# Which SansAmp?



## noUser01 (Mar 20, 2014)

I wanted to pick up a SansAmp for recording at home (right now I'm just using a SansAmp plugin but it's not great, plus it would be nice to have one for live use since I do play bass now and then. I've got a pretty great bass guitar but no real setup for it besides the bass models in the AxeFX II which are decent, but I take my AxeFX to different places a lot and having a home recording setup outside of that unit would be really convenient.

I looked on Sweetwater's website and am not really sure which one is best suited for me.

There's the classic:
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver | Sweetwater.com

The programmable one:
Tech 21 SansAmp Programmable Bass Driver DI | Sweetwater.com

And the rackmount:
Tech 21 SansAmp RPM Bass Preamp | Sweetwater.com

My understand is the second one is exactly the same plus the ability to program presets, and the third one just offers more features (a separate XLR volume control and a Mid Shift knob). Is that right? Anything else I should be aware of when buying one of these? I'm not a great bass player and really just play when I'm tracking demos/recording so any advice from actual bassists would be much appreciated. This is for metal, by the way (everything from death metal and deathcore to progressive metal and metalcore).


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Mar 20, 2014)

Honestly, if you're not gonna be racking it up, and you want easy access to multiple tones, I'd go for the second one. It's only $10 more than the regular one, and you don't have to memorize settings as much.


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## cGoEcYk (Mar 21, 2014)

Do you plan on using it as a DI basically? I swear by my BDDI but I hate it by itself. I use mine blended in the FX loop with a burly midrange tone dialed in on my Mesa Bass 400 (to kind of compensate for the scoopy nature of the BDDI).

As a standalone I think the B7K is a better choice ($$$ unfortunately). Sansamp VT is probably better on it's own than the BDDI too.

I saw a BDDI on GC Used for $99. Can't go wrong at that price.


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## noUser01 (Mar 21, 2014)

cGoEcYk said:


> Do you plan on using it as a DI basically? I swear by my BDDI but I hate it by itself. I use mine blended in the FX loop with a burly midrange tone dialed in on my Mesa Bass 400 (to kind of compensate for the scoopy nature of the BDDI).
> 
> As a standalone I think the B7K is a better choice ($$$ unfortunately). Sansamp VT is probably better on it's own than the BDDI too.
> 
> I saw a BDDI on GC Used for $99. Can't go wrong at that price.



I've got a Radial DI that I typically use, just looking for something that can add some nice grit and use live now and then. I'll look at the Sansamp VT, thanks!


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## Vostre Roy (Mar 21, 2014)

Can't compare it with anything else, but I got the Programmable one. I don't fiddle much with the ability to have three seperate sound, but I get a decent one to play metal through a Trace Elliott rig and a Fender bass for whats its worth.


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## giantchris (Mar 24, 2014)

Get the VT Bass Deluxe sounds best as long as you like ampegs.


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## Fretless (Mar 25, 2014)

I have the RPM and RBI and I use both in stereo, so if you're willing to dish out a little extra you can do that. If not, I would say the RPM. It gives much better low end bass tone than the BDDI in my opinion. It also has a great gritty sound when you have the drive up high.


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## bvdrummer (Mar 27, 2014)

I have the 2nd (programmable) one and I don't have much to compare to but I really like it. I don't use a ton of FX on bass, just COMP -> OD -> SansAmp. For me, 3 channels is plenty.

They also have a 6 channel one which is not very common:
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver Deluxe DI Pedal at zZounds

And the 6 channel VT version
Tech21 Character Series SansAmp VT Bass Deluxe Pedal at zZounds

edit: I don't even own an amp. I use this for recording prog rock and a DI live at church.


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## iron blast (Mar 30, 2014)

If money isnt as much an issue get the rpm and rbi If you want affordable get the bddi deluxe used


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## Sepultorture (Apr 6, 2014)

i say gun for the VT bass DI from sansamp, sound damn good, a tiny bit more flexible than the regular bass driver, love the sound, but a tad one dimensional, it's ampeg in nature, so if you want fender or mesa, might have to look elsewhere

i hear amazing things about the darklgass b7k but i think the VT bass DI is your best bet


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## TemjinStrife (Apr 6, 2014)

There's plenty of range for sounds in the VTDI or VT Bass. Hardly one-dimensional, as it covers B-15 to SVT to Darkglass levels of attack and grind.


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## Fretless (Apr 7, 2014)

TemjinStrife said:


> There's plenty of range for sounds in the VTDI or VT Bass. Hardly one-dimensional, as it covers B-15 to SVT to Darkglass levels of attack and grind.



Yet it still has a different flavor than the rbi and rpm. All 3 running together with a crossover between then would be glorious.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Apr 7, 2014)

I'd be tempted to go for the RPM for the extra features; namely the midrange and mid shift controls. Plus rack stuff is cool as shit


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## Sepultorture (Apr 7, 2014)

TemjinStrife said:


> There's plenty of range for sounds in the VTDI or VT Bass. Hardly one-dimensional, as it covers B-15 to SVT to Darkglass levels of attack and grind.



was refering to it's more ampeg type sound, and i cannot attest to darkglass type attack either


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