Man I just DI my bass into either my DBX or Mindprint preamp and hit record. I'm happy enough with my bass (schecter). Any effects I need will be done in mix. But usually don't need any except some subtractive eq'ing.

I usually just DI Bass myself. I have a SansAmp Bass Driver DI box. But, a lot of times I prefer the straight DI sound.
You might be surprised with what you get with just going with a DI signal. It's worth a try.

Just go direct with that interface. It'll be just fine. You can add the Sans-Amp and have a bit more control over the tone and the feel. It wont be better, just different.

I use an LR Baggs Para DI into a DBX compressor and get a nice smooth tone.

I use a Countryman Type 85 DI box. Using a high quality DI will make the recording brighter than just straight into the interface. It's actually better to think of it as being more 'accurate' while not using a DI box tends to dull the sound. After I take the DI, I sometimes track a second recording of the bass guitar through a piece of electric guitar gear, like a Tubescreamer, or Big Muff fuzz and blend it in underneath for some extra texture. This is not needed though, a straight DI is just fine for modern music.