Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI V2

Después de mucho tiempo detrás de un preamplificador me decidí por éste SansAmp BDDI y sin duda todo un acierto y es justo lo que andaba buscando y necesitaba, llevo pocos días con el y no lo he usado en directo, sólo en casa con el PC y el sonido ha mejorado muchísimo, tanto a la hora de escuchar el bajo por auriculares como en las grabaciones noto una gran mejoría en el sonido.
He probado bastantes plugins de amplificadores, y simuladores digitales de amplificadores con el pedal Zoom multistomp MS-60b+ y no he dado con alguno que me llegara a convencer del todo con el resultado final, y con este creo que voy al fin he encontrado el resultado que buscaba. A todo aquel que este valorando la posibilidad de adquirir uno que no se lo piense más, en mi caso debería haberlo comprado hace mucho tiempo.

So I finally got around to trying this somewhat legendary effect/DI. I have very mixed feelings about it.

Pros:

-Very good build quality.

-Good quality sound for going amp-less straight to the mixing desk if you're looking for this specific kind of bass sound.

-Very easy to use, excellent manual.

-Excellent connectivity: thru/unbalanced/balanced.

-Option for using phantom power instead of 9v.

Cons:

-The clean signal coming out of the balanced xlr is not quite as good as on a dedicated DI box like a Radial J48. The clean side of the BDDI is somewhat less open and powerful sounding by comparison. To be fair it's a VERY subtle difference but still noticable.

-The effect sound is not very versatile. If you need this kind of sound it's great but you won't get ANYTHING other than a sort of mic'ed Ampeg SVT+810 vibe out of it. It has that hollow/boomy quality that I'm not a huge fan of with SVT rigs. Sometimes they're great but I normally prefer a less "baked in" sound. Or at least the possibility to tweak the sound more. Everything you get out of the BDDI are variations over the same theme.

-The sound from this box has been used so much that it actually feels a bit dated. If this is the sound you're really looking for then sure it's great. If not I would get something else instead.

-The jack sockets are a bit too tight for my taste. This is probably a good thing if you've got it permanently installed on your board but if you need to insert jacks using one hand in a tight spot it gets really tricky. Not a huge problem but it got surprisingly annoying really fast!

-It's very expensive for what you get. You can buy a small AMP for this kind of money! And there are plenty of other preamp pedals that sound great and are a lot more versatile.

My verdict:

If this is 100% the sound you want, sure it's great. If not I think it's much too expensive for what you get. It's a fun little addition to my bass&studio gear collection but I honestly don't think I will be using it as much as I thought. I actually like the drive characteristics a lot but I wish there was a way to disconnect the speaker simulation. It's got that hollow Ampeg 810 vibe that I'm not a big fan of. I would probably use it a lot more if I could have used it as a regular stomp box/preamp for the overdrive/eq but without the speaker sim.

Before getting this, I had used a Zoom B3 as my main practice tool/headphone amp. I had come to a point where I knew what kind of bass tone I like and figured that a Bass Driver would get me there. Also, I like the possibilities for live use, even though I don't really play live anymore. I was also considering a Darkglass Alpha Omega, which had just come out at the time, but I was worried that it would be less versatile and too modern sounding. The Bass Driver seemed like a safer choice, and more of a solid platform to build on.

I don't think I can say much that hasn't been said many times already. It is not really a neutral sounding box that will give you the pure sound of your instrument, but it is also far from a one-trick pony. Anything from gritty rock tones to warm vintage tones. Some people would argue that the programmable version is more useful, but I am more a "set it and forget it" type of player who doesn't like to tweak too much.

I am mostly a bedroom player and use it as a headphone amp on my computer, in combination with a small interface (Behringer UMC204HD). Via XLR, you don't even need a separate power source for the pedal since it can operate on the interface's phantom power, which saves a bit of cable mess.

I'm sure there are equally good and cheaper alternatives for a quiet practice solution, but I love that I can get a great sound during practice while also being able to use it live, should I ever need to. I guess for most people it's the other way round.

Great sound, especially if you like more vintage tones. Built like a tank. Flexible in use. 10/10 would recommend!