Bass Pod vs Pod Pro / Tech21 Sansamp / Sansamp Pro / Art Tube MP / Behringer DI 100

[BigLex]

I need a preamp to start to use to record bass with my hip-hop and R&B beats.. I'd like something with tweaking capabilities so I can alter the sound of the bass as needed for different songs.. The Sansamp I know has a good rep. but can you get different sounding tones out of it? Is the POD worth the $350? And the Art Tube's catalog description states that it can be used for vocals, bass, guitar... I imagine it wouldnt be as good as the sansamp or Pod specifically for basses..

[crosstudio]

i can only speak for the SansAmp Bass DI. It works very well, but I have to use it in conjunction with the pre-amp on my mackie 1604 (RNP hasn't arrived yet) to get enough gain.

of course, I'm recording hip-hop/reggae/r&b bass so I rarely push the drive up very far.

if you are looking for a box that will give you bass effects then the SansAmp is not for you. If you are looking for a bass DI that will give you a "man you did a good job mic'ing that bass amp" sound, then the SansAmp is what you want.

I prefer to record a good, clean bass sound, I can add FX when I'm mixing.

[Richard Monroe]

I am not a bass player, but we do have a POD Pro, which is sometimes used as a DI box for bass. I'm sure Bass POD Pro would be better. Generally, we use the simulation of a Fender Bassman (duh!) I believe the POD Pro is worth the extra money for its many I/O's, compared to the floor unit. It's traditional thought that you need a direct box for bass, countryman for cheap, Avalon for high end, but it's surprising how well a lot of current mic pres that have Hi-Z inputs work today.
Unless we're looking for a processed sound, we use the Hi-Z input on a Joemeek twinQ, and it works pretty well all by itself. You also get a rather nice 2 channel mic pre!-Richie

[Almiro]

I have a bass POD and a SansAmp DI bass. I use the POD more as an effect rather than an amp simulator. For hip hop for example, the POD allows you to emulate those really deep (almost sub) basses that you hear on a lot of records, except that they come from synths. On the POD, while the sound is really cool on its own, I generally find it more difficult to mix.
The Sansamp, as it was stated above, is more discreet, but very efficient to get a good sounding bass in the mix.

[BigLex]

Thanks for all the responses... Almiro- can you elaborate on how/in what ways the Pod makes it difficult to mix?

Originally posted by Almiro
I have a bass POD and a SansAmp DI bass. I use the POD more as an effect rather than an amp simulator. For hip hop for example, the POD allows you to emulate those really deep (almost sub) basses that you hear on a lot of records, except that they come from synths. On the POD, while the sound is really cool on its own, I generally find it more difficult to mix.
The Sansamp, as it was stated above, is more discreet, but very efficient to get a good sounding bass in the mix.

[Almiro]

I can't really explain why, but it's an observation that I made. I am not an expert when it comes to recording, and my difficulties are probably due to my poor abilities. However, when it comes to bass, I find that the more coloured the sound is, the more difficult it is to make it fit in the mix.
On the other hand, If you're interested in Hip Hop, the POD is really an interesting tool, and it offers much more possibilities than the Sansamp.
Hope this helps.