Behringer BDI21

As almost all Behringer stompbox manuals this one is virtually useless when it comes to getting sound out of the stompbox, bu I have to give a thumbs up for the example presets in the manual.
This is not a very simple pedal, while it is very straight forwards in what each knob does, it's not easy to get THAT sound out of it, one little touch in one of the knobs makes all the difference.

I use this always on as a preamp but i've tried a lot of presets and it's a very versatile box, from Muse like fuzz to that slight distortion on hard notes like a valve preamp to the thick almost synth bass sound, it's got it all.
As noise goes it's got some, especially when the treble or presence knobs go more than 2o'chlock but it's nothing noticeable while playing.

I use it every day and don't fear for it. Ofcource I'm not kiking it all the time and don't even use it as a normal pedal but I don't think it is as fragile as most people say it is.

Till now Behringer as been very supportive and answered all my questions so 10 them

This is, without a doubt, a great box. I will only stop using it if I get something like a Bass V-amp or if I get some very Top of the line preamp otherwise this does a perfect job.
From what i've seen of it so far (like one year with it now) it is perfect for use with bright basses so you don't need to crank up the presence and treble so much an thus you don't have so much noise.
If you doubt the sound power of this box just search for the blind test of it against the Tech21 BDDI on Talk bass forums.
To make this a perfect thing for me was making a rackmount version of it with mid and mid freq controls.

Pretty good sound. Have used it in many live gigs and the fact that I can control my sounds the way i like it (without the pa man doing it) is great.

I purchased this mainly because it was as close as I could get to a 'cheap' Sans Amp stomp box. However I did find it lacked a little in tweaking sound. There wasnt much difference in changing the Blend/Bass control as they sounded similar, making the blend control kind of useless. And the bass didnt really give out must extra bass when pushed to its max.

However the drive, treble, and presence did indeed give my bass a great tone for funk/slap/soloing. Combining this with some compression from some pa effects makes it even better!

I have used this pedal for 3 years in every gig i have ever performed. Has never let me down, and it saves alot of hassles for me having to carry a bass amp/cab around as it has a DI in it as well.

never had to call them.

The pedal has lasted a long time and has never failed on me. The high tones (such as presence, treble, drive) can be tweaked really well making it a great substitute for a Sans Amp pedal if you dont want to spend alot of cash. However it lacked bass. The blend control was sort of useless as well, as the bass control pretyt much did the same thing. However, yet its worth every penny if you are on a budget & want a nice crunch to your bass to cut through a mix.

Very easy to use: has drive, bass, treble, level, blend (wet/dry), and presence.
Knobs feel a bit tacky like all Behringer gear, but... whatever.

Also ground lift switch for the balanced out.

Using with a Fender Jaguar Bass (similar to Jazz Bass), into a Warwick Blue Cab 60.

I love this thing. I've always found my Blue Cab to be a bit straight and boring, and never found the EQ to be very effective. The BDI gives me the compression, drive and EQ that I've been after.
Nothing fancy... It's not going to massively wow you, but it just gives me the tone I've been after.

No noise issues, even at pretty high drive levels. Bit of noise at max. drive, but really it's superb.

Personally haven't had a problem. I don't actually put it on the floor, because I always have it on, so it just sits atop my amp.
Have heard the foot switch is a bit dodgy, but I never stomp it.

I always have a spare DI in my bag for gigs, but have never had to use it.

Am playing in funk/pop band at the moment, and this box makes me much happier. That little bit of compression can really improve your sound and ability to sit in a mix. Bass DI straight into a mixer can be horrible, especially if the sound guy is doing the wrong thing with the EQ. This way you get to control your own sound on stage!

Controls are self-explanatory. Manual is adequate. Download a manual for the Tech 21 Sans Amp for some sample settings.

Sounded fine when it worked (see below). I don't think it would fool anyone into thinking you were really playing through a tube amp, but it's a nice mellow alternative to the standard solid-state sound.

Oops. Right off the bat, the footswitch wouldn't work consistently. The unit would get stuck in either the on or off position until you hit the footswitch a dozen or so times. Totally useless for live play.
Knobs worked fine, I'll give it that.

Dunno, haven't contacted them.

Quality control is clearly a problem for Behringer. This is the fifth pedal I've bought by them. It's the fourth one I've returned. I wish they'd get it together -- when they work, they usually sound good and sure are a bargain.

Pretty straightforward -- various tone knobs, plus level, drive, and blend. Manual is good. You'll probably have to spend a few minutes of trial and error to find the sound you're looking for, but that's to be expected with any pedal with more than one knob . . .

Sounds nice. I don't think it'll fool anyone into thinking that it's really a tube amp, but it mellowed out my solid state amp nicely.

Aye, here's the rub. The footswitch was screwy. The unit would get stuck either on or off and I'd have to hit the switch a dozen or more times to get it to switch. Pretty much makes the damn thing unusable live.

Don't know. Luckily, the store I bought it from gave me a refund no questions asked.

I've bought 5 Behringer pedals this year. Returned all but one of them for various reasons. Think I've finally learned my lesson . . .

One incredibly annoying little thing about these is the the knobs have no visible pointers, so it's impossible to tell if your setting is pointing at nine o'clock or three o'clock if you're more than two inches away from the knob. I'm still fooled 50% of the time. I'll paint indicators on eventually.

I got this purely as a simple DI unit for quick recording of decent scratch tracks when I don't have time to mess with programming a digital patch or micing-up an amp. It's easily good enough for that.

1: The output level is indeed anemic with the balanced out, as many other reviewers here and elsewhere have pointed out. It's not a problem, but if you don't have input trim/boost adjustments on your board with weak-gain preamps, it looks like it could be a very near thing for you.

2: The noise floor on my unit is inaudible, at least on battery. Zero hiss that I can detect with headphones or monitors, so any noise is below that of the other equipment and interference, which is very low in my studio.

3: This is absolutely NOT a direct copy of a SansAmp. It also sounds substantially different, but in a blind test of .MP3 samples of the two units, about half the respondents preferred the Behringer in an online forum.

4: I have read complaints that this unit taking the high-mid punch out of many bass's tones. I think there may be something to that, but I have not had time to fully examine that claim.

5: If you are using the BDI21 as an effect rather than a DI box, your sound will be greatly influenced by your amp and existing effects. Even with tone set flat on the amps, the BDI21 sounded VERY different when used with the numerous professional SWR and Ampeg amp/cabs in my studio. Likewise with one bass to the next.

Mine arrived new with the switch actuator button damaged. The internal button mounting flange was loose because the screws that secured it were stripped out in the cheap plastic used for the case. There were two other stripped screws inside the unit. The switch itself is just a PCB-mounted microswitch (as on nearly every other effect today) but the actuator button seriously overstresses the PCB if you step on it because it pushes down too far. While repairing the stripped out screws, I put some fiber washers under the on/off PCB to increase the standoff distance from the button shaft. Works better and more safely now, but would have eventually broken otherwise.

No experience with this. I figured it was easier just to repair my unit myself.

For the price, and despite its numerous small annoyances, this is a fantastic value for a DI unit -- IF you get a good one. It is a complex circuit using micro surface-mount robotic build. While the claims of it being a straight copy of a SansAmp are nonsense, the BDI21 is close enough in sound to the SansAmp to make paying the extra money for one unattractive.

pretty easy to use given the inmense tonal options it gives. basically, a sans amp bass driver clone.

the sound is great, it givs so many possibilities that i can get enough of the thing. I was aiming for the "real" one, but like all my behringers, i bought it to have an idea of the aproximated sound, to see if I like it and not spend a fortune. like all my behringers, it stayed on my pedalboard and never left. Svt and fat tube settings are brilliant, and some twitching of the knobs gives very quickly the all sought after geddyleeesque drive, but it also gives a fairly good impersonation of crimson tones. that's where the thing really shines. I use it as a conventional stomp box, although I tried it once direct to my computer to record some ideas, and it dit it very well. Great preamp unit on it's own. I found myself plugin it directly to the "power amp in" of my good ol fender bxr combo, skiping the pre an eq stage of the combo completely. I think i'm gonna try some power amp and bass cabinet with it. Great sound, great tone, no hum or noise. If you like a great, defined, bassy punch, without getting into mushy mud on mud sound, this is a MUST. Finger picks are a blast.

behringer surprises with, in one hand, units that die in a week and in the other, units that take abuse forever. so no one knows. I, for one, never had a problem ith this thing or all my other behringers. It's plastic, but also cars, houses and food, this days. What do ya want for the price?

never needed to

Great value for money. Great sound and a whole new array of posibilities. tweek it bad, and it'll sound that way. No mystery there. It looks good too, the colour is nice and it is compact as hell, so you can literally carry a dozen tones and "rigs" in the bass bag. At this price, go get one, and you'll see. I don't know about playing with it "sans an amp", but right know, i wouldn't be surprised it sounded good enough. Still i want the tech 21, of course, but with this ting I can wait almost forever for it.

Dialing up a sound on this is simple. The examples in the one sheet manual are helpful. I wish it had a mid control, but that can be approximated by reducing the other frequencies and pushing the volume back to unity gain.

I have an Ampeg tube pre that sits at home because this thing works so well and is easier to haul around.

The distortion is a bit fizzy for my tastes. It is hard for transistors to replicate the warm, buttery distortion of power tubes. I have had good luck by rolling back the treble and presence. I play with a varying assortment of guitarists at my church, so if they play acoustic or have a thin sound, I push the mids and distortion up a bit to compensate.

As far as sound I'm going for, I'm halfway between Pat Seals of Flyleaf and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This unit gets most of the way there, though having a real Music Man bass would help a lot. I have a pair of fives I use for playing: An older California-made TBC and an Chinese-made OLP.

I go straight into the board from the BDI21, no problems noticed with the levels. The way I use it, the unit isn't very noisy at all. More extreme distortion levels will push the noise floor up a bit, of course.

Reliability? I ran it over with my car! I stupidly left this and a Zoom unit behind my car while unloading at the house. the Zoom died, the Beringer survived...It still works great on a power adapter, but won't work with the battery any more.

I use it without a back-up all the time, although I could grab a direct box from the sound booth if this thing ever crapped out.

Although I should give it a 10 in this category, it *did* stop working on battery power after being run over by a *car*, hence the 9.

No direct knowledge concerning this unit.

I play everything from detuned metal/rock/punk to more pop-influenced modern worship, but always with a metal attitude. I like the fact that the sound cleans up when I play softer, but the same setting gives me an aggressive sound by attacking the strings harder. I can even play with a pick without losing the bottom end.

I use an Aviom digital in ear system for monitoring and a great set of Ultimate Ears 'phones, so I know exactly what I'm sending to the board, (the Aviom feed is pre-EQ). The down side is trusting the sound man after that, but they are pretty good for the most part.

Been a bass player for well over 20 years, going through Fender, Ampeg, GK and other pro gear. The BDI21 works for me, and fits in the pocket of my gig bag. I miss the visual impact of an amp that is taller than me, but since the church has thousands of watts behind the 4- 18" subs under the stage all that gear actually interferes with getting a good sound in the house (standing wave interference, phase cancellation and all that).

This is one of the greatest values anywhere.

If this was lost or stolen, I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

This unit is a good starting point for players trying to have a versatile rig. I can easily go from a sharp biting solid state "RUSH" sound to a warm dubby "early STONES" sound. The manual gives some great settings to get started and it delivers what is stated. The only reason this is not a 10 for ease is because it doesn't have the ability for Multiple presets.....c'mon at 29.99?

I stated above that this is very good for warm Blues/Blues Rock/Heavy Rock apps. But in my experience, there is not much in the way of 'overdrive' from the drive section. That's OK since I didn't expect it, but it would've been a nice surprise. I use a '78 Fender Mustang and a mid 60's Dano Longhorn through an early 70's Acoustic 136 and 140 head through a 12" and 15" EV. I don't use anything else on stage at the moment and the pedal gives me a few good variations that fit right in with the style of music I play.

So far So good. It seems well made and doesn't suck the battery dry fast. I have played several 4-5 hour shows on a single battery, although I do mute/unplug it while not playing. As stated by others, it is heavy for it's size and not fragile at all. I enjoy the rubber surface on the bottom that isn't like the small feet that alot of little pedals have that tend to fall off in your gig bag and leave it wobbly or slide on a slick stage. I have no backup for it yet, but I get one just because they're so inexpensive. (hopefully, my wife won't run over my gig bag again)

Only owned for a short time and no support had been required.

I am in a Classic Rock & Blues cover/original band that plays Stones, Zeppelin, Who, Beatles, Joe Cocker, Faces, Santana, etc. We play 2-3 shows a week at Cincinnati clubs/bars. I have been playing since 1980, when learned upright in the school orchestra. I would buy another of these pedals and am considering it now just to have a backup because these are so cheap. I compared it to a Hartke pedal that costs 2X and liked the tube sound of the Behringer better, the Tech 21 is out of my budget range. The Tech 21 sounds better and is more versatile, but at the price, the quality difference doesn't justify it. The weakness I found is that it doesn't OVERDRIVE like a tube amp at high levels. That may be due to my set up, but I have a couple of older tube amps for recording that get gritty when the gain goes up. Don't expect alot of that here. It does get a nice woody warm tube sound and can extend your low warmth without making unwanted noise. It gives me a few different bass sounds to work with on stage to change things up a little without getting too weird...we don't do much Zappa! Buy one if you need some change, but not too much change.

This is very easy to tweak to get any desired modification, the controls do what they say and they make sense.

I play a Spector Legend which is really good on its own and a Trace-Elliot AH250. At home, it goes straight into the pre-amp input of the amp and I am really satisfied with the level of control offered and the simplicity with which it is accomplished. The 12 bands or whatever EQ bands on the Trace are just not necessary for me. I love the warmth of the tube side of "blend", but not a big fan of the transistor side.

I play worship at a church and this is not a demanding gig for sound. Their is a trace combo there also and I run the amp from the line out with EQ flat and DI to the board. I have never had a problem with levels to the board, but like I say, the demands aren't great.

I will take this sound over just about anything I have tried.

This unit has never caused me a problem. I can depend on it and do use it without a backup. That is, I don't have another one. I do have another solution (amp DI) so it is not a huge risk at all.

Never needed any support on this. I have dealt with Behringer on another product. They were prompt but did not solve my problem. I actually found the answer here.

Evidently I play worship music and I like using this at church. Otherwise, it's just me and it is a great match. on my own, I like to rock out and find this supports a lot of stuff I do, though I am a set it and forget it kind of player. I would definitely get another if anything happened to this. The transistor tone is lifeless. Similar to another reviewer, the drive control is a lot heavy at higher settings and I don't go there.

I can't compare it to anything else