Tech 21 BSDR-DLX SansAmp Bass Driver Deluxe


Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It's hard to oversell this device. I have been an active bass player for over 15 years. I've played in concert halls, bars, at parties, on college campuses, and currently at a very large church with a nearly state of the art PA (it's now about 3 years old). I've always been a tone geek with a firm belief that acceptable tone comes only through a high-end head and cabinet amp setup. My frustration began when we built our new church building. The sound techs were going crazy trying to handle the excess sound from on-stage guitar and bass amps. If you are a tube amp player, you know that you can't get tone until the amp is cranked. The "solution" was to get rid of the amps. The electrics started playing through PODs, and yours truly was stuck playing directly through the house. I usually play a Carvin LB70 with active pickups, but even the excellent tone of the guitar was insufficient for my taste. Joyful noise - yes. Desired tone - no. Then I found the BSDR-DLX. It comes VERY close to getting me the tube amp tone that I have come to love. I've only been using it for a short while, but I expect to get even closer to the tone I want over time.



Pros: Excellent tone with lots of variety. Nice ability to generate a touch of distortion without getting muddy. Very simple and intuitive controls (there's a great demo video on Youtube for the original Sansamp bass driver that also applies to the DLX). Built like a tank. Works very well with phantom power and 9v battery (I haven't used the DC option). Soundless switching between two instruments. In my case that's the LB70 and an Ibanez acoustic bass. Setting and recalling the presets couldn't be easier. Works very well as a DI. It is easy to bypass the effects for an unaffected signal. The parallel out is a nice option for using a tuner etc.



Cons: You have to watch the noise just a bit. I work with an outstanding sound tech who knows how to EQ the board to minimize noise from guitar effects. Even if you have that expertise working for you, you will need to be aware of when you've put just a touch too much effect in the line. It would be nice to have a mute button for doing a quick check of the tuning without having to put another pedal in the chain. Even though it's a bit pricey, I recommend it - particularly if you haven't yet invested in a huge rig.



Caveat: I have not worked with this pedal in conjunction with a bass rig. I spent about an hour using it with a practice amp to figure out the basic controls. If you want to to know how it performs with your amp and cabinet, you'll have to find another reviewer.

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6-channel, dual input pre-amp, stomp box and DI all in one. Dial up big vintage tube tones, bright modern slap sounds, gnarly distortions, and all in between.

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