Tech 21 SansAmp Para Driver DI

The ease of use on the para driver is quite intuitive, IF you know where the sweet frequencies are for different instruments. For those who don't know those things, the suggested settings in the manual are VERY helpful. Probably the biggest thing to get your mind around is just how many roles this thing can handle. If you're playing electric guitar, you can think of it in your signal chain as a great sounding, mic'd, clean amp (driven, if you prefer). If you're plugging in an acoustic, it will make that piezo sound like a mic. There's a millions more uses!

I give it a 7 because, although many people could probably get usable tones right out of the box, everyone really needs to read the manual to get the Para Driver's full benefit.

What you should know is that I actually work at a store that sells a ton of high tech guitar tools, but this is what I use for live performance. In my band, everyone leaves their amp at home and goes straight to the board with one of these. I'll rate it in the uses with which I'm familiar:

Electric Guitar: In my signal chain, I treat it like a clean, mic'd amp. The signal coming out of the para driver is like the signal coming from a mic in front of great sounding old Fender. My chain is Guitar, Boss CS-3 compressor, Ibanez Jemini, Dan-Echo Delay, Para Driver, then to the board. This simple set-up gives me three guitar tones (Jemini OD, Dist, and off) and all are absolutely luscious straight to the board. It's the best live tone I've ever had.

Acoustic Guitar: My main guitar is a Variax, so when I switch to an acoustic sound, the Para Driver is right there, making sure my piezos don't sound brittle. It really does sound like an "in the guitar" mic!

Bass: Forget about it. I've never had a mic'd bass amp sound this good. Ever.

I will end up purchasing 4-5 of these for my band. We play 80's pop (Rock Me Amadeus, Hungry Like The Wolf, Dance Hall Days, etc.....) and will be playing high-dollar gigs at large class reuinions, corporate parties, etc. We have two guitars and bass that will each be using a Para Driver, so I'll have 4-5 on hand just in case. But, I'll be surprised if I ever need a back-up. There's a ton of OLD sansamp classics out there that are pushing 20 and work just fine. As a Tech 21 dealer, I've never had to send one of their products back.

Customer support is very gracious. Ask for Lydia. She'll get you squared away.

Every guitarist/bassist should have one of these. Period. It's the greatest "swiss army knife" a guitar player could possibly have. Did I mention they're the greatest thing in the world for electric fiddle players? Gives them control over their sound, lets them go straight to the board, and takes away ALL that harsh quality to a plugged-in violin.

Live, I've used every conceivable way to get guitar sound to the audience and have never been happier with the end product (what comes out the PA speakers) as I am with the Para Driver. When recording, I use Gearbox by Line 6, Amplitube, and Izotope's Trash. But live, I want simplicity and TONE! I now have it.

You do have to use a parametric EQ in order to enjoy it right away... If not, tweak and tweak until you find out why you paid 200 bucks in it... Very esoterical like all Tech 21 stuff, but believe me folks... It delivers every penny invested... High quality design, components and concept...

Equalizer seem simple - almost "use if you want" stuff - but THEY AIN'T... So, if you do not feel "the need" of having one, don't spend your money in this or that EQ... Buy yourself a G-7 "graphic" equalizer and that's it... Now. if you want to milk your amps, get rid of stupid piezo sound in acoustics, or target "the tone" you have been seeking for your acoustic,electric or bass guitars, then buy one... If you play keyboard or sing, get it anyway...

The sound quality is very high, and can only compare with BBE Acoustimax (Wow!, but that is a larger unit (rather a desktop unit than a pedal)... So, if you are gigging, buy it!

Noise wise... Come on!

No doubt it will last... I've used Sansamp Classic, their new reverb pedal "Boost-RVB", and they all are sturdy units... I think they are made in the States, but I'm not sure...

They are great people... Very fun to talk with...

I said pretty much everything... You have to listen to it working to understand its real value... And then, tone is so subjective... But technical capabilities no, and this unit handles pretty much everything (it??s even a DI Box)in the best way you could demand...

It deserves a 12...

I got a good sound out of it almost immediately, used the manual and then tweaked from there. The controls are interactive so a little EQ knowledge is useful. As an example if you want more pronounced bass, you may want to adjust the treble and mids down, I all this negative EQing, not sure its the right term.

I would also recommend that you read through the manual just a little to get acquainted with what each control does, as the number of switches, dials and inputs and outputs can be a little intimidating.

Overall based on all my other pedals its a little harder to use, this is not a criticism, given all the features and capabilites, I'm not sure what else Tech21 could have done to make it any simpler.

I wanted this pedal primarily for my Godin LGX. The built in piezo and EQ system is good but there is only so much you can do with a solid body to make it sound like a real acoustic. Bottom line is that the LGX sounded thin and very piezoie through my acoustisonic amp. Of course my ears are tuned to my D35 through the Acoustisonic. With the Para Driver the Godin sounds rich and full, much more like a real acoustic. The Godin with the Para Driver make for a very convincing acoustic sound. I particularly enjoy the percussive nature of the sound very big, very convincing. Much warmer and sweeter sounding.

I should tell you how I use this pedal; LGX - Para Driver 1/4" instrument output - Boss DD20 Delay - Fender Acoustisonic 1/4" send to mixer (I do not mic this amp). I have not used the balanced output. I find that I need to dial in about 30 to 40% unprocessed sound directly from the Godin using the blend dial to get the sound that I like.

I have also used this pedal with my D35 in similar setup, while the difference in sound is not as great as it is with my LGX it is still there and worth having in the chain. Everything that I said about the Godin also applies to the Martin, in a slightly smaller dose.

I have only had this pedal for 1 month so too early to tell.

Haven't called them

I play a lot of different music classic rock, blues, but mostly contemporary worship music. I have been at it for over 20 years. I have a good ear for sound, or at least I have been told that I do. To me this pedal sounds right. Its not cheap, but what good piece of equipment isn't?

The only feature that I would like to see is the ability to mute the output. This would allow me to switch between acoustic and electric with out having to turn down the volume on my the LGX preamp.

The biggest compliment that I can pay this pedal is that I play my Godin through my acoustisonic much more now then I ever have. I can now save my Martin now for those very special occasions when only a Martin will do.

Very easy to use. There is an input drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, and Level (Output) control In addition, there is a Blend control which mixes the Input signal with the Tube emulation. You can also vary the mid-center frequency (which acts as a parametric equalizer); at 1 Khz the Mid acts as a standard Mid Boost/cut.

There is a Phantom power/ground lift switch, and there is an Instr/Line switch for both the XLR and the 1/4" outputs. In addition there is a Parallel output unaffected by the settings.

The unit can either be powered by a 9-volt wall wart or an Alkaline battery.

I play Flamenco guitar, with a Pickup-theWorld pickup (which has a very low output). The para-di does a great job of shaping the basic sound for my various amps (Behringer ACX450, Vox DA5 DA10), as well as providing a boost for the weak preamps of my VM3100Pro mixer.

The Tube emulation works well - it provides a basic grit without unduly enhancing the bass (for my pickups, I have to dial out most of the bass and midrange to get an even volume across the strings).

I A/B'd the Tech21 ($200) against the Behringer ADI21 ($30). The Behringer sounded fine for basic sound shaping, but didn't seem to boost the signal at all (there is no nput Drive control on the ADI21); in addition, the Blend wasn't as convincing ("tubey") as the Tech21.

I agonized over the difference, and finally went with the Tech21 because of the extra headroom provided by the Drive control and the increased flexibility and effectiveness of the Blend control. For me, it was worth the extra dollars. Nevertheles, I'll keep the Behringer around for backup - it does sound good in amps where pre-amplification of the input signal is not required.

It seems well built, but I haven't left home with it yet.

I spoke with Tech21 before purchasing, and the representative was very patient and helpful...

I play Flamenco, and it is very difficult to get a good sound that balances the rasgueo (strumming) with the complex note patterns characteristic of the genre. For my pickups, I usually find that the midrange of my amp is too honky (Roland cube) or too bassy by itself (the Behringer, which is excellent in every other way). It has been a 30 year journey to get rid of the quack (or feedback with external mics).

I also compared it with the Behringer Mic100 tube preamp and the PreSonus BlueTube... these preamps sound good, but are not battery powered, and have no equalizer.... (I find it usually necessary to cut both bass and mid to minimum, with the treble centered)

The Tech21 also is useful as an interface to my GS-10 for more exotic sounds as well as my VM3100Pro/RPC-1 for input to my DAW (Guitar Rig 3, Amplitube 2, Revalver MK II, usually applied as VST's within Ableton Live or Sonar)

I do think that it is a bit pricey if compared to the Behringer (which is not really fair, since the latter is made in China). However, $199 is a small price to pay for a convincing input to all of my configurations.

Prior to the Tech21, the mic input to my Boss GS-10 was the best solution.... the tech21 gives me battery operability.