Bass VT DI or...?

[uncle psychosis]

Hi guys

 

Before I go and buy a Sansamp Bass VT DI, wanted to see if anyone had any better ideas. 

 

I play at home through a powered speaker (Yamaha HS7) so a combined preamp/di box makes the perfect home practice setup. I've got a Boss ME-90B which sounds great but its a bit big for my small office space and frankly I want an excuse for new gear. 

 

I've had sansamp gear before so I know roughly what I'm getting but aware there are other bits of gear out there now that do similar things, ie the Origin Effects stuff which certainly looks good. 

 

Desirable features for me:

 

1. Vintage/Classic sounds, in the motown/reggae/edge of breakup indie rock spectrum. If i was a rich man who had a bigger house I'd probably buy a "real" B15 and an SVT and switch between them depending on mood.

2. High gain absolutely need not apply

3. Battery power ideal but not essential. 

4. If needs a power supply, dedicated power switch very desirable (i don't like faffing about disconnecting and connecting power to turn stuff on/off) 

5. Balanced DI out desirable

6. Volume control that affects the DI out extremely desirable 

7. Cab sim on the DI out extremely desirable. Even better if it's switchable/defeatable. 

 

The Bass VT DI ticks almost all of those boxes I believe but interested to see if anyone thinks I'm selling myself short... 

[SimonK]

I was looking at the Sansamp but ended up with a Genzler Magellan Preamp/DI Pedal specifically because:

• It has a built in HPF
• It has a built in mute switch
• It has two channels, one "modern" and the other "vintage" meaning two different EQ settings
• Seemed to do everything else the Sansamp did as well

I've also historically liked the sound of Genz Benz/Genzler gear.

 

[PaulThePlug]

Behringer BDI... Bargain

[Pow_22]

more expensive but I've had great results with the Origin Effects bass Rig pedals.  Even tho I'm an SVT man at heart I actually prefer the sound of the Black Face 64 one.  Awesome pedal

[mcnach]

On 20/07/2025 at 14:01, uncle psychosis said:

Hi guys

 

Before I go and buy a Sansamp Bass VT DI, wanted to see if anyone had any better ideas. 

 

I play at home through a powered speaker (Yamaha HS7) so a combined preamp/di box makes the perfect home practice setup. I've got a Boss ME-90B which sounds great but its a bit big for my small office space and frankly I want an excuse for new gear. 

 

I've had sansamp gear before so I know roughly what I'm getting but aware there are other bits of gear out there now that do similar things, ie the Origin Effects stuff which certainly looks good. 

 

Desirable features for me:

 

1. Vintage/Classic sounds, in the motown/reggae/edge of breakup indie rock spectrum. If i was a rich man who had a bigger house I'd probably buy a "real" B15 and an SVT and switch between them depending on mood.

2. High gain absolutely need not apply

3. Battery power ideal but not essential. 

4. If needs a power supply, dedicated power switch very desirable (i don't like faffing about disconnecting and connecting power to turn stuff on/off) 

5. Balanced DI out desirable

6. Volume control that affects the DI out extremely desirable 

7. Cab sim on the DI out extremely desirable. Even better if it's switchable/defeatable. 

 

The Bass VT DI ticks almost all of those boxes I believe but interested to see if anyone thinks I'm selling myself short... 

 

 

Not exactly top shelf, but I've got one of these things and I'm impressed: M-VAVE Tank-B

 

It's got a rechargeable battery, USB-C connection.

It has a power switch.

It has an XLR out, as well as a 6.35mm TS socket and headphones output.

 

Basically it's a small FX unit, with a number of cab and amplifier emulations, basic modulation effects, compressor and noise gate, and you can store and recall presets. The tuner is not the most user friendly or accurate, but it's certainly sufficient for home use.

 

It can also act as a sound card to record even on a mobile phone. You can play along to music via bluetooth, too... and it's tiny.

 

Prices vary, they tend to be around £60-70, but you can find them on AliExpress for around £50, frequently. I'm not recommending it because it's cheap, but because I like how it sounds and everything it can do.

 

https://www.scribd.com/document/711832600/M-Vave-Tank-B-Manual

 

https://www.cuvave.com/productinfo/1106118.html

 

 

 

[uncle psychosis]

Nice, but afraid that just looks like a worse ME-90B to me 🤪

 

Bass VT DI or Origin Effects definitely still top of the tree. The OE stuff is not cheap though, eh...