Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21 Reviews

Not sounding cheap

I bought the Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI shortly after its release in 2005. At this time I was looking for cheap bass preamps because my SWR amp sounded much too clean for my liking. To get the Ampeg-like sound I wanted the SansAmp BDI was (and still is) the affordable alternative if you already had an non-Ampeg amplifier, but for me as a student still to expensive. So I ordered the Behringer BDI, because everybody told that it should get close to the SansAmp BDI. And it really gets to it. Though the Behringer BDI just has a plastic housing it is built quite solid. I still use the Behringer BDI as DI-Box for smaller gigs I don't want to carry my whole halfstack to. It sounds more expensive than it really was, but you should not expect a warm tube-tone (because there are no tubes :)).

Best bang for the buck

The Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI 21 is a cheap alternative to the much higher priced Tech 21 Sans Amp Bass Driver. I use it with a Squier Matt Freeman Precision Bass that has been modded with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder, plugged into a Kustom DE 300H sitting on an Ampeg SVT 810 cab. It does a nice job, adding just a little bit of dirt treble, using the presence control. Thus, it lets the bass cut through the mix much easier, if you have to compete with two rather fat sounding, overdriven guitars in a "loud" genre such as punk, hardcore, etc.

Compared to the Tech 21 pedal, the Behringer gets pretty harsh, if you use high amounts of gain, so I don't like it for heavily distorted bass sounds. If you don't need that - go for it!

Not sure if it's a keeper

I wanted to experiment with a bit of sansamp-ish sound. But just for the try I wasn't into paying >200 euros, so I went for the clone of it, the Behinger BDI21. If you look it up, a lot of people will tell you the BDI is not the very same, but is close to it.

Honestly, I haven't found my tone in it yet. Maybe the whole principle does not work for me. First I discovered that the manual in the box was for the guitar version and not the bass version, so all advise and default settings were un-usable.

If active, this little box scoops the heck out of your tone. That seems to be the biggest difference to the original. There's a video on YT that explains a mi-boost patch to fill the scooped mid-range again.

the knobs are stiff to turn, so no risk of accidental changes here.

I would not want to use this box on a world tour since the enclosure seems not to be very stable.

I have not yet decided whether I keep it or not. It is in my effect rack, but bypassed most of the time. But I still experiment with it.

For the price, you cannot go wrong. It is a DI box, so even for this purpose I'd keep it.

Good DI box with some extra features!

This makes a great DI box for your bass. The drive and blend knobs are especially handy if you want a bit more of a crunchy sound. In addition, the ground lift and balanced out give you options to get the cleanest sound possible. The casing is a bit weak and I assume it wouldn't stand up to too much abuse but for the price you could always replace it down the road!

Hi D I, Ho de ho....

Thought it would be useful to have a DI and compared with the price of basic DI's this offers quite a bit more.

Really simple to use with no menus to scroll through, you can add some Tube attack to your tone. All the dials are nicely weighted and really the only minus is the plastic stomp switch which although doubtless tested 10,000 times looks like a weakness. Oh and the casing is plastic as well, it gets its weight from a metal plate underneath.

Controls are presence, drive, treble, bass, level and blend but it operates as a true by-pass when used just as a DI. Battery life is not brilliant so I use with a PS. The drive control is the one you need to tweak to affect the gain, rather like on a tube preamp, the rest of the controls are self explanatory and easy to do on the fly.

Did I mention the ground lift switch and red led when the pedal is switched on? A great pedal to carry in your gig box , just in case!

Some nice sounds

It feels a little cheap but there are some good tones to be found. The DI is a little noisy and the switch isn't the sturdiest but I still use it in the studio from time to time and it works fine after 5 years use.

A GOOD FRIEND FOR BASSISTS

One of my best buys.Plug your bass in it and get your sound through your amp and then press the pedal and you will be amazed at the 'Oomph' it gives you.I particularly like the SVT setting.It has a D.I. XLR out which our sound guy uses on live gigs and I use it when recording D.I.Make sure you get a mains transformer for it as best not to rely on the battery.

Behringer V-Tone Bass BDI21

Great sound through this! so cheap as well. Not very sturdy knobs (usual behringer quality) but great value for money

The best bang for the bucks

Great tone shaping capabilities. Will not make your sound as a tube preamp or as one of the best bass preamps (Aguilar, Sadowsky, etc), but this would be a great addon for everybody for sure!