What Bass amp sim DI pedal?

mrkb

I’m after a bass amp in a pedal/sim/ DI pedal so I can plug a bass straight into a mixer/PA. Want clean to a driven sounds (I’m not that up to speed on bass sounds)

Whats worth having? Do they need speaker sims/IRs? I know the Tech21 sansamp bass pedals have been round for years, are there any that have improved on that?

ICBM

Tech21 Bass Driver DI

Or, for less money, Behringer BDI21 (the clue is in the name!)

mrkb

ICBM said:

Tech21 Bass Driver DI

Or, for less money, Behringer BDI21 (the clue is in the name!)

Cheers will check out YouTube comparisons , ones £250 and ones £27 are they the same? Or is the behringer a less flexible version (is it a full clone?)

steamabacus

The Behringer BDI21 is incredible value for money. I'd get one and give it a go - it might well be all you need.

It sounds good and is well built. The only slight criticism I'd give is that the footswitch seems a bit lightweight (although it's likely to be left 'always on' anyway)

prowla

I like the EBS Microbass 3; it beat my SansAmp on sound alone and is way more versatile. 

ICBM

mrkb said:

Cheers will check out YouTube comparisons , ones £250 and ones £27 are they the same? Or is the behringer a less flexible version (is it a full clone?)

The Behringer is a copy of the MkI Bass Driver - there's a MkII now which has more features, although I haven't tried it.

steamabacus said:

It sounds good and is well built. The only slight criticism I'd give is that the footswitch seems a bit lightweight (although it's likely to be left 'always on' anyway)

The most annoying thing about it is that it defaults to off not on when powered up - so you always have to turn it on with the switch. I've thought about modifying it so it's the other way round, but it's probably a bit of a faff I'd guess.

fretmeister

The newer version of the Tech21 has a mid control which the copy doesn't have.

There are loads of options these days though. Everything from the Behringer, several Tech 21 models, all the way up to the Darkglass Alpha/Omega Photon and beyond.

The low price end (and the Tech21) often have a simple button for a Speaker Simulation with is usually little more than a filter / upper req roll off, and the expensive stuff has IR loaders.

Then there's the Line 6 Helix family from the Stomp to the full fat ones, the Neural Quad Cortex (a Darkglass spinoff) etc.

The greatest recorded bass sounds of all time have come from the bass getting plugged straight into the board, and then into a 76 style compressor. So you can get whatever you need without buggering about with IRs as long as the EQ is good enough.

The Behringer is a great place to start. The only caveat us that the footswitch is a bit crap. If you are leaving it on all the time that won't be a problem.

Use the PA to HPF it. Kill everything below 30hz (maybe higher than that if the room is boomy - quite possibly up to about 80hz if it's really boomy and indistinct), and you'll probably want to get rid of everything over about 6Khz as well, unless you want a really modern slap sound going on. Then EQ the rest to taste. If the room or the sound is crap then a good rule of thumb is to cut the bass and increase the mids.

If you are having more than just a bit of distortion then be aware that distortion = compression. So a clean note will decay far quicker than an overdriven one. An external compressor is very useful to balance the decay so it sounds like one bass and not two different ones.


Welcome to the dark side.

dindude

Don’t need IRs to get a good bass sound direct. The MXR bass di M80 has a drive circuit, is about £150 and sounds very decent. 

Kebabkid

I found the Tech 21 VT Bass pedal to be good - - the version with the 500w power amp is excellent but you don't need that.

The Zoom B1xOn is great for £40/50 used and it's my backup and sounds great to desk/PA but it doesn't have a XLR DI. If you want that and more versatility, the Zoom B3 has that and same sounds

mart

If you want the Behringer, drop me a PM - I've upgraded to the Tech 21, so no longer need the clone.

DavidRees

I think Origin Effects have entered this market as well if you are a fan of their stuff ...

fretmeister

DavidRees said:

I think Origin Effects have entered this market as well if you are a fan of their stuff ...

They do look very good.

Bit spendy though - especially as they have gone down the 'need a different pedal for a different amp' approach.

Musicman20

The latest Tech 21 BDDI with mid control is just perfect IMO. 

Snags

Being a cheapskate non-bassist I use the Behringer jobbie (it used to have the @Bridgehouse budget seal of approval) and it's certainly "good enough" for doing into a DAW where you can worry about reverb and extra EQ etc. later.

Bridgehouse

Snags said:

Being a cheapskate non-bassist I use the Behringer jobbie (it used to have the @Bridgehouse budget seal of approval) and it's certainly "good enough" for doing into a DAW where you can worry about reverb and extra EQ etc. later.

Yep - it's remarkably proficient for the money. 

Stratavarious

https://ampeg.com/products/pedals/scr_di/

My only comment would be that bass overdrives/fuzz can kill a lot of deep bass end IMO. 

mrkb

Bridgehouse said:

Snags said:

Being a cheapskate non-bassist I use the Behringer jobbie (it used to have the @Bridgehouse budget seal of approval) and it's certainly "good enough" for doing into a DAW where you can worry about reverb and extra EQ etc. later.

Yep - it's remarkably proficient for the money. 

Is that Pete or the Behringer?

Bridgehouse

mrkb said:

Bridgehouse said:

Snags said:

Being a cheapskate non-bassist I use the Behringer jobbie (it used to have the @Bridgehouse budget seal of approval) and it's certainly "good enough" for doing into a DAW where you can worry about reverb and extra EQ etc. later.

Yep - it's remarkably proficient for the money. 

Is that Pete or the Behringer?

Either/Or

mrkb

Thanks all for the suggestions.

@mart has very kindly donated me his Behringer DI21 so will try that out over the next few weeks. I had a laugh at the Behringer instruction sheet as it shows suggested settings for Amp , Mod and Mic switch controls that their version doesnt have! Where did they clone those from?

DartmoorHedgehog

I've had the Behringer BDI pedal for probably 10 years now and it's been really good. As has been mentioned, the switch is perhaps a bit crappy, but as I only ever use it for recording rather than live I don't think I've ever actually switched it with my foot so it's had an easy life.
Excellent value for money I'd say (although I do feel slightly guilty for encouraging Behringer's ripping off of other people's designs... but I did buy a real Mk 1 SansAmp from Tech21 when they first came out so they did get some of my money...)

steamabacus

mrkb said:

 I had a laugh at the Behringer instruction sheet as it shows suggested settings for Amp , Mod and Mic switch controls that their version doesnt have! Where did they clone those from?

I think that might be on the guitar version - GDI21 is it?

The BDI21 hardly needs much explaining anyway, pretty straightforward.