Ampeg or Sans Amp DI

[Basster]

I wanted some opinions on Bass DI's before I bought one. I've pretty much narrowed it down between the Ampeg SVTDI because of its tube driven qualities, and the Sans Amp Tech 21 because of its proven track record. Any thoughts on these, gentlemen?

[badgerbass]

I don't know the Ampeg so can't compare them, but the Sans Amp is great! A very solid piece of equipment with all the stage features you need and lot of tone variation, drive, and presence.

 

Guy

[Gruuve]

Another candidate that is very similar to the Sansamp is the MXR M80, which is a bit less expensive. I liked it's clean sound a little better, but I liked the over-drive sound of the Sansamp better.

 

Dave

[cornbread_medhotmail.com]

I can attest to the sound and durability of the SansAmp. You won't be disappointed. From what I understand about the Ampeg, it's really good, too. Be the first to try it out and give us the rundown.

[davio]

Being tube-driven, the Ampeg won't be nearly as durable as the BDDI. I haven't used the Ampeg and I've only tried out the BDDI in stores so I can't really tell you from personal experience, but that's what my first reaction was.

[Mike Bear]

I've had many good experiences with the Sans Amp.

[Fred TBP]

I've never seen the Ampeg SVTDI, but I own both an 80s SVT head and a SansAmp BDDI, hence my comparison follows based on those units(*):

 

If you drop a BDDI from a height of 4 feet, it may or may not break due to its tough metal case. If you drop an all-tube SVT from the same height, you're looking at a minimum $200 repair bill.

The BDDI weighs a little under a pound. The SVT, approx. 80-90 lbs. The latter should be carted around on a cart or with a friend, while the former can be tossed into a guitar case or backpack.

 

The SVT will cost you around $100/year in maintenance - more like $200 every other year for tubes, biasing and output capacitor replacements. The BDDI will cost you maybe $5 in replacing an alkaline battery every 2-3 years.

 

Finally, my most important point: if you bring both to a good recording studio and record with them, then mix the tracks down to a CD and play it in your car or boom box, you and maybe another bass player will be the only people around who can tell the difference.

You can have what you want, but be ready to pay the price to keep it.

 

PS:(*)yes, I know this is about the SVTDI with just a single preamp tube, but I've read so many "worship stories" about the SVTs that I had to jump in with this ridiculous comparison. There are another dozen or so companies that make tube-driven bass preamps/DIs (PreSonus for one) that you might want to expand your comparison a bit before making a final purchase.

[lug]

I use an Ampeg pre (SVT-IIP) and love it. The RBI/BDDI are great at emulating a tube sound but you get the real deal with the ampeg pre. That being said, the Ampeg SVTDI is the most overpriced piece of gear I've ever seen. It's a single tube with a padded and nonpadded input and a switch to go direct or thru the tube on to a transformer coupled output. The price Ampeg wants for this (around $300) is absolutely rediculous.

[SteveC]

I think the Ampeg Tube DI is overkill for day to day live playing. The BDDI is a proven, reliable, and affordable piece of gear. It seems like it would be more versitile as well.

 

I don't currently have one. I've had a couple over the years. I get the "tube warmth" from the tube in my Eden preamp these days. My current situation (mostly jazz, big band and a little rock/pop) doesn't really require that "SVT" sound.

[disaster]

sansamp, for sure. its about as versatile as it gets.

also check out the ART tube MP.

or both, for the price of the SVT pre.

[wwittman]

If you just want a good clean DI that sounds good for recording (I mic an amp ALWAYS anyway but not everyone does) then the AMpeg DOES sound terrific.

 

But the SansAmp BDDI pedal also is a very nice sounding DI PLUS gives you all that tone shaping and the ability to add some grit to the signal.

I have both the BDDI and an RBI (for backup) in my live rig (so the FOH mixer has a DI in case the mic on my cabs fails) and I actually think the pedal version sounds a bit better (for whatever reasons)

But again this is because I want a DI I can shape to sound more like my amp and speaker sound.. not as a 'clean' straight signal.

 

Did you intend this primarily for live or the studio?

and with an amp, or instead of?

those are the questions you need to ask yourself.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by lug:

That being said, the Ampeg SVTDI is the most overpriced piece of gear I've ever seen. It's a single tube with a padded and nonpadded input and a switch to go direct or thru the tube on to a transformer coupled output. The price Ampeg wants for this (around $300) is absolutely rediculous.

I dunno - the last DI I bought lists for around $500, and the one I use the most lists for $800. By those standards, $300 isn't 'ridiculous'. But if I had to buy a DI stricktly for live use (though usually, the sound company provides), I'd probably buy a Radial anyway.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by cornbread:

I can attest to the sound and durability of the SansAmp. You won't be disappointed.

Well, maybe the original poster won't be disappointed, but I sure was...

[_Sweet Willie_]

I have a SABDDI and like it quite a bit. It is competitive with the MXR 80. For a workhorse DI with some tone/sound shaping capability for under $200, I think it's a solid little box.

 

I know nuttink about the Ampeg DI.

 

The Radial Tonebone (Bassbone?) is very appealing. It offers two channels, which is really nice if you use two basses (e.g., fretted and fretless), and Radial makes great boxes. It's more expensive, but maybe not prohibitively so.

 

I've seen Dave Martin post before as a critic of the SABDDI. Based on his posts on this board and what I know of his studio and live playing and engineering experience, I've come to respect his opinion quite a bit, even in the rare cases when I might disagree. So even if his view is in the minority about the SABDDI, don't brush it off.

 

Dave, are you able to be more specific in your critique? What about the sound of the SABDDI or its performance live or in the studio has failed to impress you? Also, can you compare it to gear in a similar price range (like Radial, or is Radial a bit more expensive?)? Thanks!

 

Peace.

--Doctor Luv

[Mark2112]

Bass Driver is for color. ( I own one)

The Radial is the one to get if you want clarity from your DI.

If your really want to get a great tube tone get an Avalon U5 or the Aguilar is amazing as well.

 

Yes I have used and listen to all of these as well.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by Dr. Sweet Willie:

Dave, are you able to be more specific in your critique? What about the sound of the SABDDI or its performance live or in the studio has failed to impress you? Also, can you compare it to gear in a similar price range (like Radial, or is Radial a bit more expensive?)? Thanks!

 

Peace.

--Doctor Luv

Sure - what I look for in a DI is the sound of the instrument. I don't want distortion, color, compression type artifacts, or anything other than the sound of the bass. (Caveat - if the signal coming out of the DI sounds in some way, 'bigger' than usual, then I smile and think to myself, 'Ah - THAT's what the bass really sounds like!', whether that's true or not...). Apparently it's just me, but whenever I try my SansAmp Bass Driver, it sounds as though I'm losing headroom and tone. Even after experimenting with the various controls, (and for that matter, running it in passive mode), it seems to clip the top off of my signal (which is what I meant by 'compression artifacts').

 

I'm a big fan of clean bass sounds - even when I was playing in what were called 'rock bands' back in the day (and are now 'classic rock bands'), I didn't generally look for distortion to be part of the sound. Those of us who were playing in the early 70's remember how stinkin' loud an SVT had to be before it broke up. And my amps in those days (SVT, Acoustic 360, Sunn Colosseum - and who remembers the Peavey Festival series amps? 800 watts, and 2 folded horn 18" cabinets?) were all pretty darned clean. So perhaps it's simply a matter of MY taste - When I do want a distorted sound, I just record my bass through the B15 that's sitting in the tracking room - turned up to about 8. I love that sound, and I can't duplicate it with the Sans Amp. I will use my sans Amp bass driver when I'm working in another studio and the producer wants a bit of an overdriven sound, but that's simply because I have it there, and these clients aren't paying cartage... I don't THINK that it's simply a matter of me being closed minded - I DO pull the box out every couple of months and try it again, but on the other hand, there are also a lot of basses on the market that I wouldn't care to use either live or in the studio. So perhaps I am simply an opinionated old fart...

 

I just thought of something, though - I don't have the wall wart with my box, and there's the possibility that the tone would improve if I used it (assuming that the wall wart PS would be an improvement over the battery). I'll give that a shot the next time the opportunity comes up.

 

Having said all that, I would rather use the Phantom powered Radial DI - I have a couple of them here, and they've proven to be very nice, very transparent, and pretty darned cost effective for me. I'll end up with a few more over the next few months - at least another couple of active DI's and probably 2 or 3 of the passives (some will go with my PA, some will stay in the studio). I've used Aspen Pitman's Brick, and though that it was nice, but I think that it's also more expensive than the SansAmp. Oh, and like most of us old guys, I've have sound companies use more Countryman DI's than all the rest put together. And I'd rather use those than the SansAmp.

 

To close this long (and really rambling) post, I'd suggest that for me, the tone comes from me and the bass that I'm playing. Anything that gets in the way of that is an impediment rather than a help. Others, quite naturally, have different approaches.

[_Sweet Willie_]

Thank you, Dave. I really appreciated that thoughtful post (and it was what I would've expected from you!).

 

We each have a personal take on "good" tone, and the tools that get each of us there are going to vary.

 

I do think of the SABDDI as more like an effect that simply a DI. I use mine w/ a power supply (an EBS power supply). I hadn't thought about how it might sound different w/ a battery, particularly if the battery's lost a bit of its charge.

 

Peace.

--SW

[The Fonz]

ampeg makes a helluvan amp. but sans amp is pretty much a staple no matter what you own. bring it to a club and the sound guy will be more than happy to use it as opposed to his own DI (if they don't have one themselves). it sounds awesome.

 

i could go on but just get the sans amp.