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edgebass5 · 05-09-2005, 09:25 AM

Okay, this is a piece of gear that's talked about quite frequently, so its about time it had its own review thread.

Sansamp Bass Driver DI+

Manufacturer: Tech 21

Features: 4.5/5
Very feature loaded for such a small device. One instrument input, one affected output (post), one unaffected output (pre), one XLR/DI output, phantom, line or battery power supply, on/off switch (preamp), level, blend, bass, treble, presence, drive controls. I didn't give it a perfect 5, simply because it does not have a mid control. While many people complain about this, if you're judicious with your bass, treble and blend controls, you can have as much mids as you'd like.

Sound (preamp): 3.5/5
Very very very warm. Reminiscent of an all-tube amp. If you A/B the device with a real all-tube amp, its obvious which one is which, but this thing does a great job of recreating an all-tube amp's tone, but in a much smaller, much lighter and much cheaper package. The sound can easily become muddy if you're not judicious with the bass tone controls. Also, this is not the "quickest" preamp ever made. It does not pickup signal transients with lightning fast speed. In comparison to my BBE BMax (which is ridiculously fast) this thing is the sonic equivalent of a snail. The treble control is fairly tame, and even at high settings does not become harsh or put a lot of "hiss" into your signal. The presence control is a bit tricky. If you add too much your tone turns into an immediate "clank" machine, and adding more will easily create a lot of "hiss" in your signal. No mid control, but combine judicious cutting of the bass and treble bands, and use of the blend control, and you can have as much mids in your signal as you'd like.

Sound (DI): ?/5
I gave this a '?' rating because its too tricky to give an accurate review. I'll explain why and then you can form your own opinion. When the preamp is turned on, it delivers the preamp's tone to the board/PA. If you want this tone to hit the board, I would give this thing a 5, simply because it gets the signal there, and does it very well, with phantom power as well! Now, if you disengage the preamp, it delivers the signal to the board, but it still colors the tone, despite the preamp being disengaged. The sign of a good DI is how transparently it can deliver your signal to the board. In this regard, this preamp gets a 2 in my opinion. Engaged, good, disengaged, bad. If you like the tone of the Sansamp and you want it to hit the board, you'll be just fine. However, if you're only going to use this thing for its DI functions and don't like the preamp, I'd look elsewhere because this is easily the least transparent DI I've ever heard.

Sound (overdrive): 3/5
The overdrive on this thing sounds pretty good. Not like a digital or transistor driven overdrive, but very much like a 12AX7 preamp tube being overdriven by cranking up the gain knob on a tube preamp. The reason I only gave it a 3 is that its not a versatile overdrive unit at all. Even at its maximum setting, it can only create a mild overdrive. That being said, the unit was never intended to be a full-on distortion unit, so my point about versatility might be irrelevant. If all you're looking for is an overdrive unit to add some "grind" or "grit" to your tone, this thing will do it, and do it very well.

Portability: 5/5
A complete non-issue, the device is very small, and very light.

Reliability: 5/5
This thing is built like a tank. Heavy gauge metal casing (not plastic), heavy-duty on/off switch that will resist many stomps.

Overall: 4/5
I really like this unit for two purposes. To add a bit of warmth and grit to my ultra-clean toned BBE preamp, and to serve as a DI to get my signal to the board, before it hits my amp in recording situations. I wish the output voltage was high enough to drive a power amp without boosting the signal at some point. Apparently on the newer versions they have increased the output voltage to allow it to drive a power amp sufficiently.

Manufacturer's alternates:

RBI (rackmounted version of the Bass Driver DI, with the addition of a few more output options and a dedicated mid control)

Programmable BDDI (same as the BDDI, but with 3 preset channels for seamless analog tone switching between 3 presets)

Other alternates:

MXR M-80 (very similar, but with overdrive on a separate channel from the preamp, and a much more "modern" tone, described by many as being very "nu-metal")

Hartke Bass Attack, Aguilar DB 924, Sadowsky Outboard, J-Retro Outboard (very similar, but with no overdrive)

05-09-2005, 09:25 AM	#1
edgebass5 overpriced trendy garbage Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 10,671	Sansamp Bass Driver DI+ Okay, this is a piece of gear that's talked about quite frequently, so its about time it had its own review thread. Sansamp Bass Driver DI+ Manufacturer: Tech 21 Features: 4.5/5 Very feature loaded for such a small device. One instrument input, one affected output (post), one unaffected output (pre), one XLR/DI output, phantom, line or battery power supply, on/off switch (preamp), level, blend, bass, treble, presence, drive controls. I didn't give it a perfect 5, simply because it does not have a mid control. While many people complain about this, if you're judicious with your bass, treble and blend controls, you can have as much mids as you'd like. Sound (preamp): 3.5/5 Very very very warm. Reminiscent of an all-tube amp. If you A/B the device with a real all-tube amp, its obvious which one is which, but this thing does a great job of recreating an all-tube amp's tone, but in a much smaller, much lighter and much cheaper package. The sound can easily become muddy if you're not judicious with the bass tone controls. Also, this is not the "quickest" preamp ever made. It does not pickup signal transients with lightning fast speed. In comparison to my BBE BMax (which is ridiculously fast) this thing is the sonic equivalent of a snail. The treble control is fairly tame, and even at high settings does not become harsh or put a lot of "hiss" into your signal. The presence control is a bit tricky. If you add too much your tone turns into an immediate "clank" machine, and adding more will easily create a lot of "hiss" in your signal. No mid control, but combine judicious cutting of the bass and treble bands, and use of the blend control, and you can have as much mids in your signal as you'd like. Sound (DI): ?/5 I gave this a '?' rating because its too tricky to give an accurate review. I'll explain why and then you can form your own opinion. When the preamp is turned on, it delivers the preamp's tone to the board/PA. If you want this tone to hit the board, I would give this thing a 5, simply because it gets the signal there, and does it very well, with phantom power as well! Now, if you disengage the preamp, it delivers the signal to the board, but it still colors the tone, despite the preamp being disengaged. The sign of a good DI is how transparently it can deliver your signal to the board. In this regard, this preamp gets a 2 in my opinion. Engaged, good, disengaged, bad. If you like the tone of the Sansamp and you want it to hit the board, you'll be just fine. However, if you're only going to use this thing for its DI functions and don't like the preamp, I'd look elsewhere because this is easily the least transparent DI I've ever heard. Sound (overdrive): 3/5 The overdrive on this thing sounds pretty good. Not like a digital or transistor driven overdrive, but very much like a 12AX7 preamp tube being overdriven by cranking up the gain knob on a tube preamp. The reason I only gave it a 3 is that its not a versatile overdrive unit at all. Even at its maximum setting, it can only create a mild overdrive. That being said, the unit was never intended to be a full-on distortion unit, so my point about versatility might be irrelevant. If all you're looking for is an overdrive unit to add some "grind" or "grit" to your tone, this thing will do it, and do it very well. Portability: 5/5 A complete non-issue, the device is very small, and very light. Reliability: 5/5 This thing is built like a tank. Heavy gauge metal casing (not plastic), heavy-duty on/off switch that will resist many stomps. Overall: 4/5 I really like this unit for two purposes. To add a bit of warmth and grit to my ultra-clean toned BBE preamp, and to serve as a DI to get my signal to the board, before it hits my amp in recording situations. I wish the output voltage was high enough to drive a power amp without boosting the signal at some point. Apparently on the newer versions they have increased the output voltage to allow it to drive a power amp sufficiently. Manufacturer's alternates: RBI (rackmounted version of the Bass Driver DI, with the addition of a few more output options and a dedicated mid control) Programmable BDDI (same as the BDDI, but with 3 preset channels for seamless analog tone switching between 3 presets) Other alternates: MXR M-80 (very similar, but with overdrive on a separate channel from the preamp, and a much more "modern" tone, described by many as being very "nu-metal") Hartke Bass Attack, Aguilar DB 924, Sadowsky Outboard, J-Retro Outboard (very similar, but with no overdrive)