Sansamp BDDI straight into a power amp

[nottswarwick]

Right..

I love my Markbass minicmd 12 p combo. But I am doing some gigs where it is not really loud enough - one of my bands, the PA does all the work, and in another I have to blast out some proper stage volume, and it struggles - well, I blew the tweeter, so I guess that tells the tale.


Now, the main sound I am using is all sansamp, with the MB head section all totally flat. I go straight into an EBS multicomp (great), and from that into a Sansamp BDDI. This basically gives me my sound - big, fat, ballsy, and cutting when necessary (hence the tweeter incident lol).

Now, I see that folk use the RBI (bigger rackmount version of BDDI plus a mid I think?) and a power amp, into cab of choice. But has anyone or does anyone use the BDDI pedal version as their preamp, and run straight into a power amp. I have a QSC RMX 1450 lying around for the purpose.

So, anyone any thoughts or direct experice of this? If it works, all I need to do is get a nice big cab (well, a 4 or 2 ohm 4*10), and I am away.

Cheers

Chris

[escholl]

if you use the "1/4 inch out boost" button it should work fine.

[nottswarwick]

I just looked at the manual - it is fine I reckon, and on Talkbas it is mentioned alot.

Might give it a whirl and pick up a nice beefy 4*10. Anyone got one....a trip to "for sale" beckons

[Phaedrus]

Old thread, I know, but rather than starting up another similar thread . . .

Can I connect my Hartke VXL Bass Attack directly into a power amp?

Perhaps it might be useful if someone who knows about this stuff could post the factors that determine whether any DI can be connected directly into a power amp?


Thanks,

Mark

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='794769' date='Apr 3 2010, 12:26 AM']Old thread, I know, but rather than starting up another similar thread . . .

Can I connect my Hartke VXL Bass Attack directly into a power amp?

Perhaps it might be useful if someone who knows about this stuff could post the factors that determine whether any DI can be connected directly into a power amp?


Thanks,

Mark[/quote]

It's the output that is the determining factor. If it isn't really loud into a normal input then it probably won't be great driving a power amp. Also important is the input sensitivity of the amp. Often this is given as a voltage, my Matamp wants 1-1.5 volts to reach full potential, some only need 0.75v. Not many pedals tell you their voltage output.

[Dood]

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='794769' date='Apr 3 2010, 12:26 AM']Old thread, I know, but rather than starting up another similar thread . . .

Can I connect my Hartke VXL Bass Attack directly into a power amp?

Perhaps it might be useful if someone who knows about this stuff could post the factors that determine whether any DI can be connected directly into a power amp?


Thanks,

Mark[/quote]

Certainly my Para Driver has an instrument/line level swictch on it to add the necessary gain to drive my power amp - I'm not sure if the VXL has such an selector?

[Phaedrus]

So which do you select - instrument or line?


Could something like either one of these fit the bill between a regular DI and a power amp?

[url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=253&pmh=products/p_and_e_detail"]http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=pr.../p_and_e_detail[/url]

[url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=265&pmh=products/p_and_e_detail"]http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=pr.../p_and_e_detail[/url]


Or would something like this be more suitable immediately before the power amp?

[url="http://www.smproaudio.com/produkte/preamps/tc02-2-kanal-roehrenvorverstaerker.html"]http://www.smproaudio.com/produkte/preamps...erstaerker.html[/url]


Thanks,

Mark

Edited April 5, 2010 by Phaedrus

[Phaedrus]

The two 1/4" outputs on the VXL are:

"[b]LINE OUTPUT[/b] - 1/4 inch jack carrying the line-level output signal, either affected or un-affected, depending on the Pre/Post switch."

...and...

"[b]PARALLEL OUTPUT[/b] - Standard 1/4 inch output jack for sending the original signal to the on-stage amplifier"

Are they both the same signal level?

Will either be ok to go straight into a power amp?


Thanks,

Mark

[Dood]

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='796938' date='Apr 5 2010, 09:01 PM']The two 1/4" outputs on the VXL are:

"[b]LINE OUTPUT[/b] - 1/4 inch jack carrying the line-level output signal, either affected or un-affected, depending on the Pre/Post switch."

...and...

"[b]PARALLEL OUTPUT[/b] - Standard 1/4 inch output jack for sending the original signal to the on-stage amplifier"

Are they both the same signal level?

Will either be ok to go straight into a power amp?


Thanks,

Mark[/quote]

Looking at the decription above 'Line Level' is a description usually used to describe a signal strong enough to drive power amplifiers and also rack effects (that don't specifically have an instrument level input). Thus it would be my choice to use that over the other output. HOWEVER - there is an element of 'suck it and see' - because your power amp's input sensitivity may such that an instrument level signal could drive it to full output.

Any of the pedals mentioned *could* boost your signal if you are not getting enough out put - though the two pedals may be designed such that they could prefer to be ran at instrument level as a booster for solos etc. I've not used either myself and haven't checked over the spec.

[Dood]

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='796900' date='Apr 5 2010, 08:18 PM']So which do you select - instrument or line?

Thanks,

Mark[/quote]


My active cab is a bit different to a normal system - I can either switch to 'instrument' and turn up the gain control on the cabinet's amplifier OR switch to 'line' level and turn the gain down on my amplifier to gt the same amount of volume. I'm running an XLR from the pedal to the cab, so no real noise issues there - however, preference would have me running at line level as I prefer a much stronger signal being sent down the cable. It improves the Signal to Noise Ratio too.

What power amp are you using Mark?