Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Preamp Pedal

No longer available at zZounds
With XLR, line and 1/4" outs, the Bass Driver DI is a direct box, preamp and overdrive pedal in one! Hone your tone with EQ, presence, drive and blend knobs.

Give your bass signal some love with the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Preamp pedal. This pedal is a bass amp emulator, distortion pedal, and DI box in one -- all you need to craft the warm and alluring tone you're looking for with just a few simple tweaks. This dynamic pedal features a processed unbalanced out, a parallel output, and an XLR out. Potent two-band EQ controls give you +/-12 dB of movement; and level, blend, presence, and drive dials give you even more sonic control. This baddie is powered via phantom power, a 9-volt battery, or an external power supply. Experience the warm tube-like tonal contour by firing your signal through this powerful and dynamic preamp pedal.

Warm Tube Bass Tone Minus the Amp

Imagine getting the commanding output and sonic contour of a tube amplifier without having to lug around a head or a cabinet for your shows or rehearsals. Your Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Preamp pedal acts as a bass emulator and a DI box all in one. You get that warm and alluring tonal color of a tube amplifier that is surprisingly precise and thick. Want to play through a full-range PA? Put the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI in front of it, and help yourself to killer bass tone.

Powerful Two-Band EQ Control

You'll be surprised at how much EQ movement is right at your fingertips when you start playing with the Tech 21 Bass Driver DI's treble and bass EQ controls. Aside from providing +/-12 dB of movement, moving each control knob in mirror settings will read more also affect your signal's midrange frequencies. When you raise both your treble and bass controls, you'll notice a slight drop in the midrange area. When you lower both controls, your midrange will start to increase. In essence, you're getting the benefits of three-band EQ settings without the middle control dial. And that's not all...

Blend, Drive and Presence Knobs for Dialing in Your Targeted Tone

This dynamic pedal features level, blend, drive, and presence controls. The blend control mixes in your Bass Driver's tube and amplifier emulation. Bring it up to hear more of that warmth and tonal color. Your drive control will determine the amount of grit your hear in your signal. Crank it up to bring in some distortion, and dial your blend control back a bit to maintain tonal articulation. Your presence knob determines the high-end harmonics, almost like a high-end distortion control to bring in a bright and sparkly distorted effect.

Versatile Power Supply Options

You have three options to power this pedal up. Phantom power allows you to utilize the house's mixer, or you can use a separately sold Tech 21 Model #DC2 power supply. You can also power this baby with a 9 volt battery if you don't want to worry about having too many cords crowding up in your pedal space.

Built Tough for the Road

Whether you're in the studio, in your rehearsal space, or touring on the road, your SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal will hold up well to the strenuous atmosphere of the regular gigging musician. This baby's tough outer chassis keeps out dirt and dust, and its protected inner circuitry keeps your signal flowing in uninterrupted fashion stomp after stomp.

What's the one pedal you'll keep engaged 100% of the time? Your Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI. With this preamp-in-a-stompbox, you get what you pay for and then some!

Features:

- Bass amp emulator and DI preamp
- Provides warm and accurate tube tones to your signal
- Level, blend, treble, bass, drive and presence controls
- Phantom and ground connect, line insert and output, and line insert and XLR switches
- Basic DI box setup when pedal is disengaged
- One 1/4" input
- One 1/4" line output, one 1/4" parallel output, and one XLR output
- Powered via phantom power, 9-volt battery, or Tech 21 Model #DC2 power supply -- sold separately
- Emulation circuitry works particularly well with piezo pickups
- Bass and treble controls allow for +-12 dB of movement
- Rugged and protective outer chassis
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Phantom power operable, or uses optional DC power supply, Tech 21 Model #DC2, or 9V alkaline battery (not included).

Size: 4.5 x 3.5 x 1.5 in.

Weight: 14 oz.

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 973-777-6996

Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Preamp

SansAmp Bass Driver DI gives you the warmth, presence, and punch of a miked-up bass tube amp system in a conveniently portable direct box/pedal format. SansAmp Bass Driver DI can be used as a preamp or stomp box with your existing stage rig. You can drive a power amp and speaker cabinets. Or go direct into the mixer of a recorder or PA. You can also plug into a power amp or conventional bass amp and a PA system simultaneously.

The controls offer a broad range of traditional bass amp sounds, including such meaty styles as Bassman and SVT, as well as raunchy, crunchy overdriven sounds that would typically require a multitude of effects units.

Features:

- Presence: controls the amount of definition and upper harmonic content
- Drive: adjusts the overall gain structure and overdrive
- Level: regulates the XLR and effected 1/4" output levels
- Blend: allows you to mix the direct bass signal with SansAmp Tube Amplifier
- Emulation circuitry: particularly useful for basses equipped with piezo pickups
- Bass and Treble: active EQ controls, specifically tuned for bass guitar, that cut or boost +/- 12dB

For studio and live applications, SansAmp Bass Driver DI is engineered with 3 outputs: an effected XLR, and effected 1/4 in., and a parallel, uneffected 1/4 in. The footswitch activates the Tube Amplifier Emulation circuitry. Disengaging the circuitry enables you to use SansAmp Bass Driver DI as a standard active transparent direct box.

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. (98 ratings)
Submitted October 13, 2004 by a customer from tampabay.rr.com

"Performs as advertised"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
If the price came down on the rack version i would consider replacing it. Other than that I will use this till it dies then probably get another as fast as possible
Sound
the tone is awesome on this little beast, it truly is a pre-amp in a stomp box.
Features
the only thing i don't like about it is the power plug jack is too close to the 1/4" out jack. other than that its easy and strait forward to use to get phar tones a tube overdrive sounds
Quality
very sturdy metal construction a stomp box you can actualy stomp on
Value
a bit pricey
Manufacturer Support
n/a never needed it
The Wow Factor
clean design, other musicians always notice it, powder black is always visualy pleasing

Musical Background:

week end warrior

Musical Style:

covers mostly- classic and contemperary rock, old school metal ect
12 of 12 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
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No longer available at zZounds

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