Guitar and Bass Effects | A blog about guitar and bass effects pedals.

I’ve recently been in the market for a decent bass DI box, but not just a standard DI; something in the sansamp vein – with amp modelling, or perhaps overdrive, etc. I just love the idea of turning up to a gig where I don’t have my own rig, and simply DI, knowing that I’m giving the soundman a great tone.

I tried out three models before I parted with my hard earned cash, so I’ll give you my opinion of all three.

The first is the cheapest of the bunch, the MXR Bass DI+ (£150). Before I even plugged this in, I could see that it was well built; it had a good, reassuring weight to it, and the knobs had a quality feel. However, the phantom power / ground lift switch on the model I tested was faulty, and didn’t latch down. This was a bit of a worry, but obviously just a small fault that had been missed. Anyway, regardless of this problem, the pedal was very impressive; both the sound through the amp and the direct out were very pure – it really doesn’t colour your tone too much, and just lets the sound of your bass come through. The EQ can add chunky lows and sizzling highs, although the midrange control wasn’t voiced correctly for my own personal taste; it was focused more on low mid thump, rather than high mid growl.

I also found the drive channel to be lacking some what; it was very much an all or nothing affair. It can do subtle drive tones as well as buzzsaw distortion, but it was quite unresponsive – everything was distorted and compressed at the same level, regardless of playing style. However the addition of a noise gate in the drive section was a welcome sight, and worked very well, especially when the gain was right up.

In conclusion, the MXR has a great direct tone, as well as the added benefits of a distortion pedal thrown in. While it does have some ingenious little features, (such as the aforementioned noise gate), I can’t help but think that this is a fuzzbox with a DI thrown in for good measure. Still, if you predominantly play rock or metal, this would be ideal, and there’s nothing in this price range that matches it for features. Its closest relative would be the Tech 21 Sansamp Bass Driver, which is slightly cheaper, but doesn’t have a foot switchable drive section.