Tech21 SansAmp ParaDriver vs. VT Bass vs. BassDriver Shootout
Tech21 SansAmp Pedals are a justified cornerstone in the bass community and when looking for recommendations, these three are always not too far. While the BassDriver DI V2 is the evolution of an all time classic, and the VT Bass DI has been a fan favourite in different variations for almost 20 years, the ParaDriver DI seems to be the dark horse for bass players and is also highly valued.
My goal was, to finally bring light into the way the SansAmp-Tube-Emulation circuit behaves on each pedal, which is just very broadly explained in the manual but in some cases lacks a technical and specific explanation of what is exactly going on. I hope this is helpful for players trying to decide which one to get, or for players who want to understand the unit they already own better.
I wanted to do this deep dive review for a long time and I am very happy that I finally managed to complete this big project. This is also my first big video project and the first time i tried to visualize frequency graphs in this way. If you know a better way in logic, feel free to let me know!
You might need to turn up the volume a bit. Because i wanted to capture the whole boost range of the controls, i did not want to compress or limit anything, this is why the default volume is a little low...
Take care and keep practicing!
Chapter Titles
[00:00:00] overview
[00:00:53] Fingerstyle direct
[00:01:05] SansAmp-Tube-Emulation Circuit
[00:02:23] EQ Walkthrough
[00:05:21] Drive Fingerstyle
[00:06:50] Pick direct
[00:07:04] Drive Pick
[00:08:34] "flat"-settings
[00:09:07] setting high gain tones
[00:10:13] verdict BassDriver DI
[00:12:02] verdict ParaDriver DI
[00:13:21] ParaDriver "Air"
[00:14:22] verdict VT Bass DI
[00:15:34] emulating the BassDriver on the VT Bass
[00:17:33] conclusion