Tech 21 XB Driver

The SansAmp XB Driver is the culmination of over 30 years designing gear for bass. We have integrated key elements from our most popular bass products –the SansAmp Bass Driver DI, Para Driver DI, Q\Strip and the dUg Pinnick Ultra Bass 1000– and condensed them into a single sleek machine. And just like that, you can go from traditional to diabolical.

The 100% analog, dual-channel SansAmp XB Driver is a veritable vault of treasured bass tones. It is a sophisticated dual-amp, bi-amp, DI toolbox with 15 knobs and 3 switches. Intuitively arranged, like familiar amplifier controls, you can craft a broad range of bass tones without a PhD. The Clean and Drive channels are full-frequency, independent channels that can be used individually or blended together via the Mix footswitch. In Mix mode, you can engage the crossover switch to activate the sweepable LPF & HPF filters, which enables you to even further carve out your own tone footprint.

While inspired predominantly by dUg Pinnick, the SansAmp XB Driver also gives a nod to other bass tone innovators such as Geddy Lee, John Entwistle and Chris Squire. All were notorious for running entirely separate, complicated bass amp systems together in a way that defied common logic yet yielded magical results. We applaud these heros and all they’ve achieved, and thank them for motivating us to develop the SansAmp XB Driver.

As is the case with all Tech 21 products, the controls are designed to give you maximum flexibility to obtain your desired sound. It is our hope that the SansAmp XB Driver will be a useful addition to your arsenal for stimulating your creativity and, ultimately, playing your best.

Each channel features:

BASS, TREBLE
Active tone controls that cut or boost from 12 o’clock, +/-12dB.

MID SHIFT & MID
Sweepable, semi-parametric EQ controls range from 100 Hz to 2 kHz, +/-16dB.

LEVEL
Adjusts the output level without altering any of the tonal characteristics.

MASTER VOLUME
Affects the overall volume of both channels.

Clean channel features:
COMP
Utilizes old school, all-analog, FET-based technology from the '50s and '60s, which is inherently warmer, more transparent, and more musical than other methods of compression.

Drive channel features:
DRIVE
Adjusts the overall amount of gain and overdrive.

BITE SWITCH
Activates a presence boost to tighten up the sound in distorted settings and add definition in clean settings.

PRE/POST SWITCH
Changes the placement of the mid-range.

CROSSOVER SWITCH
Engages the LPF and HPF when in Mix mode.