Sound:
Extremely transparent profile; I use 2 bases on stage, an active fretted with superb onboard electronics, and a passive fretless no-brand which is a dream to play, but tends to sound thin and nasally without extensive EQ. I got tired of switching cords and frantic EQ changes in-between tunes, and decided to take a chance on this item. I'm very glad I did.
The active instrument sounds almost exactly the same. There is some very slight signal degredation, but it's minor. The fretless, placed in the EQ-equiped line 2 input, sounds like a new instrument; deep warm tones, thick and sweet, with lots of fretless mmwwwhhhaah. It didn't take too long to find my tone at all.
Onstage, the basses now sound very simmilar in terms of overall volume and tone; However, each instrumnent's color still shines through nicely. Audience and band members have all commented on the sound.
Feature:
The boost switch on the bassbone works quite well; it's available to both inputs, and provides a nice boost for solo's and for emphasis on desired song segments. I've really been able to get the crowd out onto the dance floor by punching in a little extra gain at the start of a few funky dance tunes. A nice clean boost, no distortion.
The unit includes a power cord; Like most DI boxes, it can't be run off batteries. The ground level out is nice for eliminating hum; I appreciate the theoretical ability to use the unit in a small club via the PA, but I like the feel of my sound behind me, rather than in the monitors, so probably won't use this too often. The tuner out is nice; again, no more cord dancing; also really nice to be able to check if I'm in tune on the fly, mid set/mid song.
Quality:
Solid steel constuction. Hard rubber pots. recessed switches. Enclosed inputs/outputs. Feel free to play football with this thing. I would have prefered some little rubber feet on the bottom, to protect against scratches on the back, but this is minor.
Value:
A little expensive, but you get what you pay for; a solid product, that does what it is advertised to do.
Manufacturer Support:
Never any problems over the last 2 months of heaby gigging and practice.
The Wow Factor:
Looks nice, well engineered, works well.
Overall:
One thing to note is that this product is NOT for the bassist looking for 2 sets of programmable EQ's prior to going into their amp. Only channel 2 has overiding EQ-settings; channel one is clean. Channel 1 does have some "tone shapping circuits" that sound similar to contour and presence switches I've seen/heard on some amps. I've not played around with them too much, as I love the output of my Sadowsky already. So if you are looking for 2 adjustable EQ's, look elsewhere....Although I really can't think of any similar product other than some possible (shudder) guitar direct boxes.
Overall, I love this thing. It's exactly what I'm looking for, and has served me very well. It's probably my favorite part of my gear at this time, more for it's simplicity and elegance than anything else.
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Sound:
I use two basses;an Ernie Ball Stingray 4 and a Modulus Flea 5. This box does a great job to equalize the signal sent to my Aphex 661 compressor since the output of these two basses differs by 9 volts.I am also able to fine tune the sound of each bass as needed. Just what I was looking for.
Feature:
The most useful features have been the boost control and onboard individual EQ.
Quality:
This thing's built like a tank.
Value:
A little on the expensive side.We'll see if it pays off.
Manufacturer Support:
I havent had to deal with the company yet but I'm optimistic.
The Wow Factor:
Very practical the way its set up.
Overall:
This was the only product I could find that did everything I was looking for. If I were to redesign this thing I would probably allow each channel the same set up possibilities.
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