Behringer BDI21

Pretty easy to suss out, manual straightforward.

Play early '80s Tokai P-Basses with SD Hot Vintage PUs, through Trace Elliot - with pick or fingers. Generally use 'SVT' setting with just a tad more bass, giving quite a passable impression, with no EQ (flat) on amp. Good sounds acheivable from; Jah Wobble, JJ Burnel to Paul Simonon..& much more. Awful overdrive sounds, but for those kind of sounds would use Guv'nor & TS808 anyway, which work well together with the Behringer.
DI level pretty weak, similar to Sansamp.
No problems with noise whatsoever.
Not quite got the edge on Sansamp, hence 8 out of 10. However,not far off,& at a fraction of the cost.

Cannot comment, have not had pedal long enough.
However, plonk it on top of the amp on all the time, rather than on the floor - so have no issues with the plastic case. I gig with it, seems dependable enough not to need backup.
Guess I'll have to wait & see.

N/A

Really like this pedal, & would recommend at least trying it. For the price can't really go wrong.Hats off to Behringer, really couldn't give a sh*t about the Sansamp rip-off/clone debate. I also have a Sansamp, & this comes nearly as close, to my ears anyway, to emulating classic SVT,Marshall,warm dubby tones. I would buy another if this was nicked. I also like the fact that this is affordable - enabling those on perhaps a lower income or younger persons to get fairly decent sound with quite average amp/guitar set-up.I fail to understand how Tech 21 can justify such a high price. I'm sure many will disagree with this comment, & may even receive some flak,but that's just my opinion. Go give the BDI21 a go.

Very easy to use right out of the box and has great sound quality!

Very excellent sound quality using it as a practice box directly conneted to a Rockbass practice tape player, but IS NOT GOOD FOR LIVE DI BOX FOR A BAND DIRECT TO THE BOARD!!!! Very weak signal from the XLR output connection

Build very good looks like steel but is plastic, but very sturdy plastic!

Have not used Customer Support!

Overall a very good sound for practice and for studio applications but thats it! Very good sound for the money! Will keep it as part of my pedal board and will have to get a basic DI box for live performaces!!

Made in 2006 in China

I haven't tried other products such as the Sans Amp but this little unit definately warmed up my SWR. I really liked the SVT and Fat Tube settings

The Pedal is solid, knobs feel substantial

Haven't had it long enough to comment

Warranty is for 1 yr.

I was impressed. A great tool for adding just the right amount of warmth or punch.

Getting great tones out of this was simple. There are a few example starting places in the user guide.
The manual is just a couple sheets, but there is not a real need for anything too in-depth as this is a pretty easy device to use.
Everything is laid out very nicely.

I've tested this with an Ibanez Soundgear with active pickups and with an OLP MM2 passive, and it is dead silent. I am not using a DC adaptor yet, but I plan to do so. Experience in the past is that it pays to get a good quiet (made for music) adaptor.
All the suggested settings sound pretty much like what they're suggested for. It's not really an effect box, so don't expect it to be. I go from my bass into this, and from there into a QSC 1450, into a Behringer 1x15 and SWR 4x10 cabinet. It rocks!
I've gotta give it a 10. A lot of folks say that this box is a clone of a Sansamp. Well, I have not A/B'ed them side-by-side, but I have tried the Sansamp, and I don't remember it being any better than this one. And you gotta look at the price difference - I could buy abotu 6 of these - and the build quality is rather decent.

Don't know about the long-term reliability. The build quality seems fine though. Although the outside case is plastic, is is NOT NOT NOT like those small Dano or other Behringer pedals. This is a pretty beefy unit. I am not concerned that the case is plastic. I think it would crack if dropped from 4-5 feet, but probably not less than that.
I will use it without a backup because I don't ahve any worries about this based on others' reviews.
To be honest though, I am not going to rate reliability because I have not had very long. I expect it to be reliable.
The controls are very solid, they don't move around on you, although it can be a bit hard to see which way the arrow is pointing (9:00 od 3:00). The footswith is made of plastic, but the actual switch is the same switch used in pedals from any other manufacturer. I don't see it breaking unless it takes a weird drop, but hey, that could happen. In my case, it's staying on, on top of my rack anyway. But I would not be afraid of it breaking in normal use.

I have dealt with Behringer on a couple occasions. Once was through e-mail and that was fast and accurate. Once was live on the phone, and they tried to tell me that defective behavior was normal. So, I think you're better off logging a case on their website. So, I can average out a 10 and a 3 for this one.

My overall rating for this one is a solid 10. It feels good, it sounds good, and it kinda looks good too. For $30, it's hard to pass up - even if you only use it as a DI box.
I'ts a great buy, and I think if you A/B'ed it with a Sansamp blind, you could not tell the difference.

Just to keep it short, I wanted a Sans Amp Bass DI. A friend with inside info told me that Behringer makes great clones of Tech 21's gear (as well as Boss's pedals) for much less money. So I took a gamble on trying this unit and risking $29, verses $200 on a sans amp DI. I am very happy with the Behringer. I saved alot of moolah and it sounds absolutely the same as the Sans Amp. Sorry Tech 21. you make a nice product, but Behringer is just as good and cheaper. Much cheaper. The unit looks and feels solid. I predict it will last for many years. Very satisfied with it. I use it to plug my bass directly into a Yamaha MD8 multi track recorder. It gets sounds that vary from absolutely flat and dry to a scooped out SVT, and even some growling distortion. The distortion is not my cup of tea. I prefer a certain green tube distortion emulating pedal for that.

I have been playing for 25 years, and I know what I'm talking about when it comes to bass guitars. This is a great unit and a fantastic value.

I found it easy to use - be aware that the knob settings are more interactive than a lot of other pedals so put some time in. Use the sugested settings as a start. My main setting for this unit is everything between 1 o'clock and 1:30 except blend which I run flat out.

Use mainly an '82 Precision and an OLP Musicman copy. I've used it into an amp and also recorded a few tracks on a country CD direct to the board with it.

The only negative for me is that the distortion tends to come on in a rush at about 3 o'clock on the drive knob. I'd like it to be more progressive as it's important to me to get it "just right" - a slightly overdriven sound (think Cream era Jack Bruce), but not World War III.

I've had no noise problems, by the way.

Don't know about reliability; it's survived so far and is currently on loan to a buddy of mine who uses it with a Jap Precision in her country band. She loves it.

I'd use it without a backup because it's not a vital part of my rig, and also I haven't had any probs with Behringer gear so far.

Never had to deal with them.

I play all styles; Blues, Rock, Country, Cabaret, Rock'n'Roll. I've got tons of gear but my main instruments are an '82 Precision and an OLP Musicman copy (which I absolutely LOVE). I've been playing for nearly 30 years. I play for a living and do live gigs as well as the occasional session work.

I'll state here that I have a Tech21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, which this unit IS a copy/clone/ripoff/whatever of, and I'd summarise by saying that if you can afford the SansAmp, get that. If not, the Behringer is stunning value for the bucks and definitely gets you over half-way there sound-wise.

I bought this on a whim, 'coz it's so cheap, thinking to use it as a distortion pedal for live use where I can't be twiddling knobs on the SansAmp(can't afford a second Sansamp at the moment). I ended up leaving it in the car so it's normally always with me in case I need it at short notice.

I'm not crazy about the construction - I'm happy enough with the sound that I would have gladly paid a few extra bucks for a metal case and decent knobs/jacks/footswitch.

I've given it 8 because it's not quite up to the SansAmp but I reiterate that it is excellent bang-for-the-buck.

It's easy enough to use, the manual is straightforward and, to be honest, fairly unecessary! Six knobs which are easy to figure out.

I run a Wesley bass into this box, then straight to either an HH 2x12 combo, a smaller practice amp, or direct to desk.

At first I was fairly happy, managed to play around and get a few decent clean sounds. Turned the gain up past 2 'o' clock and it sounded terrible, so definitely not good for distorted tones.

However, as I played around with it, I occassionally switched to bypass and...it always sounded better. The effected signal always had less depth, clarity and - most notable - less VOLUME. Even on maximum "level" there is a slight volume cut when you engage the effect.

No matter what I did with the knobs, or however good I got it sounding with the effect on, my bass just always sounded better with the effect off.

The only possible exception is if you turn the "presence" knob up quite high. Then you can get a pretty cool funk-bass sound...but again, there's a volume cut.

I also found it fairly noisy, which would be forgivable if the effected signals was LOUDER than the bypass, but it isn't

It seems solid enough, except for the footswitch which is a bit scary. Plastic is never good news, but then there's plastic and there's plastic. This is fairly stury, and is also heavier than you expect it to be which was why I was pleased when I recieved it. I don't think it would take a LOT to break it.

no experience

I wanted to use this in church, to save myself having to bring some pre-amp pedals AND a DI box. I may still use this as a DI box, since for the price it's hardly worth trying to sell. If I'd kept the packaging I'd probably return it.

The effected sounds can be pretty good at times, but when you consider the noise, the volume drop, and the lack of a decent overdrive capability, I don't really think it's worth it. I was going to try a GDI21 as well but I think I won't bother.

As I said, if you're into funk-bass the "presence" knob is pretty good for giving your bass some edge. But is that enough to redeem the pedal?

I think this really reinforces the adage, "you get what you pay for".

I'm only submitting this to make a suggestion to users. I used to own a Sansamp Bass Driver and you're right, it doesn't work that well straight to the board. You really have to boost the level to be heard. It will work great through your amp, though, if you run it through the FX send/return. It will color the sound without distorting (unless you want it to). That's all!

I love the sound. Adds a little bit of tube grit/warmth to my sound without sounding like distortion. I hate distorted bass, but this will do that well if that is what you want.
Manual gives a few suggested settings which is very helpful as a starting point.

I have an active 5 string bass. Amp is GK800RB into Hartke 410 cabinet.

No unwanted noise/hiss during use, or when activating/deactivating.

Does not work as a DI as it is advertised as. No volume whatsoever from the DI to a board. Have heard this from other users as well. I didn't buy it as a DI though. I bought it to use as an effect which is works well for.

The week spot on this pedal is the on/off button itself. Feels pretty flimsy and lightweight. Luckiliy I use this pedal as part of my sound, so I rarely click on and off. If that were the case, I'm not sure how long it would last.

Overall, I like what this pedal does for my sound. Heard great things about the Sansamp BDDI, which this is basically a copy of for about an 8th of the price.

As a DI, it sucks. As an effect emulating a bit of the Ampeg growl, it works great.

Tweak the knobs and find your sound. It's pretty self explanitory.
Manual gets the point across.

I use it with a MIA Jazz Bass and a Washburn T-14 { special edition}
Unit is only slightly noisy with the presence between 3 and 6 o'clock.
But then again, most pre-amp/stomp boxes are. This unit does what it's suppose to. It's not a distortion pedal it's a tube emulator.
I use it mostly direct to a sound board. I can get all the sound I want with it. The sound is warm and beefy, with lots of presence and air.

Built like a tank. It's plastic but it's the good kind. Not that cheap crap. It's got weight to it which I like. It's a sign of quality in my book.

Never dealt with Behrenger.

I play worship, rock, blues, and fusion. This pedal does what I tell it. I wish it had an on/off switch to save battery juice.
I owned a Sansamp bass driver and this pedal almost has it nailed. The Sansamp is four times the price it should be better! If it isin't they are going to lose a lot of money because of this pedal.
Hey, it's $30.00 bucks buy one! If it's not what you expected your only out 30 bucks. I think you'll like it though.