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MGR/Riko « Sansamp Bass Driver Deluxe »
Published on 08/24/09 at 15:00it is a good looking unit, black, 6 programmable slots,
fx sends.
I have been playing bass guitar since 1980, mainly rock and in a lot of bands and gigs with plenty of recording, also i am a sound engineer.
I initially used my friends sans amp bass driver D.I Unit on our new album, this was awesome, so decided to buy the deluxe model for gigging at £239 from digital village (uk) i read some reviews and it seemed fine.
great sound, programmable, fx sends and return
unlike the D.I the duluxe when gain, presence and treble went past 3 o clock it started to oscillate/feedback, very unpleasant high pitch whine!even thru headphones at very low levels ! so i sent it back thinking it was a fault, so they sent me another,which had the same problemos,i compared it to the D.I and the D.I version did not have the same problem! so sent it back and am going for the D.I Unit instead.i own an 18 month old fender precision bass with no probs!
THE Construction/Quality IS EXCELLENT.
strong metal finish and the knobs are well sturdy
i have no problems with anything else only the feedback issue!so be very carefull!
i emailed tech21 and they said:-
Thank you for your Bass Driver purchase. Since the Deluxe version uses digital control to remember the knob settings, you can't just transfer the physical settings from the original Bass Driver to the new unit. In your example 3:00 on the Bass Driver does not equal 3:00 on the Deluxe. Due to the way the circuitry works, 3:00 - 4:00 is basically maximum, so a 3:00 setting on the Bass Driver will most likely be about 1:00-2:00 on the Deluxe.
I know from experience that setting the Drive, Presence, and Treble on the original Bass Driver to max (or near max) will result in self oscillation, so that sounds about right if it is happening on the Deluxe with maxed settings.
There are other factors that may contribute to this type of oscillation. Pickups that are not potted properly tend to oscillate with high treble and gain settings. If the oscillation goes away by turning the volume control off on the bass, the problem may lie elsewhere (pickup potting, inadequate grounding or ground loops in the system).
Proximity of the bass to the speaker cabinet or monitors may also magnify this problem.
Where the Bass Driver is connected in the chain may cause oscillation to occur. For example, it should not be connected to the send and return of an effects loop of an amplifier.
Improper setting of the level switches on the Deluxe can also cause oscillations.
Feel free to email me any more information on your setup in order to diagnose this problem. If you do have the opportunity to check out the units head to head, try modifying the settings on the Deluxe by ear and you should be able to match them up as they do have the same exact analog circuitry in the signal path.
But i just do not trust the unit anymore!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
fx sends.
I have been playing bass guitar since 1980, mainly rock and in a lot of bands and gigs with plenty of recording, also i am a sound engineer.
I initially used my friends sans amp bass driver D.I Unit on our new album, this was awesome, so decided to buy the deluxe model for gigging at £239 from digital village (uk) i read some reviews and it seemed fine.
great sound, programmable, fx sends and return
unlike the D.I the duluxe when gain, presence and treble went past 3 o clock it started to oscillate/feedback, very unpleasant high pitch whine!even thru headphones at very low levels ! so i sent it back thinking it was a fault, so they sent me another,which had the same problemos,i compared it to the D.I and the D.I version did not have the same problem! so sent it back and am going for the D.I Unit instead.i own an 18 month old fender precision bass with no probs!
THE Construction/Quality IS EXCELLENT.
strong metal finish and the knobs are well sturdy
i have no problems with anything else only the feedback issue!so be very carefull!
i emailed tech21 and they said:-
Thank you for your Bass Driver purchase. Since the Deluxe version uses digital control to remember the knob settings, you can't just transfer the physical settings from the original Bass Driver to the new unit. In your example 3:00 on the Bass Driver does not equal 3:00 on the Deluxe. Due to the way the circuitry works, 3:00 - 4:00 is basically maximum, so a 3:00 setting on the Bass Driver will most likely be about 1:00-2:00 on the Deluxe.
I know from experience that setting the Drive, Presence, and Treble on the original Bass Driver to max (or near max) will result in self oscillation, so that sounds about right if it is happening on the Deluxe with maxed settings.
There are other factors that may contribute to this type of oscillation. Pickups that are not potted properly tend to oscillate with high treble and gain settings. If the oscillation goes away by turning the volume control off on the bass, the problem may lie elsewhere (pickup potting, inadequate grounding or ground loops in the system).
Proximity of the bass to the speaker cabinet or monitors may also magnify this problem.
Where the Bass Driver is connected in the chain may cause oscillation to occur. For example, it should not be connected to the send and return of an effects loop of an amplifier.
Improper setting of the level switches on the Deluxe can also cause oscillations.
Feel free to email me any more information on your setup in order to diagnose this problem. If you do have the opportunity to check out the units head to head, try modifying the settings on the Deluxe by ear and you should be able to match them up as they do have the same exact analog circuitry in the signal path.
But i just do not trust the unit anymore!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com