Is it the SansAmp or my bass?

  • Thread starter Thread starter thebigcheese
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thebigcheese

thebigcheese

"Hi, I'm in Delaware."
Every bassist whose tone I am after uses a SansAmp Bass Driver DI. Many of them also use a Mesa 400+, but I can't afford that, so I thought I'd spring for the SansAmp. I just cannot get the tone I want out of it. Everyone seems to love the DI, so I feel like I must just not be doing something right. I feel like I've tried everything and the distortion is never quite right. I can get a fairly good clean tone, but what I really want is that overdriven growl that metal bands use. Heck, even Geddy Lee has a bit of growl, and he also uses a SansAmp these days.

The other common factor amongst most of them is a Fender bass, whereas I have a Schecter Stiletto Custom-4. I bought it because it sounded really nice when I was playing it, and overall I like the tone I get out of it. It has active EMG pickups and I think a basswood body. I'd really like to not have to buy a new bass, but I guess I could swap for a Squier bass and not be out any money.

Any pointers about the bass or the SansAmp are greatly appreciated... As a side note, my strings are at least a year old, so... that could have some impact, but I don't really know what to look for in strings.
 
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The sansamp DI probably is not the problem. Stilleto's are more of a finger style players bass.

What you need to do is head over to rondo music . com and get a p-bass. Slap some quarter pounders in it and keep it all passive. If you are a real action freak get a mighty-mite neck and a new bridge (Hipshot Vintage or the B style for more mass)
p.s. It's a shame that BadAss stopped making bridges. You might still be able to get one off Ebay.

Now plug that into your DI with some new Ernie Ball strings, only because it sounds as if, because of the style of music you wanna play, you might be changing them often and they are cheap but a good quality. This would cost probably less than your stilleto but give you a more desired approach. There, if you ask me, would be a solution to your problem.:D
 
hmm...interesting post...

i did the same thing, and i still can't get a tone out of the thing that i like :\

i use it with my fender jazz, schecter model t, and my G&L L2000 and idk i just can't get a tone out of it that i'm truley happy with!
 
I got an L2000 too and to be completely honest that bass has an onboard mixer. The sansamp DI is made to boost/enhance a weak or "lacking" signal.

The basses that have already been named come equipped with a tone all their own. (granted this can be argued that all basses come with a tone all their own) My point is this: hook up the Di to a one volume one tone bass and be amazed.

Again this is just my view but pedals like the DI are to establish tone. The sansamp VT tech 21, on the other hand, are to compliment existing tone.

I ran into this problem with the Hartke VXL bass attack. I gave it a run and, honestly, it was stomping all over the tone I had already established by just playing the bass itself without any frills or gimmics.

Some basses work harmoniously with pre-amp pedals. But there are other basses that reject them with extreme prejudice. It's all about finding your style of music and whatever combination of bass, pedal, blood, sweat, and tears can make that music work. . .stick with that.
 
Would the SansAmp VT be a better choice of pedal then, or would I still be better off with a different bass? I figured all those pedals were just going to be less flexible versions of the regular DI...

Actually, John Campbell's bass is a Jackson with EMGs...
 
Kinda related. I have a schector c-4 elite bass. I wasn't real happy with the tone, I liked it, but I didn't love it. Then I bought new pickups for it EMG active dc35s or something. And now I love it!

Note: I'm almost certain your bass doesn't have active pickups. Unless you installed them. I believe all schectors come with active electronics (eq) but passive pickups. Mine did. But one I actually put active pickups in there, I loved it.

But alt of it is preference. Alot of people in metal are using fender jazz basses now. I play harder stuff. And my schector with active pickups gets me the exact tone I wanted. But I do like the jazz bass as well.

So basically try different stuff, till you figure out exactly what you want. Not to mention alot of tone comes from the way you play.
 
Huh, all the description of my bass says is active electronics, but EMG Hz pickups, which apparently are passive. Interesting. Apparently the bass is also mahogany, not basswood like I thought. Ha, it's a nicer bass than I thought it was... The active electronics are a little noisy, though. Or at least, they are through the SansAmp.
 
It sounds like the VT would be your best bet, if you're stuck on a sansamp pedal (which I do recommend). The bass sounds like a real winner it's just working with it to get the sound that you want. Take it into a music store and see if they'll let you hook it up to a couple different pre-amps and decide from there. :D
 
thebigcheese said:
As a side note, my strings are at least a year old, so... that could have some impact, but I don't really know what to look for in strings.
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This probably does - the "growl" bass sound really depends on a fairly clear source sound. I like Elixirs simply because they last forever - I have a set on my bass that must be two or three years old, and they still sound great.
 
Are you saying you can't get the sound you want "live" or "recorded" ???

I'm assuming you are listening to recorded tracks and not "hearing it", right?
 
matttheaxe said:
Are you saying you can't get the sound you want "live" or "recorded" ???

I'm assuming you are listening to recorded tracks and not "hearing it", right?
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Yeah, mostly recorded, though I want the live sound to be good, too, since I multitask in my band...

I put some Boomers on today. New strings really make a difference! The sound is much more like I want it to be. Figures.
 
The sound starts at your bass Schecter does a good job, EMG HZ pups are okay what is really lacking is the less than stellar preamps that are used in those basses. If you are willing replace the preamp and go passive with vol-vol-tone, you will see immediate improvements. I have a Dean bass that was next to nothing and really sounds pretty sweet passive with stock Hz pups.
 
It's not a nicer bass than you thought if you don't like the sound.
What were you playing through when you tried & liked it? Just do that.
You don't have to use a sans amp or swap arts if you can replicate what you liked in the 1st place.
I use a cheap bass (early 80's Vantage - beautiful looking, simple but good soundind passive all the way so I can sculpt a tone with the amp or DI) and a Marshall Superbass MkII head with a Tubecube attenuator which gives me a great sound at less than painfll volume. I often use a Behringer Vtone BDI for recording - it's REALLY good, I get some good sounds and it was REALLY cheap.
 
Running through the same setup sounded better just with the new strings. I have noticed that the active electronics seem to add some noise, which I have not been very fond of... I'll have to look into swapping it out for a passive system. Sounds like a bit of a hassle, though...
 
thebigcheese said:
Running through the same setup sounded better just with the new strings. I have noticed that the active electronics seem to add some noise, which I have not been very fond of... I'll have to look into swapping it out for a passive system. Sounds like a bit of a hassle, though...
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new strings make all the difference.

If you play metal and really want that growl, you should get a p bass or jazz.

Yeah yeah, I know using a fender in a metal band ain't cool, but you'll be suprised how well they mix in.

p.s. yeah I know this thread is old but my two cents.
 
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I actually discovered recently (as I was about to sell the bass to get a Fender) that there's a switch on the back of the treble pot that lets you adjust the frequency the control affects. I can actually get a good deal more growl out of it by putting it on the lowest selection (1.5 kHz, I think) and boosting it all the way up. Probably still better off with a Fender, but I rather like the look of this bass and it sounds much better now, so I think I'll keep it. Even works in the SansAmp much better.
 
thebigcheese said:
I actually discovered recently (as I was about to sell the bass to get a Fender) that there's a switch on the back of the treble pot that lets you adjust the frequency the control affects. I can actually get a good deal more growl out of it by putting it on the lowest selection (1.5 kHz, I think) and boosting it all the way up. Probably still better off with a Fender, but I rather like the look of this bass and it sounds much better now, so I think I'll keep it. Even works in the SansAmp much better.
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The HZ's should work just fine with the sans amp DI. I played for years live with a Schecter Euro bass with HZ's, active EQ and ONLY a SansAmp. I didnt ever use an amp. It sounded that good through the monitors/PA.

So if you are hearing a live sound you like, keep in mind you are probably hearing the house PA which incorporate the big subs and really do sound incredible with the SansAmp in a live situation.

For recording I Always put my my EQ on the bass Straight up Flat and let the SansAmp do the work. I always got a nice Meaty sound with it. Try to make sure you are running that straight into the recording counsel with nothing else going. Computer based recording, take off all the effects and plug-ins/models. Just bass and sansamp straight in. You should find your sound.

I always got the best results with the "blend" knob all the way on.

Good luck hope you find your sound.
 
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