Tech 21 SansAmp Character VT Bass DI

Don't know how good it is compared to other similar products but I kind of like it. You can get some nice distorted bass guitar sounds, also very deep & heavy if you want. I record two signals, one Dry & one Wet (with this unit). Then send & blend those two signals into one bass guitar sound, on a Group channel in my DAW. Then EQ that group a little bit, maybe remove some very low frequencies and cut a bit around 214 Hz. I probably havnt scratched the surface yet, it probably has a lot more to give! It comes with sample settings of: SVT-style, Fat Tube, Flip Top-style, Rage, Thumpy Funk, Fuzzed Out, Warm Compression and Yes-style. Just play around with it and you can dial in many different sounds, depending on the bass guitar you're using of course! I've tried it with a Gibson Thunderbird and Fender Precision so far!

Bought this recently and tried it with two amplifiers plus made some measurements so far. I was looking for a Green Day/GnR type sound together with my P-Bass and.. I was not disappointed. With blend full on, character at ten o'clock and driven to slight distortion it gives me a nice Dirty, scooped and compressed RnR sound. The distortion is gradual and touch sensitive much like what you get from a tube amp. Measurements: Turned off, the +10 and -20 dB buttons are still active and unit is flat besides a slight -1,5dB/40Hz and 6dB/oct below that. When turned on it has a dist channel (drive, character, bite, speakersim) mixed with a clean channel (no Controls) with the "blend" knob. Signal then goes to Eq section (low, mid, high) and out via level buttons. Eq knobs are ca +/-18dB at 80, 600 and 3K and they are low Q (broad range). Character simultaneously affects drive and a +/-18dB at 900Hz Eq. Bite button is +9dB at 4k but has no subsonic filtering as advertised. Speaker sim is +3dB/90, -3dB/900 and falls sharply above 4K. Cons: Would like more output and an added compressor. Character knob confusing at first.

The pedal offers a broad range of vintage sounds, from clean to high gain. It feels sturdy. The coloured DI is very useful in live situations.

I would have preferred the in- & outputs at the top instead of at the sides, partly because it is not the last pedal in my chain. The noise level at high gain settings (character and drive past 12 o clock) makes me want to run it through a noise suppressor.

The knobs are sensitive: a small adjustment can change your tone quite a bit. Choosing a different kind of tone requires adjustments on several knobs, which is not very intuitive and make quick changes tricky. The knobs turn easily: quite often by accident. It is hard to remember settings with this many knobs.

At most settings, playing with my active bass with bridge humbucker, lower notes are distorted more heavily.

After a few weeks of recordings, gigs and rehearsals, I can honestly say: this is a very serious bass tool.

I use it in gigs as a direct box - on bypass, it delivers a very high quality direct signal, which is cool. But the true wow moment is when it's on. The majority of the gigs are played with no amp, monitored with in ears. What this box does to my tone is unbelievable. With the character knob between 9 and 11 o'clock and speaker simulator engaged, the high frequencies never sound metallic or clicky. The low end is huge, up to the point they need to be cut with the EQ. The drive adds more character, and together they deliver a huge tone. Fingers, pick, thumb, slap, it all sound much much better than a simple direct signal. This box does exactly what it's designed to do, and nothing less.

In recordings, I use it as an overdrive, in parallel to the clean signal. With the character knob turned above 2 o'clock, it delivers a real bad ass drive, which is very dynamic, touch sensitive and rich in harmonics. it's recommended to blend in the dry signal in that application, simply because the lows decrease dramatically with the character knob beyond the 12 o'clock position.

In rehearsals, I use it as a preamp, in any room that has an amp that I don't like its tone. I just connect it to the power amp input - and suddenly I don't hate the tone! If the room has a good amp (such Mesa Boogie/Ampeg all tube classics), I use the box as an extra drive, blended with the dry signal.

If I want a more "vintagey" sound for things like old school funk etc. the character knob just above the 12 o'clock position and a healthy amount of drive gets me there very quickly.

It's hard to believe how versatile this box is.

I never leave home without it.