Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Preamp Pedal

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.

Overall User Ratings (based on 98 ratings)
  • Overall:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(98) (see rating details)
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?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted May 19, 2004 by a customer from ieee.org

"An Objective Review"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Probably would buy another one, unless a good, clean, quiet bass effects box came out at a marginally higher price.
Sound
It's great to have the controls right at the, for punching up the volume when I need it. Without the effected sound, the DI gives a nice warmth, or it can send a very true and natural sound. The only drawback is that the mid-frequency range peak seems to be right in that nasty 1 - 1.5k region, and seems to be a bit un-natural when boosted. I've worked around it, though, and would probably buy another if this one went out on me.
Features
I like stomping on the switch and getting an immediate and predictable boost at settings that I have entered. I've even used it with a six-string electric guitar for soloing with decent success. A carry case would be a nice adder, especially at the price.
Quality
Very solid box and ac adapter
Value
A little pricy
The Wow Factor
It fits the need.

Musical Style:

Fusion, Jazz, Funk, R&B Groove
7 of 7 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted April 6, 2007 by a customer from yahoo.com

"Excellent Portable Bass Gear - A Must For All Bass Players"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
Some people view this gadget as a DI as its name implies. I view this as a stomp box with characteristics of a pre-amp. I said this because - as I pan the drive knob, somehow it increases the output volume - which is not good when changing tonal settings on live performances. Thus, I am pairing this box with a compression gear by Digitech (Bass Squeeze). Overall, I like this gear. My 5-string bass is constructed with Mahogany body, walnut/wenge neck with rosewood fretboard which provides a natural fat warm tone. But if I wanted to do slapping/popping which usually requires a bass with a brighter sound, my bass comes short on this. So, instead of buying another bass, I bought this gear and used this mainly for achieving a fatter funky tone and for some rock implementations requiring overdrive.
Sound
This pedal comes only with a 2-band EQ. But I had observed that as I pan the knobs of bass and treble beyond 12 o' clock, it seem to adjust the mid-lo and mid-hi frequencies along with it. On a 5-string bass, a much fatter and aggressive bass tone is produced when playing on the low strings A, E and low-B; while, playing on strings D and G gives a much higher treble which is okay if you're doing slapping/popping. But if you need a fatter sound definition playing on the D and G strings, you need to adjust the EQ at your amp. All-in-all the EQ provided by this small box is sufficient in most bass playing. It would have been nice if this comes with 4-band EQ; but then, given the price and its size this is what we get for. Other than the EQ setback, this unit gives a deep bass sound presented in a much warmer tone and options to make it growl (overdrive) or have a fat slap tone.
Features
What made this box unique compared to other pedal DI/pre-amps, this comes with Tube emulation mix (Blend knob) which gives a much warmer tone, harmonics/resonance sensivity level (Presence Knob) which is good for slapping/popping, and finally, the Drive knob which give you options to make your bass growl deeeep.
Ease of Use
Tonal adjustments are presented thru knobs which makes it easier to adjust compared to other "hi-tech" floor boxes which utilizes push +/- buttons.
Quality
I have own this box for 2 years now and there was one point in time that a sound crew while moving the stage equipments unknowingly placed the bass cab (a 15-incher SWR, 100+ lbs) on top of this pedal. All the knobs still worked well to this day with no scratchy sound on turning it. For awhile, I thought I had lost this one with this incident but true enough - the quality is good.
Value
This is a good buy given the usefulness of this gadget.
Manufacturer Support
I never had problems with this gadget; but given the quality of this product, support service probably is as excellent as the product they produce.
The Wow Factor
This gear is housed on metal frame with Navy blue color; labels are presented in yellow and complemented by a sensible control layout which gives it a professional and classy look. The color combinations that presents this product makes it easier to read the gear labels on dimly lit stage.

Musical Background:

Active Musician

Musical Style:

Alternative Rock and Funk Jazz
7 of 8 people (88%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted August 14, 2003 by a customer from lycos.co.uk

"The GREATEST BassDI /overdrive ever."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
I will only consider replacing it if they can offer me a rackmount version of the same unit, but if its too expensive I'll just keep on using the stompbox
Sound
Fat, Punchy, Really Great OD
Features
Line level output, DI output, Parallel output (clean signal). Phantom power switch. I love the mix tweak, you can get the punch as well as a bit of the clean tone.
Quality
HEAVY Duty. Totally Stompable!
Value
The only problem I had (and I say HAD) was that is was very expensive, but in the end its very well worth it. I don't play anywhere without it! I even use it to DI my acoustic/electric guitar.
Manufacturer Support
Never used the support, but my initial queries about the product (before I bought it) were responded to very quickly.
The Wow Factor
umm what.. SEX appeal? i'm not into toys! (and this one wouldnt be too comfortable anyway!) hehe

Musical Style:

Progressive Metal, Funk Rock, Jazz
9 of 10 people (90%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted March 10, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com

Tech 21 SansAmp Bass DI Customer Review

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Overall, great product. It's a little pricey at $200 but well worth it in the long run.
Sound
Really makes a huge difference in sound. Very versatile. You can go from a gritty hard rock tone to a mellow jazz tone to a super clean slap tone with the twist of a few knobs.
Features
Pretty straightforward. Wish it had a dedicated mid control. Other than that, no complaints.
Ease of Use
Very easy to use. No complaints.
Quality
Very well made, seems to be pretty tough. Within a few days of buying it I spilled milk all over it like an idiot. Still works fine.
Value
It's a very good product and is now something I cannot play without. The $200 price is pretty steep, but it does make a big difference and is worth it. Try to find one used.
Manufacturer Support
Haven't had to contact them.
The Wow Factor
It's now invaluable to me. If it were lost, stolen, or broken I'd buy a new one right away.

Musical Background:

Hobbyist

Musical Style:

Rock, heavy rock, metal
Did you find this review helpful?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted July 19, 2004 by a customer from hotmail.com

"great thing to have great new bow for your rig"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
great buy for your rig if you have 200 bucks layin around this is what you need. And it sounds great through the PA
Sound
I love the way this thing can make my peavey sound like a huge ampeg stack its great
Features
Its all you need bass mids and treb easy to work too.
Quality
ITS BULLET-PROOF
Value
its a little bit on the expensive side but i think its worth the price
Manufacturer Support
i havent had a chance to use it like i say its pretty hard to break

Musical Style:

Alt. rock
2 of 2 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted January 5, 2006

"Bass, strings, amp, sansamp. good to go!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Sound
Makes any rig sounds great. Used it in Japan for 5 years. Stolen. Buying a new one soon.
Features
simple, as it should be.
Quality
never failed.
3 of 3 people (100%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted February 6, 2005

"This box is no joke!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
This unit can't be compared to any bas modeler amps (flavor of the day)that are out there on the market. This unit is in a class by itself. If you are serious about your bass tone (Studio & Live)..This can't be beat.
Sound
The sound of this unit is awesome... You can get any type of tone for any type of style you prefer.
Features
The layout at first glance looks pretty basic.. But the features within just a slight turn of the knobs will give you a vast array of tonal possibilities.
Quality
Excellent....pictures dont really do this baby justice..This is a real classy peice of gear..It screams quaulity..and high class.
Value
At first..i thought this unit was a little high priced.......but once i got it and really explored the features I can see that it is priced right. I mean reality is that it cost about the same as a high end straight forward direct box...except that with this its not just plug in and tweek the board..you have dedicated tone shaping capabilities designed specifically for bass..Thats a plus that cant be beat.
The Wow Factor
Classy and Elegant... This is not the kind of direct box you take out to a fast food joint.. You need to take this baby to a five star resturaunt. And dont gforget to be a gentleman ..and open the door for a lady.

Musical Background:

Active Musician / Recording Engineer

Musical Style:

Rock, Funk, Soul, etc.
2 of 3 people (67%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted March 22, 2004

"If you own a bass, buy this!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
The only thing I'm thinking about replacing this with is the rackmount version (Sansamp RBI) because the rest of my setup is now rack-based... I'll still hang on to it as a backup because I can't imagine every playing without one.
Sound
This is a preamp in the form of a stomp box. It sounds amazing and the controls all do their jobs very well. I have played around with several sounds (including the presets in the instruction booklet) and this has a great variety. I have recorded and gigged with this almost exclusively for more than two years and the sounds are always what I want.
Features
Again, this is just a pre- if you want compression, chorus, anything else, this isn't designed for that. As a preamp, the features let you easily (and predictably) tailor your sound. Only 2 EQ knobs isn't much control, but they do a surprisingly good job.
Quality
I've owned this for 2-3 years now and it is built like a tank. I've taken it to countless shows and it's never failed or fallen apart.
Value
I give this a 10 because it does what it does extremely well. I have played through numerous amps and never found a sound that I liked as well as this. Compared to spending >$500 on even a decent head, this is a tremendous value.
The Wow Factor
If you're a bass player, the first $200 you ever spend on your setup should be to buy this pedal. It will add to your sound far more than you can imagine, and it will save you the money of buying many more expensive amps and effects. I have recorded and gigged and this is still the foundation of my effects chain.

Musical Style:

rock/alternative
2 of 5 people (40%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!

Submitted September 1, 2003

Tech 21 SansAmp Bass DI Customer Review

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I need to be able to quickly change tones in a live situation, to switch from finger groove to slap to solo EQ. The Sansamp produces some nice sounds, but you need to turn knobs to get them and there's no way to store settings, which makes the unit impractical for gigs. The Sansamp seems like a very solid unit and it I think it would be a good DI box for recording. For gigs, though, the Behringer Bass V-Amp has all the features I need (and it's $40 cheaper).
Sound
Nice warm tube preamp simulation.
Features
Bass and treble tone controls only, no presets.
Quality
Seems very solid.
Value
Good tone but doesn't have any effects (chorus, compressor, etc.)

Musical Style:

Jazz/Fusion, Funk, Rock
1 of 5 people (20%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
Thanks for your opinion!
Please wait.