TECH 21 SANSAMP BASS DRIVER DELUXE & APHEX PUNCH FACTORY COMPRESSOR

[REDLAWMAN]

I'd be really grateful if anyone could tell me just what these 2 things do please and advise me how to use them.

I've been told that they could maybe help me to get closer to the warm, full, rounded, deep, traditional, 'old school' country music sound, but I have no idea what they are or how to use them.

I've got a Littlemark III.

Thanks.

[Lozz196]

The Sansamp is a great piece of kit. I used to have a Trace Elliot amp, which obviously had the renowned TE sound. Simply putting the Sansamp in between the bass and amp made the sound go from TE crisp/clarity, to old-school deep, round, warm valvey-ness.

I currently use a Sansamp, and set my eq on my amp flat, getting all the eq from the Sansamp.

Its also good for the fact that you can take it along to gigs where you`re either using someone elses amp, or having to DI to the pa system whilst using yr/house provided amp. With other gear, set their eq flat, get your sound from the Sansamp. With the pa, as you`re DI-ing from the pedal, not the amp, it gives the sound engineer control front of house, but you control your on stage sound from yr amp, upping or lowering volume as required, without messing up front of house sound.


No experience of the Aphex I`m afraid.

[ShergoldSnickers]

The Aphex Punch Factory is a compressor - it squeezes the dynamics of the loudest and softest sounds that you play into a narrower range. Unlike a lot of compressors though, the Aphex unit is very good at doing this without drawing attention to itself - the sound is pretty transparent. Compressing the dynamics evens out the peaks and troughs in loudness when you play, resulting in more consistency in levels. It stops the quiet sections being dominated by other instruments, and the louder sections of your playing overpowering other instruments in turn.

The Punch Factory uses an optical compression method - some of the signal is used to generate a light source, and this is then detected and used to control the gain of the signal output. Due to the relationship between the signal strength and the amount of light generated not being linear, the output signal is compressed, and in an audibly benign manner.

The Aphex unit just gets on with doing this without fuss... BUT.... if you want to be using compression as a very definite and audible effect in it's own right, the Punch Factory is not the way to go. If you just want to even out your playing and keep your tone intact, then the Punch Factory will do this superbly.

Edited December 9, 2010 by ShergoldSnickers

[REDLAWMAN]

Thanks very much indeed guys: you both explained that so well I understood!

I asked because I'm been seeking to emulate the old warm, rounded, full 'Country-type' sound with my Littlemark & Traveler 151P, failing miserably and someone who I don't know (and can no longer locate) recommended I get these 2 devices and I would be, in his words. 'Golden'...

From what you've said Lozz196, it sounds ideal, too.

Thanks again: really appreciated.

[GarethFlatlands]

The Sansamp will scoop your mids and give you a very Ampeg type sound. It's a great piece of kit but you might want to bear the mids issue in mind as it bothers some people. I just adjust my amp EQ to compensate.

[Guest jbarks]

Country music might be better served by the sansamp vt bass set to b15 emulation

[REDLAWMAN]

Thanks everyone, really appreciated.

[REDLAWMAN]

Just so I understand this correctly, when you say 'scoop the mids', are you meaning to knock them down, so that in effect, the low/bass notes and higher/treble notes appear disproportionately louder and stronger and, therefore, you have to boost the mids on your amp to get them strong enough again?

[GarethFlatlands]

Yeah, you can get a good rock tone or a good bass heavy sound but I like a lot of mids. I run mine through a crappy old Peavey TNT so use the graphic EQ to boost the mids instead of leaving it flat and letting the Sansamp shape the tone completely.

Edited December 28, 2010 by GarethFlatlands

[REDLAWMAN]

Nice one: cheers Gareth.