Tech 21 announces Frank Bello Street Driver 48 Signature SansAmp

September 20, 2023 · 4 sources

Tech 21 announced the Frank Bello Street Driver 48 Signature SansAmp, a bass preamp and DI pedal, on September 20, 2023¹. Bass Musician Magazine reported an anticipated availability of mid-October¹².

The pedal has four knobs: Drive for gain and overdrive, Low and High active EQ that cuts or boosts from 12 o'clock, and Level for output³¹. Two push buttons, Dirt and Filth, add gain and top-end³¹. Tech 21 describes the Dirt switch as adding "extra gain and overdrive for over-the-top nastiness" and the Filth switch as adding "top-end sizzle and razor edge clarity to emphasize your attack"³. The circuit is all-analog SansAmp Tube Amplifier Emulation, covering preamp, power amp and speaker simulation³. Tech 21 says the speaker simulation is designed for a smooth, even response as from a multiply-miked cabinet, and that an external IR can be placed after the pedal³.

Connections are a 1/4-inch instrument input, a 1/4-inch unbalanced output and a balanced XLR output with a ground connect switch³¹. The housing is all-metal with metal knobs, footswitches and jacks, and silent-switching footswitch actuators³. Power comes from an included 9V DC supply, Tech 21 model DC9, 250mA, 100-240V auto-switching with interchangeable international plugs³¹.

Guitar World gives a US price of $249⁴. Tech 21's page does not list a price³. Tech 21 says Bello bought his first SansAmp on Manhattan's 48th Street and later used the SansAmp Bass Driver as the heart of his rig for decades³.

Guitar World's reviewer, who states he is a friend of Bello and worked on his autobiography, called the pedal "such a triumph" and wrote that the controls are "all super sensitive"⁴.