Honest Review: Is A Sansamp Bass Driver Still Worth It?

The sansamp bass driver is a pedal that has divided opinion in recent years. Some bassists swear by the bass tone it gives them but others say that there are far better things on the market. So which is true?

Should you invest in one, use an alternative and go without bass amps or should you steer clear and spend your money on some other piece of gear to get your DI signal gig-ready?

If you play bass then read on to find out what the sansamp bass driver is and whether you should buy one in 2023!

Tube sound to go

Many bass players want a big vintage tube tone when they play bass and there are some serious questions as to how the sansamp stacks up against competitors like the Audio Kitchen Small Trees or the Jule Monique Simone when it comes to this. Is the sansamp a true competitor or is it just a direct box?

The Sansamp Bass Driver DI is known for its classic tube-style sound, which is perfect for bassists who are looking to add some vintage flair to their tone. Its unique dual-directional design ensures a balanced output from your instrument and amplifiers, so you get the best of both worlds when it comes to accuracy and warmth.

Granted it doesn’t provide the same excellence in big vintage tube tones that the Audio Kitchen or Jule Monique pedals do but these two pedals are much more expensive and they are definitely aimed at professional studio musicians.

If you want a direct box that is much cheaper, comes with some extra features like adjustable mid range control and is very easy to use, it might be a great option for you.

Plus, it’s small enough that you can take it anywhere – ideal for gigging musicians who need powerful sound on the go. The pedal isn’t much bigger than any other bass pedal so it will easily fit in any gig bag giving you big vintage tube tones that are truly mobile.

The Sansamp Bass Driver DI also offers a range of sonic controls as well as a fully adjustable level control. This means you have maximum control over your tone, allowing you to dial in just the right kind of vintage style tone that suits your playing. With its intuitive design and versatile features, this is one pedal that makes it easy to craft any desired bass sound in the studio or onstage.

Overall, if you’re looking for a reliable and authentic tube-style sound for your bass guitar playing, then look no further than the Sansamp Bass Driver DI! With its combination of quality components and convenient features, this portable pedal is sure to become an essential part of any gigging bassist’s gear setup.

A Complete Preamp in Pedal Format

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effect Pedal is the perfect choice for bass players looking for a complete preamp solution in one convenient pedal format. It enables you to easily dial in vintage tones from your instrument to give it some extra warmth, punch and distortion. Plus, the dual-directional design ensures a balanced output so you can achieve the exact sound you’re after without any unwanted noise or hum.

This compact unit also features two separate channels plus individual level and boost controls on each channel. This allows you to create both clean and warm distorted tones while still having full control over your sound. Plus, if you want to add even more coloration, there are frequency filters that can be adjusted to suit your rig perfectly.

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effect Pedal is an extremely versatile tool that helps bassists get their desired tone quickly and accurately with its simple yet effective design. It offers the same features as a dedicated preamp in a portable pedal format which makes it perfect for studio use or live performances.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, this powerful DI will give you all the tools you need to shape your sound exactly how you want it!

Opening The Box – Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effects Pedal

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effects Pedal is a powerful, yet compact pedal that provides classic tube-inspired tones for bass players. It features a dual-directional design that ensures a balanced output from your instrument and amplifiers, so you can get the most out of your tone.

The DI also includes an array of sonic controls and an adjustable level control to help you dial in just the right kind of vintage-style tone. Plus, it’s small enough that you can easily take it anywhere – perfect for gigging musicians who need great sound on the go!

What’s Included When You Buy

When you purchase the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effect Pedal, it will come with all the accessories you need to get started. This includes a power supply, cable for connecting to an amp or direct interface, battery clip for powering the pedal with AA batteries, plus an owner’s manual and warranty card.

Powering The Sansamp

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effect Pedal is powered by either an external 9V power supply or 4 AA batteries. If you want maximum flexibility and portability when playing onstage at gigs or jamming in different studios then using the batteries might be the preferred option.

However, if you want to ensure maximum stability in terms of sound quality then using either a 9V adapter or power pack is highly recommended.

It may also be a good idea to go one step further and get your own power supply which you can plug a 9v power into. This might seem silly at first glance. What’s the point of getting a power supply for a pedal, only to get another power supply to plug that into?

Let’s talk through it.

When you take a power adaptor that comes with a pedal to a gig, one of the most irritating problems you can have is to plug that power adaptor into a power source at a gig, rehearsal or recording studio and get a loud buzzing noise coming back at you.

This isn’t a problem with your gear, this is what professionals call “dirty power”.

Dirty power happens when there’s a large-scale interference issue with the power at a venue. For example, lights can interfere with with power and cause a hum. There can be poor wiring which can create extra buzzing noises and all of these things (and more) can add up to one ruined gig.

Getting your own power station (not the same as phantom power by the way) will eliminate this because it will always give you a clean power source that won’t interfere with your pedals.

Phantom power is another subject for another article but getting something like a gator power supply that’s discussed in this article is a great investment for your pedalboard.

Features

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effect Pedal comes with a range of features designed to provide bassists with ultimate control over their tone. This includes two dedicated channels – one warm distorted tone and one clean clear signal – each featuring its own level control along with separate low-end boost control knobs and frequency filters.

Additionally, this pedal was designed specifically for bass guitar so it won’t color your instrument’s natural timbre like many other multi-effects units may do.

Is it just a direct box?

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal is more than just a direct box. It comes with an onboard 3-band EQ section and limiter, which allows you to shape the tone of your bass guitar like never before. With this sans amp bass DI, you can easily get a wide range of tones from thumping lows to crisp highs, and a great basic bass tone presence that cuts through the mix effortlessly.

Bright modern slap sounds: How the sansamp affects your tone

For those looking for bright, modern slap sounds, the Tech 21 SansAMP Bass Driver DI pedal is an excellent choice. Its intuitive interface allows you to quickly adjust its 3-band EQ section to get exactly the tone that you’re looking for.

And when playing live, its built in limiter will ensure that your signal won’t distort or feedback while still allowing you to retain that classic analog sound. With its powerful features and remarkable clarity, this device makes achieving amazing modern slap bass sounds easy!

What Is A SansAmp?

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI is an all-in-one preamp/direct interface pedal designed to perfectly capture every nuance of your performance on stage or in the studio.

It offers incredible tonal flexibility with its 3 band EQ section and built-in limiter for maximum volume control and protection against unwanted noise when playing loud music venues. Plus, it also functions as an active DI box – so you don’t need to lug around extra hardware if gigging with a live PA system!

What Does A SansAmp Bass Driver Do?

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal is designed to boost your bass signal and give you precise control over your tone. It operates using traditional circuitry instead of digital components so that you can access classic tube-style tones without any extra setup time.

The built-in 3 band EQ section allows you to fine tune your sound, while the level control and limiter let you keep it at just the right volume whatever the situation. And then it functions as an active direct interface (DI) box too – giving you studio-grade sound quality even when playing onstage with speakers and microphones around you!

Can You Use A SansAmp With Headphones?

Yes – the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI comes with a built-in headphone amp so that you can practice in private without disturbing anyone around you. Plus, its low noise design means that you won’t be plagued with hiss or hum when using your headphones, for clear and accurate playback of whatever you’re playing.

Is SansAmp Bass Driver A Preamp?

Yes. The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI is an all-in-one preamp/direct interface pedal designed to perfectly capture every nuance of your bass performance on stage or in the studio. It offers incredible tonal flexibility thanks to its 3 band EQ section and built-in limiter for maximum volume control and protection against unwanted noise.

What Size Is SansAmp Bass Driver?

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI is a small and lightweight unit measuring just 5″ x 4″ x 2″, making it easy to transport whenever needed. It also sports an intuitive layout with clearly labeled controls so that you can quickly find the perfect sonic setting for your bass tones.

Can You Use Headphones With A SansAmp Bass Driver?

Yes – the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI comes with a built-in headphone amp so that you can practice in private without disturbing anyone around you. Plus, its low noise design means that you won’t be plagued with hiss or hum when using your headphones, for clear and accurate playback of whatever you’re playing.

However, this is where the design of the sansamp bass driver di starts to get a little limited by modern standards.

What you’ll hear will be just the clean signal, or whatever processing you’ve done to your signal through using the sansamp bass driver di. This is great but the reason many bass players want to use headphones with a device like the sansamp bass driver di is to that they can practice.

As we all know, a decent practice session doesn’t just require a decent clean signal that you’d get from a solid XLR output. As bass players, we do so much more in a practice session.

We play along to backing tracks, we use practice apps like metronomes or drummer tracks and we play along to our favourite songs on our spotify playlists.

All of these extras are usually stored on our phones and this means that we really need something that we can play all this through and get a good clean tone from. And the sansamp bass driver di simply wasn’t built at the time that this was a necessity.

You could argue that it’s not really built for this purpose and you could make that point with perfect utility. After all, it was designed for recording, the home studio and to simply enhance a bass tone on a gig. But times have moved on and it feels like the sansamp bass driver di hasn’t moved with them.

Look at products like the Palmer Pocket amp that has the ability to plug a phone into it and offer signal processing just like the sansamp bass driver di or the Boss Waza-Air wireless headphones which hook up to an app so you can play music through your phone and get the signal from your bass at the same time. Granted the boss option isn’t a giggable DI but nonetheless, this is a great feature and one can’t help but feel that, for lacking these extra bells and whistles, the sansamp is just a direct box.

Is SansAmp Classic A DI?

Yes. The Tech 21 SansAmp Classic is a direct interface (DI) pedal specifically designed to boost your bass signal and give you precise control over your tone. It comes with an impressive range of features such as EQ controls, level control and a built-in limiter so that you can dial in the perfect sound for any stage or recording situation.

Plus, it also functions as an active DI box – so you don’t need to lug around extra hardware if gigging with a live PA system!

Is The SansAmp Analog?

Yes. The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI is an analog pedal – meaning that it operates using traditional circuitry instead of digital components to shape and control your signal. This gives you access to classic tube-style tones without any extra hardware or setup time.

However, if you read reviews, many bass players feel there is a limit to what it can offer.

For example, if you’re after big vintage tube tones then you might want to shop around first. The sansamp can do this quite well, but there are other things on the market that offer much more convincing big vintage tube tones inside a stomp box. The Audio Kitchen Small Trees or the Jule Monique Simone are both great examples of this.

Is A SansAmp A DI Box?

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal is both a preamp and direct interface (DI) box all in one compact unit. It acts as a preamp by boosting the signal from the instrument you’re playing into a more usable level – allowing it to be heard more clearly when sent through amplifiers, PA systems or recording interfaces.

And then it functions as an active DI box too – giving you studio-grade sound quality even when playing onstage with speakers and microphones around you!

What Is The SansAmp?

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI is an all-in-one preamp/direct interface pedal designed to perfectly capture every nuance of your performance on stage or in the studio. It offers incredible tonal flexibility thanks to its 3 band EQ section and built-in limiter for maximum volume control and protection against unwanted noise when playing loud music venues.

All this plus its ultra low noise design making it suitable for use with even the most sensitive microphones!

What amp is best for punk rock?

Do I need a preamp for my bass?

This is a tricky question. It really depends on what you want. There are some people out there who really like a direct bass signal straight from the bass to either the amp or desk. However, many feel that this kind of signal lacks the punch and power that something like a sansamp bass driver or any other bass preamp will add.

Let’s take bright modern slap sounds as an example to understand this. When most bass players think of bright modern slap sounds, they tend to think of the kind of bass tone that someone like Marcus Miller has.

This tone comes from an combination of his bass, the woods used in the construction but also, the active Sadowski preamp inside his bass. With this added preamp you can add extra highs, lows, get more mid range control and get much more punch and power in your sound.

Where does the sansamp bass driver come into all this? Well, in some sense, Marcus’ added Sadowski preamp does a similar job to the sansamp bass driver.

Can You Use a Preamp Pedal with an Active Bass?

When you’re playing an active bass guitar, the preamp within it is already boosting the signal of your instrument. So, there’s no real need to boost again, which is what a preamp pedal does – adding a second layer of gain and eq control over your sound.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use one. If your bass has onboard active electronics but lacks in terms of tone shaping options and EQ controls, then adding a preamp pedal will give you much more freedom to adjust and sculpt your sound so it really stands out in the mix.

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal is perfect for this job – offering precise control over low end and midrange frequencies as well as precise volume control too. It also includes a powerful built-in limiter to prevent any unwanted level spikes from messing up the signal going into your amp or recording interface.

So even if you have an active bass guitar with its own onboard preamp, a Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal can still be very useful for fine-tuning your tone!

Do You Need An Amp For UBass?

If you have an acoustic UBass (an ukulele-style electric bass) then yes, you do need some kind of amplifier to plug it into and start playing. This could be anything from a full stack amp to just a small practice amp – it all depends on what kind of sound or setup you want to go for.

The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal is ideal if you’re using an acoustic UBass since it not only boosts your signal (like any other preamp) but helps protect against unwanted noise too.

It also offers incredibly accurate EQ control so that every nuance of your performance can be captured perfectly – no matter how quiet or loud it gets!

Where Do You Put The SansAmp In The Pedal Chain?

When setting up a guitar or bass rig with multiple pedals, most players will put their distortion/overdrive/fuzz pedals first in their chain so that they get driven harder by the more compressed signal from those effects (and thus produce more saturated tones).

Then comes modulation pedals like chorus/flanger/phaser etc., followed by reverb/delay units at the end of the chain – this ensures that everything stays natural sounding before being processed through reverberation and delay lines at different times.. Where exactly should the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal fit into this chain?

Well, as long as there’s no buffer before it in your set-up then it should always be placed last before any amplifiers or recording devices it’s going into. This means that all tonal variations created by other effects are preserved while still getting extra gain and level smoothing benefits from its built-in limiter without coloring anything else along the way!

Where Are SansAmp Pedals Made?

Tech 21’s SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedals are made in their state-of-the-art factory located in the USA. Each pedal is put through a series of rigorous tests and inspections to ensure that they meet the highest standards of quality and performance.

The company also makes use of high-grade components like Class A preamp transformers, discrete op amps, and FETs for maximum sound clarity and headroom. This ensures that each SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal has enough power for any bass rig – no matter how loud or quiet it may be.

Tech 21 also puts a lot of effort into making sure that every component used in their pedals is environmentally friendly, with all production waste recycled or reused wherever possible. So although these pedals are designed to really rock out on stage, they’re still keeping our planet safe at the same time!

Final Thoughts

To conclude, the sansamp is a decent choice for many bass players who want to improve their direct bass signal but, it can be a dated option but current standards.

Whilst the added mid range control does give you options to truly shape your direct bass signal and the traditional bass amp sounds are of a giggable standard, one can’t deny that tube amplifier emulation circuitry has come a long way since the release of the sansamp and that other options on the market today are well worth looking at.

Studio and live applications aren’t a problem but the sansamp circuitry does sound quite distinctive and doesn’t always blend as well into a mix as more moden optoins.

That all being said there are still some great features such as the parallel output, the effected xlr or dry xlr output, and then there’s the fact that so many bass players trust it.

If you’re a guitar player they also make sans amp guitar pedal options that you could look at too!

Despite its shortcomings, it’s still one of the few bass guitar amplifiers that so many swear by. So why not consider it on your hunt for the perfect direct bass signal?