with it. I used to have the rack an Ashdown rack preamp and didn't really like the valve drive, even after trying different tubes. Just sounded like OD to me.

Ohhh, hello.... Just came across some demo's of the Basswitch Sonic Spark. Sound like it does exactly what I need: add nice harmonics and overtones. Ed Friedland's got a good demo of it on youtube. Either way, I think I'm going to sell the BDDI Deluxe: just not for me, I think. I like what the SFT clone does at low gain but I can't seem to dial in a tone that I like with just bass and trebble.

NOOOOOO! Why did you say that? I have to look at it now.... 🤑

It's sounding fantastic, thanks. A great one-cab solution. More than loud enough for the gigs I've done with it so far. Thinking of buying a stand to raise it up to ear level, as I've been putting it on chairs and that seems to work quite well. Bought a fancy rack shelf to mount my head into the rack space in it. As for the SFT, I've got this clone and run it at 18V.

What I'm after I guess is that SVT tone, like (almost) everyone else. I would go for a modeller, but they just don't sound convincing to my ears. I'll give the Markbass Compressore, MXR M87, sansamp VT a go and see how I get on. Failing that, I'll try another new amp. Probably one of the ones I mentioned in a previous post. OTOH, the BDDI deluxe might do the trick in a live situation, who knows? Let's face it, I'm going to buy another amp, aren't I?

I get where you're coming from and the 9kg that head weighs would be acceptable but not the 50W output. It would need to be 200W + to even come close to usable and that would at least double the weight. Would consider something like a SVT3-pro of and Ashdown Spyder, something like that maybe. Rack mountable and no more than about 12Kg Yeah, no budget for that. Guess what I'm after (as described by 'warmth') is maybe a little drive but more the richness that comes from the harmonics and compression. Maybe the markbass compressore is really what I'm after?

Sounds good but I'd need another power supply or another power cable running off my board. Will give it some thought. Had one of these a while ago but sold it stupidly. The BDDI deluxe I have also has a Fat tube setting, I really wonder if it will sound that different?

Listened to the sound clips but it just sounds like it adds drive to me. Ah good, to know. Dead end avoided. OK, definitely worth a try then. Will see how the BDDI deluxe performs at a gig.

That is my fear (joy?).

You've probably answered this elsewhere but what would you recommend? Would have up to a couple of hundred pounds to spend.

Well, I plan to put my 2U amp in that space, which doesn't leave a lot of space left over.

I have a SansAmp BDDI deluxe, so don't think the actual emulation will be much different (same circuitry).

Saw those in the past, might have another look. Thanks for the reminder. Cheers. The mooer will prolly be a clone of the sansamp, not sure how much more mileage I'll get out of that. Got an 'always on' compressor now, which is an OK one (Budda Chackra optical compressor). Maybe I'll look at upgrading it.

Saw that, looks really good. Ideal, in fact. Trouble is, it won't fit on my board (and still leave room for anything else) and won't fit in the 2U rack space of my combo.

Here's the conundrum: I have a EA iAmp 800, which I absolutely love: bags of clean headroom and a very versatile EQ. I just hit 1 'contour' button and away I go. However, It is a little sterile sounding and I use a Catalinbread SFT clone (which is always on) to warm it up bit. This got me interested in what other options I might have. I've just bought a 2x12 combo which I will mount my amp into, leaving practically no room for a rack pre but there will be a little space behind the amp, I'll wager. I've also bought a SansAmp BDDI deluxe which has gone on my board and displaced other pedals, so not ideal. Through my in-ears (haven't gigged it yet, new year quiet period) it's not a huge improvement on the SFT clone, though more versatile, having presets. I'd really love to have a real valve pre somehow. What are my options? Doesn't need masses of EQ options, got that on my amp. Would need to be about the size of a regular pedal or fit 'behind' my amp somehow. Edit 14/01/19: To save you wading through a few pages, I've refined my needs as wanting harmonics and overtones, rather than straight overdrive, and a tone not unlike an SVT. It's obviously been pointed out to me that you need the appropriate power section for that. However, a few good options have popped up: I've sold the SansAmp BDDI deluxe and bought a Lehle Basswitch Sonic Spark, will let you know how that turns out. Another good option would have been the Hartke bass attack VXL. Might still give a SansAmp VT a go at some point but I don't know if it will be much different from the BDDI deluxe I just sold. Phrases like 'heft', 'sparkle', 'magic' and 'fairy dust' have been mentioned. Not by me, I hasten to add. EDIT 24/04/19: Sold on the Basswitch sonic Spark and bought a Sansamp BDDI. Sorted. Stopped worrying about it and just got on with my life.