Sunn bass heads

[Tambro]

e-mailed this guy:
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified- ... r_12917556

Do you know the differences between the models, Andrew? (I'm about to research it myself, just curious your opinion)

[Andrew]

Now I wanna do what Colin Stewart did and just run a Sansamp through a power amp then an 8x10... Too much gear, too little time. I'm gonna go into L&M next week and hope I can try one out!

Your G-K amp will act as a great power amp. The bass players from Radiohead and Aerosmith both use G-K amps as poweramps. In particular the dude from Aerosmith talks a lot about how he likes the quality the G-K poweramp gives to his sound. G-K make great power sections in their amps.

I prefer the Sansamp RPM pedal to the RBI. The RBI is the pedal specifically for bass, but I think the RPM's high end and grit is nicer sounding. You can also get rackmount versions of both the RBI and RPM pedals (which is what I'm using).

[Andrew]

e-mailed this guy:
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified- ... r_12917556

Do you know the differences between the models, Andrew? (I'm about to research it myself, just curious your opinion)

If you don't need to be able to switch to different settings/tones then the deluxe Sansamp pedals might have more features than you need.

[Tambro]

But at $150 the price is right. I mean, id spend at least that much on a vt pedal at l&m. That was the only sans amp listing in Vic.

[Andrew]

But at $150 the price is right. I mean, id spend at least that much on a vt pedal at l&m. That was the only sans amp listing in Vic.

I'm not sure what the other sansamp pedals sell for but if it's a good deal for this deluxe one used then you should give it a test drive for sure.

[tylerp]

the one you linked only has XLR out. if you're plugging it into a power amp that has XLR in, that'll be good. if you're using it through a bass amp or power amp with just a 1/4 inch in, it'd probably be better to get the non-programmable sansamp and just run that into the 1/4 inch in. I believe the 1/4 inch ins/outs on the non-programmable (the normal bass driver DI) are TS and not TRS and thus aren't balanced, but I suspect (not sure) that converting from balanced to unbalanced and going into a power amp is probably not as good as using a dedicated unbalanced out. IF that's your only option. if you have a TRS or XLR in, though, man, you're totally ready to buy that thing. pretty sure the knobs and circuitry are identical tone-wise and you'll have the added bonus of having three settings.

I've also admired the sansamp bass driver for a while. I might even prefer the sound and adaptability over my acoustic setup. maybe just cause I've been annoyed with how I don't have much clean headroom.

[Andrew]

the one you linked only has XLR out.

Pretty sure it has 1/4" in and out too, that you just can't see in the pic.

I'd still consider test driving the VT pedal and the RPM. While this used pedal could be a deal, if you prefer the tone of either of the others you wouldn't be out of pocket that much more to get the sound you like the most.

You can use the line in or the in of the effects loop on the G-K to bypass the internal preamp and run it strictly as a poweramp, but I'd also experiment with running the pedal into the front of the amp and see how the pedal's sound plays with the sound of the amp's preamp too. I run both the rackmount versions of the RBI and RPM pedals but run both into the front of my amp still. I tried running the Aguilar just as a poweramp, but liked the little bit of extra oomph the head's own preamp gives when coupled with the sansamps (and my dirt pedals... too much crap in my signal chain).

[Andrew]

P.S. Tambro, one complaint people often have about the Sansamp RBI is the high end gets brittle sounding. If you find this to be the case when you demo that programmable pedal, one trick I picked up from someone online is to turn the presence knob all the way up and then turn the treble knob up less. It changes the character of the high end to be a bit rounder.

[Tambro]

Great info! I'm gonna go to L&M tomorrow and A vs B the 2 pedals. I'll let you know my decision after I try em out!

[Tambro]

Bought the one off UsedVic! At L&M the VT was 170+tax, so this was cheaper, and if I ever need channel switching, I have the option. Pretty pumped!

[Andrew]

How did the new P-bass/sansamp/G-K rig work for you last night?

[Tambro]

I liked the tone! I used the setting for the SVT from the manual, I think I didn't cut through very well though, even though I felt like my mids were quite high (around 8, compared to bass at around 7, treble around 4). I've noticed that all the settings the manual suggests sound good, but I have to adjust my tone knob mostly to get it to sound how I want. It's the sort of thing I wish I could just sit and fine tune on my amp for an hour by myself, just sitting and tweaking knobs.

[Andrew]

What feedback did you get from peeps in the audience about your sound?

I'm sure that's all it'll take is some time to tweak the pedal to your liking. You running it into the front of your amp or using it as a preamp into your amp's power section?

[Tambro]

I was using it in conjunction with the GK's pre-amp. People thought it sounded good, got a lot of compliments on my tone. Honestly, I thought everyone's tone that night ruled. There was my setup, Aaron from Everyone everywhere who's using a PBass with active P pickups and a humbucker through an Orange head/ampeg, sounded raaaaaaad, then everyone else played some form of Fender bass (the dude from Devil In Me was playing the Jazz version of the Aerodyne, which is the same thing as mine ) through a Mesa Bass 400+, sounded GNARLY, especially the dude from Living With Lions with the Jazz Bass.