What's the deal with effects and pedals? (Also: sound in general)

Gear
1045

This?

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1046

Not sure about the Zoom, but I think that could be it.
Maybe someone else has more expertise on that DAI?

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1047

Yeah the VT Bass DI is so good. Their best preamp I have heard.

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1048

Yes!
The 48V is the Phantom power that will microphones that need it.

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1049

Tech21 re-released an old model as well, the SansAmp Classic. Some people must have really liked it for them to bring it back :thinking:

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1050

Okay @howard I trust your judgment. I cancelled the SansAmp and ordered this one. It even gets here a day sooner than the other one :smiley_cat:

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1051

Wait - I just meant give both a listen first before buying :slight_smile:

I think you’ll be happy with it though, I think it’s one of the best sounding pedals you can buy. We’re talkign about picking betweem two great pedals here after all.

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1052

Wow this stuff is all over my head, but I am going to ask a stupid question that might help my brain explain what these pedals you all are talking about do, because I am not understanding it.

If i understand it right, these pedals/boxes are acting as a preamp but also can color the tone via a tube or tube sim, or other eq/drive functionality, depending on the model.

My questions are:

  1. So why does one need one if you have an amp already that has a preamp? Different color? Inability to connect to your DAI from your amp? Ability to color tone without involving your amp? Some of each?

  2. I have a Presonus Tube Pre V2. I bought it for recording on sax, it gives the recording a nice warmth via the adjustable tube drive knob. I did not know much about it when I bought it other than that but went off a reco of a friend and some samples he showed me. I see in Talkbass people talk about using it on bass too. So…is this essentially the same thing as all these others you are all discussing just with different/less features?

  3. With my Fender Rumble Studio Amp, and all it’s sims, is one of these really redundant in some aspects, as I can come off the amp from XLR pre/post or USB?

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1053

Product description of the VT Bass DI:

SansAmp Character Series VT Bass DI. Have you ever arrived at a venue or a studio assuming there would be a decent quality DI? It doesn’t always work out that way. For the pro on the go, the VT Bass DI covers a lot of ground in a small footprint. This multi-function, multi-application format features three different outputs. You can complement your current rig, record direct, drive power amps and go direct to the PA. Just throw it in your gig bag and you’re ready at a moment’s notice. Like its sibling, the original VT Bass, you can get the same legendary tower of power tone pumping through a stack of 10-inchers. This is for players who enjoy being heard. From chunky funk with the ubiquitous flip top, to the higher gain growl of indie rock. The VT Bass DI incorporates a Blend control to adjust the ratio of direct signal and SansAmp circuitry, and a Bite switch to engage a presence boost and a subsonic filter. With the VT Bass DI, you can go from clean SVT-style thump to dirty earthquaking rump. No matter which way you dial it in, it all sounds massive.

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1054

You already have the BDDI clone. The VT Bass DI seems like a good buy

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1055

I’m going to return the Wine Cellar to Amazon. It’s a nice DI box, but this VT one seems like it would be better.

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1056

@PamPurrs That seems to turn phantom power on for both interface 1 and 2. You might want to make sure phantom power won’t hurt your drum machine or you could move to an interface that doesn’t have phantom power.

@Krescht I don’t think anybody is doubting the quality of the Tech 21 products. This goes back to what I said in an earlier post about this being a beginners forum where people may not be ready to fork out the big bucks.

I saw an article when I was looking into this where the person was saying that, for the money, The SansAmp Bass Driver DI was the best DI product on the market for any instrument you needed a DI for. I don’t know if that’s accurate but he wasn’t alone in singing the praise for Tech 21.

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1057

the SansAmp “Classic” is a guitar preamp, not made for bass, @Krescht

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1058

You don’t need one but getting pedals are kind of like getting Legos. Like with any hobby where you like to get new stuff to try out with your hobby. They’re fun!

Yep, all of the above. A lot of older amps didn’t come with a DI. In @PamPurrs case the DI is implemented very strangely. For her, using the DI on the pedal means she can take the signal out to her DAI before it even hits the amp allowing her to avoid making changes on the amp for recording and leave it set up for listening while she plays.

This is a good example of what people mean by adding color. A preamp with a DI out would let you go to your DAI and to your amp. One thing you can do is play once but take two recordings. One from the amp and one from the DI. Then you can mix them in your DAW of choice. Or decide to use one over the other. Or use both but add effects to only one of them. And a ton of other stuff but that gets into using a DAW which I only know in theory.

Yes. That amp is packed with features and has incredible flexibility. With it’s 2 DI’s, effects, and amp and cab sims, the only reason you might want something like this if you found a particular sound you wanted that it didn’t already have. Then it would be a question of whether you wanted to use that sound for live play (get a pedal) or you just wanted that sound for a recording (save money and use a plugin in your DAW).

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1059

AAAgghh! I only popped by for a quick browse on the group… Why on earth am I now looking on amazon.co.uk. “Behringer BDI 21 Bass amp modeller / DI effects pedal” £20.80 with free delivery and in stock… I really don’t need it though!

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1060

But… don’t you. :sunglasses:

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1061

Sure you do! You just don’t know it yet :crazy_face:

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1062

VERY HELPFUL!

when you say my amp has 2 DIs, what do you mean?
USB and XLR?

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1063

Thanks for the information. One less pedal to care about :sweat_smile:

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1064

You have the Fender Rumble Studio 40 right?

The USB has a built in audio interface. You probably don’t need it since you have what seems to be a really nice audio interface already.

The pre and post interfaces are called DI’s. DI’s use an XLR connector. :+1:

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