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.