Best all-in-one EQ, DI, Drive

[cameltoe]

I've recently realised with my unversatile set up of Orange OTB and P bass, I've been stuck with pretty much whatever sound the room I'm playing in gives me.

I've been using my old Hartke Bass Attack at gigs really, which gives me slightly more options, but always gives me a 'scooped' sound which I don't really want. The tube emulation (harmonics) just seems to create more finger and fret noise (which I spend most of my time trying to dampen!) rather than any useful warmth or grit.

Soooo, what are the best options for an all in one? I'd ideally like to be able to DI from it, as my OTB is one of the older models and runs very hot, but the essentials are to give me more EQ options over my limited OTB, and a decent bit of grit when I need it that isn't wild and noisy, but preferably warm and vintage.

I've seen the MXR M80, DHA V1, and Sansamp bass driver, but I've no idea which is best or why.

Am I missing anything else?

Cheers

[LukeFRC]

Zoom b3..... and when you find in 3 months you only use say the sans amp pedal model go buy one of them...

[skidder652003]

Dave Hall mate, and he's based down here so support your local pedalman!
seriously, consider the VT2, its a beast but sounds so fat and warm, and the 2 tube option really lets you dial in a cracking overdrice, nice DI out as well, its all i use into the desk on small pub gigs, leave the rig at home!

http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/page18.html

Edited November 24, 2014 by skidder652003

[paul_5]

DHA all the way!

[Roland Rock]

If I needed an EQ/DI/Boost/Drive pedal again, I'd go straight for a DHA, preferably my old one if I could persuade Billy Apple to part with it :-D

[Lozz196]

DHA are good, the VT that has eq on it is very versatile. As is, I found, the Tech21 VT DI. And my latest, the Aguilar Tonehammer is proving to have a variety of different sounds as well.

[Defo]

No idea where it ranks in the "best" but I have the MXR M81 and it has done wonders for my sound

[Cherchez la Femme]

The MXR M80 is brilliant, but you'll probably want to look elsewhere if you want a warm/vintage fuzz sound. The distortion channel on the M80 is very saw-y and modern (to my ears), and a little bit of the low end gets lost so I don't use it.

On the the other hand I love the EQ section and the colour switch is an essential 'always on' for me.

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1416865929' post='2614582']a decent bit of grit when I need it that isn't wild and noisy, but preferably warm and vintage.
[/quote]

Darkglass Vintage Deluxe! And I can vouch that it sounds great with a P-Bass and an OTB.

[Prime_BASS]

Any pedal like the Sansamp para driver or dark glass vintage deluxe plugged into the effects return on the OTB sounds 10000 times better than going into the front of amp.

Bypass the wooly preamp, and you get 500watts of thunder with your choice or EQ and drive.

[Ant]

when i had my orange bass terror i found it completely unusable without an external preamp, awful awful sound.

im still wanting to pickup a darkglass vintage deluxe to run a low low gain cleanish sound alongside my dists

[Old_Ben]

I use the m80, pretty nice sound in my book, + has a handy noise gate on the distortion channel too. And can be run on phantom power from the desk if you're getting dodgy grounding hum when using the DI from power sockets.

However I like the sound of it mixed with my OBT so my opinion might not be valid to you!

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1417248941' post='2618498']
Any pedal like the Sansamp para driver or dark glass vintage deluxe plugged into the effects return on the OTB sounds 10000 times better than going into the front of amp.

Bypass the wooly preamp, and you get [b]500watts[/b] of thunder with your choice or EQ and drive.
[/quote]

The fx loop runs really hot though, most pedals would struggle to put out the level needed to drive the amp to full power! That Darkglass especially is not designed for driving a power amp as the clean portion of the blend cannot go louder than unity - volume knob affects the dirt channel only.

Edited December 1, 2014 by dannybuoy

[Rumple]

[quote name='Defo' timestamp='1417034924' post='2616526']
No idea where it ranks in the "best" but I have the MXR M81 and it has done wonders for my sound
[/quote]

I quite fancy trying one of these, it seems to have exactly the right amount of features for me.

[Byo]

Radial has the Bassbone. The newer version has 2 separate chanels (with separate EQ), boost,OD and DI.

I use the older model without OD and it is a lovely piece of gear.
A bit expensive, but it certainly is a swiss army knife for any situation.

[Guest FretNoMore]

"Best" is of course a matter of taste (especially the drive character) and price ...

With dirt:
- Tech 21 Bass Driver DI
- Darkglass VMTD and B7K
- MXR M80

Clean:
- MXR M81
- Lehle Basswitch
- EBS Microbass II
- 3Leaf Enabler

Edited December 7, 2014 by FretNoMore

[paul_5]

Had a [i]lot[/i] of fun with my Hartke Bass Attack last night.

[paulmcnamara]

MXR M80, professional, rugged, reliable, versatile, etc.

[Ben Jamin]

Aguilar Tonehammer has a great sound. The drive control has a really nice warm break-up, unlike the nasty top-end fizz from a lot of other pedals/amps.

And mostly importantly - sweepable mid frequency! The single most useful thing on a pre-amp that lots of others lack. Really useful for finding booming low mids and cutting them or adding a bit of punch in just right spot.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Ben Jamin

[Lw.]

I've never heard of these Dave Hall pedals before, they look interesting. Can someone that knows about these things me please;

Much like the OP I'm after a EQ/DI pedal that will let me sculpt my sound a bit, especially when using someone else's amp (or no amp for that matter) in a gigging situation. I was imagining I would just have the thing turned on the whole time. I'm not so fussed about overdrive or fuzz but wouldn't say no to a bit of tube warmth if it's available.

I was previously thinking of getting a Sansamp bass-driver or probably para-driver (so I can adjust the mids), your suggestions have made me curious; would a DHA VT1-EQ-Bass-Drive be a suitable alternative or am I getting the wrong idea? Like I say, I don't really want distortion, I more just want to be able to bring out the nice tones of my passive jazz when out & about...

[Rumple]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1418296254' post='2628858']
I've never heard of these Dave Hall pedals before, they look interesting. Can someone that knows about these things me please;
[/quote]

Yes I think a DHA would suit you down to the ground, I've had a couple an really like them, top quality valve pre amps, ultimately I moved mine on because of the 18v power supply they need and I'm not keen on the hand painted look of them.

[paul_5]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1418296902' post='2628865']
Yes I think a DHA would suit you down to the ground, I've had a couple an really like them, top quality valve pre amps, ultimately I moved mine on because of the 18v power supply they need and I'm not keen on the hand painted look of them.
[/quote]

They run on 9v too, they're just a bit dirtier.

[Lw.]

Thanks for the feedback.

Excuse my ignorance but what's the problem with 18v power? having to use an extra plug or does it cause issues elsewhere?

[Rumple]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1418298333' post='2628880']
They run on 9v too, they're just a bit dirtier.
[/quote]

That's a good point I did try that but I wasn't as keen on the tone at 9v.

[paul_5]

I used to run my VT1 EQ on 12v and it was lovely. What's more important is the polarity of the PSU - they run on centre positive, whereas most 'Boss style' pedals are centre negative.