tube bass head, FX Loops, Sansamp oh my

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:09 pm

If i ran my Sansamp programmable DI in the effects look of my orange bass terror and set the pedal to bypass, would it effectively send the same signal the DI out on the head puts out? so the sound before the power amp? The output on the head DI is controlled volume wise by the gain knob. so if i have it cranked for drive, the DI output signal gets ungodly hot. I figured if i put the sansamp in the loop and used its DI out id accomplish the same thing, but have control of the volume it sends and additional eq/tone shaping options? Im going to add a stompbox compressor into the mix and would it be a better idea to put it in front of the amp, or in front of the sansamp in the fx loop?

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:13 pm

While searching for info i saw this from a talkbass forum where someone had issues with their fx loop. what the fuck does this mean?

"From Orange answer e-mail:

The FX loop on the TB500 is running at +4 (professional level) and is really for use with rack equipment rather than pedals.

Most pedals would be better suited to the front end of the amp.

Best regards
Adrian

Adrian Emsley | Technical Director"

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:19 pm

Conventional wisdom (which is more of a guideline than a rule when guitar is concerned, I know) says that compressors work better near the beginning of the effects chain, so probably aren't really suitable for effects loops.

The signal level of an effects loop is pretty hot since it usually sits between the end of the preamp and beginning of the power amp stages; some stompboxes can't cope if the preamp gain is set too high (some effects loops have a switchable level to prevent this problem).

As for the sansamp...I'm not sure. There are a lot of different controls for altering the gain and volume. My bass driver DI has a slide switch to select instrument or line level so you can put it in front of an amp or a mixer, but sansamps are true bypass so shouldn't boost the level when they're switched off. Which version are you using (there are instruction manuals on the site too if you need one)?

One neat thing I discovered about the BDDI is that if I turn the blend knob to zero, it disables the drive and presence controls but not the treble, bass or volume. That means you can control the eq nd volume without the distortion colouring the sound too much.

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:20 pm

The Sansamp has a "1/4in out boost" switch. It says when turned off it sends a -10db instrument level signal. When engaged it sends a a line level 0db signal... sO if in the effects loop, i need to use line level (push the button) and when used in front i need to use instrument (unpush the button) im assuming?

Mattsican · Post by **Mattsican** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:30 pm

I have the programmable 3 channel version. It does have a switch that just says "1/4in boost" which come to find out seems like its just a line/instrument level switch. Im hoping i can turn the blend knob down and just use the EQ knobs and set the volume to some sort of unity gain where it doesnt change the volume if i switch presets or bypass. Then DI out of that sucker and be able to send a tone to the PA that incorporates my preamp. What would be the point of getting a sweet tube pre head and sending a DI signal thats not even using it?