Mornats Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Hey folks, As my Markbass combo has died on me I'm looking at getting a DI/preamp box. I'm not gigging at the moment and may not for a while so my main requirement is to get a good DI into my audio interface to record bass. My Markbass CMD121P had a good DI but it's kaput. SO my main requirements in order are: Great DI out Great natural sound Good tone controls Compressor Drive/distortion I already have a Zander Sono distortion pedal so that's right at the bottom of the requirements list. Budget is £150 or less. I've looked at: Sansamp - too expensive but seems to just work for a lot of people. Fender Downtown Express - I love the look of it but demos on YouTube show it as being a bit bland in terms of sound. Behringer BDI21 - a Sansamp copy for £28 - cheap enough for a punt? Various Darkglass ones - way too expensive but seem lovely. Ashdown Ant - this is a bit of a cross between a pedal and an amp so could come in handy if I play live again. Twice my budget though! An alternative is an amp head with a good DI out but it would have to work without a cab plugged in or if that's not possible, have a separate volume control for the DI out so I can record silently. May be bale to stretch the budget for this. Combos would work too but would need to be small and light (like my Markbass was). Any thoughts on anything I should avoid from the above or anything I should look at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) The Behringer is perfectly acceptable. A great sounding, cheap alternative to the Sansamp. Virtually the same circuit, just cheaper components. Add a used compressor pedal (or Zoom multi-fx) and you've covered pretty much every angle. Edited July 1, 2022 by Bigwan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 1, 2022 Author Share Posted July 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Bigwan said: The Behringer is perfectly acceptable. A great sounding, cheap alternative to the Sansamp. Virtually the same circuit, just cheaper components. Add a used compressor pedal (or Zoom multi-fx) and you've covered pretty much every angle. Yeah, at £28 that Behringer would be hard to beat, especially if it sounds almost/just as good as the Sansamp. And enough budget to look at a good compressor or Zoom multi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 150 Squids is a bit light for what you asked for but you are obviously very flexible on the requirements for compression and EQ. I think your main priority should be lack of noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeresaFR Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 I suspect the Behringer BDI21 is going to be difficult to pass up if budget is one of your biggest concerns. I do recommend the Tech 21 VT Bass DI if you do happen to have the money though. As you say, not the cheapest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share Posted July 3, 2022 On 01/07/2022 at 21:29, Downunderwonder said: 150 Squids is a bit light for what you asked for but you are obviously very flexible on the requirements for compression and EQ. I think your main priority should be lack of noise. Yeah that a true. The compressor and distortion I could drop quite easily. I don't need distortion/drive at all on it and I'd be better off with a dedicated compressor anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share Posted July 3, 2022 21 hours ago, TeresaFR said: I suspect the Behringer BDI21 is going to be difficult to pass up if budget is one of your biggest concerns. I do recommend the Tech 21 VT Bass DI if you do happen to have the money though. As you say, not the cheapest. Yeah that price can't be beat. My only hesitation is that I don't require distortion/drive really so if that's the main thing going for the Behringer (and Tech 21) then I wonder if it's what I need. I'm assuming the clean sound and DI are good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 (edited) What recording interface do you have? Most decent ones will have an instrument DI input that would negate the need for a DI from a level conversion point of view, and reduce it to a 'tone' box.....which can easily be constructed within your DAW anyway (EQ, plugins etc). Si Edited July 4, 2022 by Sibob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 4, 2022 Author Share Posted July 4, 2022 I've got a Focusrite Forte but even though it has an instrument level option, and good preamps, I still got much better results going through the DI from my Markbass combo. I also want something I can plug into a PA if I get to go out and play live again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 The sansamp circuit by it's nature applies a bit of compression, especially when you push the drive a bit. And it nails the Ampeg tone nicely. I use a separate compressor, eq, di, but that's even more expensive. I don't think you'd regret going for the sansamp in the long run if you can afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 The markbass compressore I had for a while ticks many of your boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 There's a Sansamp BDDI Deluxe in the classifieds. A bit over your budget but a damn handy gigging thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 Left field idea.... Get a Positive Grid Spark or Blackstar BEAM amp and connect that to your recording kit via USB? Then you've got an amp, onboard effects, and recording input. They're not great as bass amps but for recording they're really neat and easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_buoninfante Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) worth checking out the MXR M81 Preamp too - that doesn't have comp and drive though Edited July 5, 2022 by mario_buoninfante Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_buoninfante Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 actually the Laney Digbeth pedal has few of the things you are looking for at what it looks like a good price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 Thanks for the input everyone, super useful 6 hours ago, mario_buoninfante said: actually the Laney Digbeth pedal has few of the things you are looking for at what it looks like a good price This! I think this may be the one. It seems to have a focus on the EQ and the drive sounds really nice, with that nice tube amp harmonic breakup of the bass. Headphone and line in would actually be super useful too. Comes in at a penny under budget too haha. What I liked, as demoed in the Anderton's video below, is when they put it in bypass and you got the plain bass sound, then switched bypass off and the sound just sounded a bit better, and fuller. That's what I want! And an added plus, it looks like my local PMT have them in stock so I can try one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Note that the Behringer doesn't run off phantom power in case that is a requirement. Apart from that it sounds very much like the "old" Sansamp BDDI (no Mids Control). Like the Sansamp it will 'Scoop Out" some Mids by default. That sounds good to some people whilst others don't want it. If you're into 'DIY' then it's possible to switch this out of the circuit . Similarly with components providing in-built "Cab Simulation". I have both BDDI and BD121. I'd say that it's harder to get what imo is an "unusable" tone on the BD121. Similar circuit but different OpAmps. I'm not a fan of massive "my speaker sounds torn" distortion and wouldn't look at these as "Distortion" boxes. But with moderate "Drive" they give a convincing "Amp Sound". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 I own a Fishman Pro EQ Platinum Bass (the older one), Great DI out -> ☑ superb live and recorded Great natural sound-> ☑ I use it mainly for upright but it's really good for electric too Good tone controls-> ☑ Yes, really good Compressor-> ☑ Yes, really good Drive/distortion-> ☒ Nope, not at all. Fishman don't make it any more but they pop up second hand every so often here and they're usually well within your budget. One benefit that @rmorris alludes to is that the Fishman takes phantom power, so is one less plug/battery to deal with. One downside for you is that there is no send/return for your distortion. They're built like tanks as well. I fear for the ground's safety whenever I drop mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 Man that Fishman is fugly but I've heard they sound great. I also noticed that Laney have some other bass pedals out and I quite like that compressor... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 (edited) The Tech21 VTDI, although not having a compressor control as such, does compress the signal in the way a valve amp does (or at least an emulation of it). I used to run mine in front of my MXR compressor and you could see on the MXR’s LEDs that something was going on in the squish dept (along with hearing it). I now run those pedals the other way round so that I can have my compressor with a DI out via the VTDI. EDIT: Used should fit your budget. Edited July 6, 2022 by ezbass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 22 minutes ago, Mornats said: Man that Fishman is fugly but I've heard they sound great. Probably why Fishman discontinued it. Their replacement is quite the looker, and over your budget, probably even when bought second hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 16 minutes ago, chyc said: Probably why Fishman discontinued it. Their replacement is quite the looker, and over your budget, probably even when bought second hand. Much better! It's around £211 so not much out of my budget and they also do a stage EQ version that's cut down but cheaper. I'll check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 6 minutes ago, Mornats said: Much better! It's around £211 so not much out of my budget and they also do a stage EQ version that's cut down but cheaper. I'll check it out. It was the "natural sound" point that made me think of the Fishman. For that it's superb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 7 minutes ago, chyc said: It was the "natural sound" point that made me think of the Fishman. For that it's superb Yeah, whilst I like the Sansamp sound I don't always want to record with it so I like the idea of being able to start from clean and add to it from there. The Laney Digbeth seems to do this which is why it's top of my list at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted July 8, 2022 Share Posted July 8, 2022 Another Sansamp Deluxe in the classifieds. This one with scratches 150 quid. You can have: Clean as clean can be on channel 1. More or less clean with a bit of drive if you dig in hard on channel 2. Ragey as you like on channel 3. along with seperately selectable fx loop that can be preprogrammed on or off with any channel but switched on or off at will any time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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