For a bass player, tone is paramount in conveying mood, genre, and feel; therefore, a device giving you tremendous tonal variety in a preamp, stompbox, and DI—all in one small unit—would be most welcome. Luckily, TECH 21 manufactures the SansAmp Bass Driver V2 DI Pedal, now available in its second iteration (V2), that provides a switch to adjust its EQ for 5- and 6-string basses, as well as a whole new midrange control with switchable center frequencies.
Luckier still, we carry this pedal both online and in the B&H SuperStore. Dubbed the Bass Driver, this stompbox lets you stand at the helm of your tone, giving you an EQ section as well as a powerful drive knob to bring on the distortion. All of these features allow you to dial-in timbres ranging from vintage tube tone to bright, aggressive, modern, and gnarly distortions. Of course, sometimes only a touch of overheated signal is called for, and this is where a blend knob steps in, letting you calibrate the wet/dry blend of the SansAmp Tube Amplifier Emulation circuit and your dry signal. Did we mention this stompbox also sports a speaker simulator—one which models a multi-miked bass cabinet and, thus, gives your sound an even smoother sheen? Well, it does.
Now, let’s talk connections, because this little guy gives you quite a few: two 1/4" outputs allow you to feed two separate 1/4" sources, so you can route your signal to a recording device and your stage amplifier at the same time. An XLR output with phantom power gives you another way of communicating with mixers, PAs, and recording interfaces. Here’s another way to hook in: Love the sound of your power amp stage but think the preamp needs to be swapped out? You can use the Bass Driver as a preamp, plugging straight into the effects return or power amp input of your existing rig. All of these connection points render the pedal quite versatile. But wait, there’s more—we haven’t even mentioned all the switches the Bass Driver provides. Some affect center frequencies for the EQ, some give you level boosts/attenuations to accommodate different output configurations; all of them are eminently useful.
Maybe you want another stompbox for your pedalboard. Maybe you just want the confidence to rely on the club’s equipment for once, so you don’t have to lug around a heavy stack. Whatever the case, if you’re a bass player seeking tone, overdrive, and more, you should definitely a check out this unit.
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