Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21 Reviews

Got one to be used as a preamp between bass and PA system in a "no-amp" environment. Kind of a one trick pony, I could find one usable sound at a time, clean or overdriven.

I upgraded mine pretty soon to a SansAmp with 3 presets and a way better sound.

Bass friend

I take this everywhere I go with me. Best bass DI box out there with the extra features! You cannot go wrong with it. Just don't use cheap batteries with it ha ha ha. It uses more batt power than most DI boxes out there so keep a few spare if you are playing a long gig. I learnt the hard way!

Much better than expected

I have been using the BDI21 as a DI box and bass amp replacement, since I have a small PA system but no bass amp.

I was pleasantly surprised by the BDI21. The photos make it look rather flimsy (particularly the footswitch), but in reality the plastic casing feels very solid, and the controls, while not indestructible, seem OK.

Feature-wise, there is nothing else at this price range with these features, most usefully combining amp simulation with an XLR out.

The sound is very good. Compared to a `dry' DI signal, it makes it rounder and smoother. I used to think the dry signal was quite good (well, good enough), but using the BDI21 improves it greatly.

In summary, the BDI21 works perfectly as an always-on bass amp replacement, so I would recommend it.

Best Sans Amp Bass DI Alternative

If like you me you tend to work on a budget and be a fan of good deals (and are also a bassist) then the behringer v-tone bass DI pedal is a great alternative to more expensive pedals of its kind.

The sound is just as good as it's sans amp counterpart but at far less cost. The features include drive, blend, treble, bass and presence eq controls and also a built in ground lift switch for when playing live.

Added to my current set up (which includes an eq, compressor, tube overdrive and a tone pedal) it sounds far fuller and louder than it ever has before.

Although it has a plastic casing it has been quite hard wearing so far and I've had no problems with it up until now, the only reservation I'd had when buying it was that a metal shell would be preferred.

Running on 1 9v battery or off a power bank/power supply it's been a great pedal and is a good addition to a better, controllable bass tone which packs a hell of a lot of volume into such a small pedal.

Really useful thing

I bought this because I wanted my own dedicated DI out on my pedal board, as the one on my amp is terrible. It soon became clear that it was a bit more than just that. The tone shaping functions are awesome, allowing my ancient precision bass to do passable impressions of modern active basses if i like, or I can just dial in a bit of tube amp style grit without lugging an ampeg around. It's obviously simulated, but once the rest of the band kick in, even you won't notice, let alone the audience.

It seems fairly robust, but it is only plastic, and repeated stomping on it may eventually knacker the switch, but for what i want it to do, it will suffice.

Get one in your gig bag, even just as a back up in case your amp fails and you need to go straight into the PA. You get your tone control back from the sound guy.

Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21

This is a great little bit of kit! And at a great price too! The sounds that you can get from this are surprisingly good for the price. Great for gigging and recording. The DI Output is also another great feature.

Good solution for home playing

Just what you would expect it to be. For this price, no quarrels. I don't have a long history with the product so I don't know how long it will last and how durable it is, though.

Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21

a great little unit i use mine for recording purposes every bass player needs a unit like this in there arsenal can be very handy if you ever have an amp failure and need a DI box,has very usable tones quite subtle but everything you need i have had many bass effects and in a real world scenario you dont need much, as too much of anything in my mind ruins the essence of the bass tone i used to just use a compressor maybe a mild use of bass chorus this behringer can add a bit of grit and sparkle to my recording seems reasonably sturdy and its a useable unit nothing gimmicky i like it.

Behringer V-Tone Bass BD121

I bought the Behringer V-Tone Bass BD121 to try and get more tone options from my solid state bass amp. I have been impressed with Behringer's products in the past, especially for the prices they are sold at, so this again was a good buy. The tone and EQ controls on this foot pedal are really responsive and the actual control knobs are very smooth and easy to use. The difference to my bass tone was very noticeable straight away and the variations in sounds I can get get have opened up my bass to lots of new frequencies. I have used it for both live and recording with my pub/bar band and the signal is very clean and clear.

The only downside of this product is it is made of plastic. Being a stomp box, I was slightly worried that the build quality would not stand being stood on over and over again at gigs. So far it has been very good and showed no signs of structural deterioration. My other pedals are made of metal and feel slightly more robust, but for the price, the V-Tone BD121 seems to be pretty tough.

I would say this is a good purchase for anyone looking for more tone options on a budget.

Great bass pedal

Very solidly constructed unit. Works great to set the bass tone required, very handy for plugging into the mixer when rehearsing without amp.

Extremely pleased with this pedal for the price

BDI 21

I bought the Behringer BDI-21 as a backup for live bass playing, and it performs really well. Obviously it's a Sansamp clone, and in a head-to-head comparison this unit has a little more background noise, but not by much.

It's a plastic case with a heavy, sheet metal baseplate, so feels weighty enough. How well it would stand up against a long tour I'm not sure, but for the money these are unbeatable units, and there's really no excuse for not having one in your gig bag.

It won't run on phantom power, unlike all of the other bass DI press (Hartke, Sansamp, EBS, MXR etc?) but what you save by buying this, as opposed to a much more expensive unit, you can spend on a decent PSU (or a tower of batteries).

Great value for money.

This pedal is well made and allows greater control over my bass sound. I use whatever bass amp is in the practice space we rent so this helps me to get a consistent sound regardless of the amp I use. The footswitch would cause me some concern if I were using it regularly but I leave the pedal on top of my amp and switched on at all times. The DI output is a little low but this shouldn't be a problem provided the PA is powerful enough.

Behringer BDI21

Wow! Probably the best value bit of kit i have ever bought. I have some pretty good gear ( Genz and GK MB Fusion amps and Barefaced cabs) that i thought sounded great anyway but this little thing has transformed them up to another level.

In a phrase, i now have a pocket sized Ampeg SVT rig! It adds a lovely zingy, bell like, fat element to my sound. Its an always on pedal for me. If you hear people saying it scoops the mids too much in a live situation just back off the bass and treble and increase the level - this puts the mids back. Also, start with everything at 12 rather than follow the sample settings and tweak from there if youre using it at gig levels.

Fantastic piece of kit for very little money. Various suggested settings in the instructions but fun to dial in your own. Amaising difference made to my practice amp. Warm louder tone on full blend.

Not much of an effect...

Seriously, I don't know what this pedal is good for. I get better sound out of an old guitar pedal, than with this. I guess its ok as a preamp, but with so much knobs, you should really be able to do things to the sound, but almost nothing happens... It just eats batteries...

A lifesaver

This Behringer V-Tone Bass pedal is marketed as an amp modelling pedal. It can do this but also a great little DI pedal. I have found it really handy to have as backup in case there is any technical issue with my amplifier as I have the option of going straight into the PA desk from the DI.

The casing for the pedal is quite lightweight and plastic so I wouldn't recommend using as a stomp box as I can imagine that it wouldn't withstand too much heavy stomping. I tend to keep mine on top of my amp.

You can dial in a really nice low end drive with this pedal and really does add a nice warmth to your sound.

This is an amazing value pedal and I would recommend it for the value alone but it really had a lovely sound and could save your life sometime.

Di + Distortion

A few years ago i decided that i´d like to add a little bit of distortion to my sound. Most people assume an Sansamp, but that has been to expensive as i didn´t know whether i want to keep the distortin in my setting.

I heard the BDI21 should be quite similar to the sansamp so i gave it try.

Well, the handling is okay, there is a heavy plate under the BDI to make it heavy, the rest is made out of plastic, just like the knobs. It´s hard to see where the knobs are pointing, the only mark is a little black hole at the end of the knob.

The Sound:

Well, i´ve got the the feeling that it steals all my mids, the distortion is very smooth, especially in like breaks where only the bass is playing it´s easy to get a harsh mumbling distortion but when used while the whole band is playing, i can´t get through.

So it´s a nice box if you want to try some kind of distortion, but i would not recommend it for Studio or professional use.

It's a Behringer. It's ugly. It's plastic and feels the "foot switch" (mad out of plastic, of course) feels like it will break if you gently rest your foot on it. So why such a good rating? Well, the price on this effects pedal/pre-amp/DI box is crazy. Most products with similar features and sound will cost well over double as much as this.

Even though it's made out of plastic the only part that feels low quality to me is the switch, which I don't even use since I use the Behringer as a pre-amp, not as an effects pedal. You can easily get a really nice and soft tone with the Behringer and with some drive you can get a decent aggressive tone as well.

Overall I can really recommend this for any bassist on a budget, it's a very versatile little box that most people will get some use for and considering the ridiculously low price the plastic casing really isn't that bad.

Great Di and Stomp Box

Very solid build quality with anti slip base make this behringer v tone bass pedal a proper gigging device. Capable of producing very convincing vintage tones it is a must have accessory on stage, and in the studio it is perfect as a top quality Di box. Well recommended, I have used this for years with no problems.

Great Tool for the bass player

The BDI 21 from Behringer is a great tool box for bass players. Besides its great tone shaping capabilities it offers a DI-Box which can be used live or for recording. It also has a ground lift switch to avoid humming.

In the instruction manual you can find some usable presets for the BDI. I prefer the "SVT-Setting" to give my Sound a little more tube like warmth and drive.

The only thing I don't like about the Behringer are plastic-made the footswitch and the plastic-made knobs which don't make a very sturdy expression. The housing is also made from plastic but it makes a little studier expression than footswitch or knobs.

All in all the BDI-21 is a great bang for the buck!