Okay, so I just played it live finally. Here's my take on it...

Let's start with how it's built:

Solid would be the word I'd use. I pulled it out of the box and was pleasantly surprised at the weight. It felt like it was well built. Seymour bullets it at 16ga steel. Okay, I'll buy that. No rattles, jangles, or anything that indicated crappy construction.

Also, the knobs; they felt good. Each of the three turned smoothly. They also have a center detente at 12:00 (presumably boost/cut for each frequency). Each foot-switch felt nice too. A nice, comforting click was the reward for my stomps.

Now, the features:

On the back side are the usual suspects: XLR out, 1/4" in and out jacks, a place to plug in the adapter, and a ground lift switch.

Bottom side: Battery compartment. Once again, no surprise there.

Top: The goodies; simple really. Not as complex as the competition (MXR M-80, SansAmp) but useful just the same. Here you have your standard Bass, Mids, and Treble knobs. Since I don't really care what frequencies each of these are set at, I'll let you do the research. I don't really care because I set the knobs where I like them and play. Some of that techie stuff gives me a headache.

Still on top: two switches; Bypass (true) and Slap Contour and two LED's that indicate active (on/off) and slap contour (on/off).

Performance:

Now to the part everyone wants to know. How does it sound Bo? I'll let you know tomorrow...just kidding.

First; quiet operation. I said "operation", right. Yeah, while it was plugged in, music or not, it was dead quiet--like Lindsay Lohan's voice mail--HOWEVER, the initial click when I engaged the foot-switch sounded like a freekin' cannon going off through the PA which really made me cringe. I think it knocked a couple of fillings loose from band mates. Anyway, there's a con for you; foot-switch noise. It only happened once though.

I set the EQ at about 1 o'clock on each channel, engaged both switches, and spent the next hour or so enjoying my new pedal. No complaints from my drummer or band leader and that always reassures me that all is well.

It's a good sound to my ears. Very modern, I guess. The mids were nice and smooth with mellow highs that didn't give me that "ice pick in the ear" feeling. Did I mention that I tweaked my EQ with my on board? Okay, I did now.

My biggest b!tch is there is no kind of volume control. That's why I set the three EQ knobs at 1 o'clock for a little mo' gain. Really, it is just a DI; actually, more a stripped down version of the MXR and SansAmp stuff. Okay, an EQ section in a DI package at best.

One more complaint I'll insert here...there is no parallel out. This means I can't run it to the board AND plug into an amp at the same time. I don't use an amp at the church gig so this isn't a problem at the moment. Should I get another gig while using my amp and decide to send a signal to the board I'll have to go back to the MXR or put it post DI.

Conclusion:

Before I got to do a real live test run, I admit I was suspicious of the thing. After Sunday, not so much. Sure, I'd like to see a gain knob or some way to bump up the volume when I'd like a little extra but I'm sure a sound man would appreciate me NOT having any influence on FOH sound aside from EQ. I rarely ever change my gain on the MXR when I use it anyway. Besides, true DIs usually don't have a volume knob or even an EQ so even the EQ is kind of a bonus.

The bottom line is that it worked and aside from that surge issue, I have no complaints about the performance. I never thought about the absence of a gain knob the whole time so that means it's not a genuine concern for me.

To me, it sounded as good as my MXR so I'm happy with it.



On a scale from 1 to 10:

I'd rate it at about 8.5; especially considering I only shelled out $50 for the thing. I gave $135 for the MXR and the 1/4" out lasted as long as the warranty did so I'm thinking I did good. I've seen the Seymour going online in some places for $100+ but MF was running a special (clearance?) on them.

There you go. Running direct might not be your thing but I play in church and usually amps are not an option. I think it would be a good addition to home studios if you're running a passive bass into a DI but would like the versatility of an active preamp for tone shaping. Just a thought.

Anyway, I like it. It'll be on stage with me from now on.

--Bo

Helluva going over and review Bo
Great read
Peace Ed

Well it sounds like it's working out for you Bo. That's good to hear. The price sounds great as well.

My SansAmp has kind of died on me. It started doing weird things like the sound was always different than the setting it was left on and there was a lot of unwanted distortion. So it's just sitting in a drawer now.

I don't mind though because with my new amp I have a line out post EQ so I don't need the SansAmp now anyway.

"...I have a line out post EQ..."

My head (Acoustic 200H) does too. I read so much negative press and reviews about head DIs that it kind of scares me to even try.

Another issue is that we're kind of a static band. What I mean by that is we don't have a lot of room to move on stage (like a house band on a late night show) and taking up a footprint the size of an amp head would be take up too much space. We're kind of on a band stand. Oh, and it eliminates the need to plug in somewhere. There is a 9v adapter there when I need it so battery death can be dealt with if need be.

The best use (I think) is what I use it for. Cramped, running direct, in-ear monitoring, and any other use where real estate is limited would be my qualifiers.

Thanks for the feedback, Paul. :-)

--Bo

My head (Acoustic 200H) does too. I read so much negative press and reviews about head DIs that it kind of scares me to even try.

I bought the SansAmp because when I plugged directly into my mixer I needed so much gain I had no real headroom left to adjust the signal. The SansAmp boosted the signal enough I could play and record Ok.

When I got my new amp I found that when using the post EQ line out the sound through my board was pretty near exactly the same as through my cabinet (the speaker colors the sound a little).

So for my purposes, recording and playing through headphones, the post EQ line out is perfect. I don't know why there's negative press about using line out from the head. Maybe SansAmp started a rumor? lol

Another issue is that we're kind of a static band. What I mean by that is we don't have a lot of room to move on stage (like a house band on a late night show) and taking up a footprint the size of an amp head would be take up too much space. We're kind of on a band stand. Oh, and it eliminates the need to plug in somewhere. There is a 9v adapter there when I need it so battery death can be dealt with if need be.

The best use (I think) is what I use it for. Cramped, running direct, in-ear monitoring, and any other use where real estate is limited would be my qualifiers.

In your situation I think a DI might be the best solution too. I'm glad you like the sound and utility of your new DI.

Good review Bo!

Dave

Here is my review of your review.

I think you really showed a command of the English language. You help my interest the entire time. You made me believe you had some real feelings for this product. I could tell you brought it home and found a place for it in your family.

Furthermore you made ME want to go out and buy this product, and buy it with great confidence that I, too, would come to love and enjoy it as much as you did.

I will look forward to more reviews from the Bo I know. I shall awaite each one, sitting at the very edge of my seat, great expectations dancing through my head!

Good review Bo. No out volume is odd. All front end gear needs that
IMO for proper gain staging.

I agree, a preamp should have some way to adjust volume. I'm not sure how they settled on output gain though. When I amped it at home I didn't notice any boost when I engaged it while flat.

MXR, SansAmp, and EBS have gain/volume or whatever on their units...

---

Compared to the Seymour Paranormal...



--Bo

Yo Bo,
Sweet! Very well written! You should send this one in to a Magazine so, it can get Published! :^D
Black Hawk