New Bass Preamp Day - Sansamp GED-2112 Geddy Lee

[tbonesullivan]

I haven't really messed much with my bass setup for 10 years or so, as I mostly just use a pedalboard. However I'm now getting rid of a bunch of stuff I never used, and getting some new stuff that I definitely will use a lot more. I used to be a BIG Carvin fan, and in terms of their basses and bass amps, still am. Cabinets are pretty bullet proof, well made, etc, and they made good power amps, power conditioners, etc. The only bass preamp they made recently though was not really... great, and the previous RSP rack mounted preamp, which I used to have in this setup, was also just not really my thing.

The GED-2112, definitely IS more my thing, and it's a somewhat interesting two channel "stereo" implementation, which some people seem to hate, but those who "get it" love it. The preamp is pretty much designed to go direct to board, and is a parallel channel architecture after the input. The preamp is based VERY heavily on the Sansamp RPM, which looks to have been discontinued and replaced by the GED-2112. Channel 1 "Crunch" is very similar to the RPM, and channel 2 "Deep" is pretty much a "just make it sound good" channel. The way I have these setup in this rig is having the Crunch channel go to the 2x10 cabinet, and the Deep Channel goes to the 1x15 cabinet, both of which have high frequency drivers.

The "Crunch" channel has a blend control, and can definitely get quite clean if you want it that way, or as dirty as you might want to get. I can say that the Sansamp bass dirt is one of my personal favorites, and really nails that classic overdrive from a heavily driven tube amp. It's got active treble, bass, and sweepable mids as well. The "Deep" channel has pretty much minimal controls, and is pre set to EQ per Geddy Lee's specs, which on a J-bass type guitar, sounds awesome. I've been playing my Carvin B5 through it, which is pretty much a 5 string jazz bass type setup.

I picked up another rack tuner off reverb for this, and it actually integrates VERY well, as the preamp has two inputs on the reverse., which you can switch between, just like the tuner.

Now all I need is to pick up a Rickenbacker and a Passive Jazz bass.

[cmatthes]

I've got the stompbox version that may possibly replace my trusty Bass Driver DI that I've had running for over 20 years now.  I'm a fan, and it sounds glorious, paired with my Rickenbacker into the Ampeg...

[tbonesullivan]

7 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

I've got the stompbox version that may possibly replace my trusty Bass Driver DI that I've had running for over 20 years now.  I'm a fan, and it sounds glorious, paired with my Rickenbacker into the Ampeg...

Man I really do need a Rick some day. I'm always amazed that the list for the 4003 is only about $150 more than the 4003S, even with the fretboard inlays, neck and body binding, and the stereo out put.

[cmatthes]

1 hour ago, tbonesullivan said:

Man I really do need a Rick some day. I'm always amazed that the list for the 4003 is only about $150 more than the 4003S, even with the fretboard inlays, neck and body binding, and the stereo out put.

I played an early 4003 from way back, but am mixing it up a bit lately:  

[Jimbilly]

That's a good looking setup. I'm an unashamed tech21 fan, especially for bass. My old bddi mostly sits in the box and the bass Flyrig gets used regularly instead. I find it really easy to get good bass tone (to my ears anyway), as compared to the difficulty of getting good electric guitar tones, which requires much tweaking and experimenting. 

 Re a passive jazz bass: the mij Fernandes I recently got seems to be quite good, those can still be found for cheap.  

[alantig]

I've got the rack version and the Moving Pictures pedal version.  They've become my primary means of recording bass.

[tbonesullivan]

2 hours ago, alantig said:

I've got the rack version and the Moving Pictures pedal version.  They've become my primary means of recording bass.

Ohhh I heard about those limited edition Moving Pictures pedals. I'm glad that they then took the changes they made for the MP40 and applied them to the YYZ pedal, so people can still get the features, even if they can't get the graphic.

I don't know if this will be able to really touch my Bass Driver programmable for live stuff, as having three tones ready to go is just so useful, especially with the lovely Sansamp crunch.