Behringer BDI21 V-Tone Bass Amp Modeler Preamp and DI Pedal
The V-Tone DI box convincingly models tube amp sound while the precision dials let you tune and tweak until you've got just the right tone.
Overall User Ratings (based on 15 ratings)
Submitted February 7, 2011 by a customer from yahoo.com
"During a gig I might change basses,the BDI21 lets me alter my tone w/o changing amp settings,sound guys love this.At this price,"
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I wasn't looking when I found the BDI21,will probably order another.Works great over-driving organ patches on digital keyboards.I gave straight 9s' because there's always a better sound to be had.I'm a bit old school,a creature of habit,so I can see using this unit for a long while.
Sound
Stumbled on this guy by accident,what a find.If you're a flat wound player you'll love this unit,warms and brightens an otherwise dull thud.Have used it as a live DI and recorded direct with it,the engineers were surprised and impressed.
Features
Like another reviewer suggested phantom power and mid-sweep would be nice,but at this price I' very happy.
Ease of Use
Not being a fan of digital units I love being able to experiment without having to go thru a series of steps just to change sounds.
Quality
Seems pretty solid,not that I'm planning to throw it around.No problem with the knobs or jacks.
Value
Every working bassist should have one of these.
Manufacturer Support
Don't know,haven't needed yet.
The Wow Factor
I own it;depending on the gig my rig may vary,from 1-12 combo to 400w 8-10 cabinet,the BDI21 is first in line on all.
Musical Background:
working musician
Musical Style:
whatever keeps me working
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Submitted March 2, 2018 by Ronnie Barnhill
"Behringer BDI 21"
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Got this online. I’ve owned two Sansamp and was about to try and save to buy another one. It’s hard on a very limited income. I loved my Sansamp when I had one. It really helped the tone and Overall punch of my low to mid price basses. Coming up with over $200 for a new one was out of reach at this time so I thought I would give the Behringer a try. Wow I’m glad I did!! It does the Sansamp thing very well. Very happy with my purchase. Not My first Rodeo
Musical Background:
Pro bass and guitar 54+years
Musical Style:
Rock
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Submitted June 6, 2019 by Tommy M
"TOO CHEAP TO BE GOOD!?"
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I have played thru/owned a few boutique/expensive d.i.s and it's just HILARIOUS how good this thing is. I play bass for money every week and I just can't justify swapping this out. Is it built like a tank? I'm not going to war. I play bass. This will last as long as I allow it. If you're even thinking about getting one, do it.
Value
YES
Manufacturer Support
Haven't had to use support, so I defaulted to 5 stars instead of 0 or 1
Musical Style:
Rock, worship, covers, funk
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Submitted March 14, 2010 by a customer from yahoo.com
"Behringer Bass DI pedal."
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If lost or stolen, I'd buy another. It does a great job and sounds great.
Sound
I use mainly a Line 6 Variax 5 string into a GK1001RB amp. I was never happy with the low end on the GK...sort of sterile. I play classic rock and blues mostly.
After two years of living with it, I plugged the Behringer DI into the amp. The low end I was hoping for was there. Using the Behringer DI I am able to cop the SVT tone I had in the 70's, as well as the feel. It's become a valuable part of my rig.
The DI works far better for me than the direct out on the GK, which I have used for years, both in pre and post EQ modes. The Behringer DI sits in the mix better.
Set right, the Behringer DI gives me just enough "tube like" compression to smooth the tone and feel.
My rig went down one night and I had to run into the PA only. The Behringer DI worked great.
Features
I love the pedal, but would like it better if it had a midrange. (I'm a working amp tech, and may add one.) There is an inherent mid cut that works most of the time, but in some venues it would be nice to add some mids.
It would also be nice if it had the ability to be phantom powered. I may add that too.
Ease of Use
It didn't take but a couple minutes to dial in the tone I wanted. The blend and gain settings take the most experimenting. I run the tone controls flat to start and just small tweaks of the tone controls is all that's needed to dial in my tone.
Quality
Plastic case, but as with all the Behringer pedals I have, I've never had one crack or break. Sure metal would seem nicer, but for the price, who cares.
I've had mine for a couple years and have never had any problems.
Value
This pedal is obviously a Tech 21 BDDI knockoff. $29.99 compared to $199.99. I tried this pedal out thinking if it did the job, I'd upgrade to the Tech 21.
I never had to make the move as the performance of the Behringer is great. Low noise, great sound...
Manufacturer Support
I am a working amp tech, and have had to repair Behringer products. It has always been easy to get parts. Schematics aren't available to non-authorized Behringer techs.
I will say that Behringer is a far easier company to deal with than Loud Technologies (Ampeg, Crate, Mackie, etc.) I even told a spokesperson at Mackie that it is a sad day when customer support from Behringer is better than that at Mackie. He sadly agreed. (I hear Loud is finally improving things.)
The Wow Factor
Hey, It's a Behringer. Not too much sex appeal, but great value.
Musical Background:
I've been playing bass and guitar since 1968. Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Rock, Blues, Country, Jazz
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Submitted March 3, 2015 by Bob P in Burlington, NJ
"Behringer BDI21 V-Tone Bass Amp Modeler Preamp and DI Pedal"
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I had just spent over $3,300.00 on PA equipment, mic cables, stands, etc and ran out of $$ for a quality (expensive) bass guitar DI pedal. I did my due dilligence online, and at 1st bypassed the Behringer BDI21 because the price was too low and I am of the mind that "you get what you pay for."Long story short, (too late for that) I ordered it from zZounds. It arrived right on time. (Nice job, Z!) I was really surprised at the quality of it's solid build- I thought it would be a little flimsy due to the low price, but that was not the case at all. The I ran it through the mixer and into the PA, and was really shocked at what this pedal put out in tone, clarity and power. Like- "No way."I actually bought it for a bass player friend to use when he jams with me. He has a prosthetic leg, and this would enable him to leave his amp home when he jams with me. I am a lead guitarist, so I wanted the bass player's reaction and opinion more than my own. He came over and started jamming, using my cheap bass guitar to test it out. I kept adjusting and tweaking the tone controls while he played. I was able to dial in a very real Marshall, Ampeg, Fender and other bass amp tones. He plays a "Ricky" bass and I dialed in a "Ricky" sound using the Ampeg tone I was tweaking- he stopped playing and said "you gotta be kidding me! This dam* thing is unreal!" This guy is never easily impressed with anything or anybody. I have rarely seen a product have this kind of quality for this low of a price. If you need a bass DI box and are looking at the expensive one, do yourself a favor, save your $$ and get this little tone monster.
Musical Background:
Been playing forever and a day and never plan on stopping. Play jam sessions and professionally.
Musical Style:
Blues, rock, hard rock with a little prog side to it here and there.
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Submitted November 16, 2011 by a customer from gmail.com
"Buy it, you will like it."
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Sound
The product performs as described. The signal strength is boosted for basses with passive pickups. I rated it a 9 since I do not have another bass direct box for comparison. You will not be disappointed if you purchase this.
Musical Background:
52 years. Christian praise band, classical guitar trio
Musical Style:
Variety of styles
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Submitted February 7, 2014 by Cris B in APO , AE
"Very Nice!!!"
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Pedal works great and I can get a variety of tones from it...only negative I have is that it does not come with an ac power source. But for the tonality I am able to achieve I am not holding that against Behringer.
Musical Background:
Playing about 12 yrs. Bass, drums and piano. Church musician and producer
Musical Style:
Christian, Rock, Hip Hop, RnB, Country, Latin and Blues
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Submitted December 28, 2014 by a customer from gmail.com
"Behringer BDI21"
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I ordered from zZounds in early December 2014 with the free shipping. Remarkably it arrived in 2 days, when I was expecting it to take a week, so zZounds is one of the best sellers shipping wise. As for the bass di, it sounds just like the Sansamp bass driver di (which is exactly what I was looking for) it's only $30, and it is functional. The only problem is that it only works on battery power, I have tried tons of adapters (including the behringer model) and it will not produce sound with any (though some activate the red led). Overall this is a good di for $30 if you don't mind using 9 volts.
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Submitted September 11, 2012 by Thomas S in New Brunswick, NJ
"Great price, great sound"
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This pedal seems to have been based off the tech21 sansamp pedal. It may have a little more gain that the sansamp. I have had great results with the pedal in terms of tone. It delivers that great sansmp tone without a problem. The casing is made of plastic as is the switch, so if you're going to engaging the switch often then it may be a problem. I keep mine on all the time, so the switch won't be an issue.
Musical Background:
Bass, 15 years, playing in bands for live and studio uses
Musical Style:
Hardcore, metal, punk, indie
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Submitted November 23, 2014 by John T in Calera, AL
"Great bass d.i.that adds flexibility to your setup."
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Sturdy build, easy to use, gets the job done for a reasonable price.
Musical Background:
Been playing guitar and bass for over 45 years.
Musical Style:
Soft rock, country, Christian
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Submitted March 30, 2015 by Joseph Derr in Berrysburg, PA
"BDI 21 V TONE Bass AMP Modeler"
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Works good with my gold tone micro Bass and Pignose 30 Hog Amp. It gives it just enough punch to make the small amp sound bigger and that is what I was looking for. I play Bluegrass and wanted something as close to the upright Bass sound as I could get. With this combo I get what I was looking for. I'm sure it does much more than I will ever use. Good Item at a good price.
Musical Background:
Playing guitar for 40 years,Bass for 2 years Play at jams and Bluegrass fest's
Musical Style:
Bluegrass and old Country
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Submitted March 13, 2018 by Anthony B in Las Vegas,, NV
"Blown Away"
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I bought this Di box over a year ago and I cannot tell enough how great this piece of equipment works. I can dial up the recommended settings and can easily tweek those setting for ultimate sounds. Like I said, I can't say enough.
Musical Background:
Bass Player
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Submitted April 22, 2011
"Good Deal Buy It !"
N/A
Sound
You can get a lot of different tones out of this thing. I bought it to just basicaly see what it could do. I was very surprised at the different tones that it could produce. This is not a SansAmp Bass driver, but it is for sure as good as most any other pedals as far as giving you varied tones that sound really great.
Features
It is pretty straight forward as far as features go. You have knobs, that turn and a switch button to tur it off and on.
Ease of Use
Gravy to use. If all else fails look at the paper Behringer gives you with it. The paper has several different to settings. If you can read you can set it up. It's that simple.
Quality
It seems to be put together pretty well. I would not abyse any of my other equipment, so I wont abuse this. It seems fairly well constructed.
Value
The price is dirt cheap for what you get. this thing will work for about 90% of all Bass applications.
Manufacturer Support
I have never needed it.
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