Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver D.I.

Best thing you can buy as a bassist.

The Tech21 SansAmps are all spectacular. As a bassist, you very often find yourself being plugged into a DI box by a sound engineer, even if your amp has a DI out. That means you lose all control over your tone FOH apart from the EQ on your bass. This allows you to claw back a little control by giving you 3 storable EQs that you can dial in ready to go. Since it is also a DI box, no need for the sound engineer to use on either - they can just plug in here. Perfect. The storable, switchable EQs are brilliant - no more accidentally modifying your EQ whilst the pedal is in transit. Also if you, like me, are in an ampless band, this is even more perfect. Unless you really need a whole array of effects (in which case maybe you wanted to be a guitar player really?!), then this is the item for you!

Sansamp great item great quality

This programmable foot switch does exactly what it says with a quality reliable sound no issues and phantom power driven would highly recommend

Expected something different

Being the owner of a Bass Fly Rig, I expected a comparable amp simulation but there are WORLDS between the two in terms of transparency and quality of tube emulation. The, admittedly much newer, BFR (v1) has a much better replication of a tube amp and then all the bells and whistles on top. This unit here was supposed to give me the freedom of having several drive settings but I'm unwilling to compromise that much of the sound. It was worth a try though and I'm sure the unit has its applications for other players. I'm holding on to my Fly Rig :)

Amazing pedal

Really good pedal, we use it for recording and for live without any amp - goes directly to our in-ears and to the PA. Super easy to use, great for live with the presets. The sound is also amazing, but take your time to test the sound, and avoid pushing the settings a lot unless you are 100% sure you like it - a small move on a knob makes quite a big difference!

On top of that the possibility to power it via Phantom Power is just really really well thought for live environments! :D

Its an iconic preamp pedal with a lot of cool sounds , but its a little bit too big for me , could be a little bit smaller

Love it!

Use it on every gig and so far has never let me down. So far, so good!

Tech 21 Bass Driver D.I. Programmable - Soooo Good

damn groove in pure SVT style.

it's part of my sound since I've bought it

Great upgrade

Very useful tool, a must-have gadget for any player,perfect for gigs

Indispensable

Amazing bit of a kit. Turned onto this by Jamie King of Fighting With Wire. A 3 piece band which had a massive sound live due in part to the Bass Driver. Like Jamie and Jeremy Pritchard from Everything Everything I use the Bass Driver as my go to EQ by bypassing the EQ on my Trace Elliot and going directly into the effects return. I've also used this in the studio by di-ing straight into the desk and of course making use of the phantom power capability. What I love about it is I can take my "sound" anywhere with me and if for one reason or another my amp does fail I know I can still rely on going through the PA. obviously the programmable driver has the additional benefits of storing multiple sound settings. If mine broke tomorrow I would be gutted but wouldn't hesitate in buying another.

Bring on the thunder!

As a bass player for over 20 years, I 've grown lazy over the years since bass equipment tend to weigh a lot. Imagine the feeling when a buddy of mine recommended this preamp and all of a sudden I had a really nice sound at all times, and it fit in the gigbag to boot!

The BDDI has a really nice standard tone and with a little tweaking you can get it to growl nicely as well. The one thing I missed the most was the lack of mid control. You get to cut / boost bass, treble and gain, but that's pretty much all.

Still, it sure beats dragging around heavy amps and cabs to every gig. :)