Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver D.I.

Amazing bit of a kit. Turned onto this by Jamie King of Fighting With Wire. A 3 piece band which had a massive sound live due in part to the Bass Driver. Like Jamie and Jeremy Pritchard from Everything Everything I use the Bass Driver as my go to EQ by bypassing the EQ on my Trace Elliot and going directly into the effects return. I've also used this in the studio by di-ing straight into the desk and of course making use of the phantom power capability. What I love about it is I can take my "sound" anywhere with me and if for one reason or another my amp does fail I know I can still rely on going through the PA. obviously the programmable driver has the additional benefits of storing multiple sound settings. If mine broke tomorrow I would be gutted but wouldn't hesitate in buying another.

I had been using a passive di for gigs but wanted to add something that let me have more control over the tone. I was thinking about getting a more complex rack set up but the small size made this very tempting as an alternative.
I'm really impressed at the variety of sounds I can get out of the bass driver - everything from a traditional clean thump to a growly modern rock tone. The controls are very easy to use which suits me perfectly and it's very quick to find a sound you want and store it. I usually have 3 patches going from very clean, clean with an extra boost and something heavier.
Since buying it I've switched over to using it for recording as well as gigs and tweaking the bass driver to get a sound that fits in the mix has saved a lot of time and hassle in the studio!
It's super strong and looks like it will last forever - I can't imagine ever needing a back up.
Fantastic little di that every bassist should have on their pedal board or in a gigbag ready in case you need to replace your amp.

The tech 21 sansamp is a pedal that is always in my kit box at every gig. Very handy to have as helps out in many scenarios. The through Di when the pedal is not in use is very good and clean leaving you to send a good unaffected signal to the sound desk. Then you have up to 3 further saved sounds to work from at any given point without any adjustment allowing you up to 4 different tones even within one song with only just stamping on different channels. All of the channels are fully programmable and each adjustment on any of the Eq's , Drive, Gain, Blend, Output individually is made easy with a flickering light meter that shows you visually as you turn the controls where your last setting was saved. It is very versatile with a massive range of sounds for both studio and live shows. I have used this on quite a few occasions in the studio where I did not put the bass through an amp, just straight into the sansamp , dial up a sound and press record and I have used it in many different Pubs/Clubs/Theatres/Festivals and have always been confident with the results. Due to the strong build quality I know having bought it once it will stay with me for a very long time to come

The Tech21 SansAmps are all spectacular. As a bassist, you very often find yourself being plugged into a DI box by a sound engineer, even if your amp has a DI out. That means you lose all control over your tone FOH apart from the EQ on your bass. This allows you to claw back a little control by giving you 3 storable EQs that you can dial in ready to go. Since it is also a DI box, no need for the sound engineer to use on either - they can just plug in here. Perfect.

The storable, switchable EQs are brilliant - no more accidentally modifying your EQ whilst the pedal is in transit.

Also if you, like me, are in an ampless band, this is even more perfect.

Unless you really need a whole array of effects (in which case maybe you wanted to be a guitar player really?!), then this is the item for you!