Recommend me a DI

[franzbassist]

Hello all

I'd like to invest in a DI, so that on the rare occasion I need to go through a PA, I can send a signal to the desk using the "preamp out" on the back of my amp. Any recommendations?

Thanks

Gareth

[discreet]

Radial seem to have a good rep on here, but I've not actually used any of their products.
[url="http://www.radialeng.com/"]http://www.radialeng.com/[/url]

[funky8884]

Klark teknik DN100

[Lozz196]

Try and get a preamp DI maybe, that way if you have to use provided rigs you can still get near your tone pretty quickly?

[EBS_freak]

Orchid electronics...

[goblin]

I've got an MXR M80+ which does the job really well. I've also used the RMI Lehle Basswitch DI a few times (they're around the £300 - £400 mark though)

Sansamp get a lot of good feedback too.

[woodster]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1419082524' post='2636346']
Radial seem to have a good rep on here, but I've not actually used any of their products.
[url="http://www.radialeng.com/"]http://www.radialeng.com/[/url]
[/quote]

I use a Radial J48 live and I always get great comments from the sound guys.

[Reverend]

I, er... sort of didn't return a Countryman Type 85 DI box back to a well known band when they left it at the studio I used to work at. They never asked for it back. Hey, trust me they could've afforded a new one. This was back when well known bands actually used to make money :-)

Really good box though. I've tried much posher DIs and this sounds just as good as any of them. Another added bonus is that it's ACTUALLY indestructible. I know a couple of guitarists who tried mine and ended up using it for all their clean sounds on a couple of records rather than going through an amp.

[Ed_S]

I currently use either a Radial ProDI or Pro48 (depending on whether I'm using a passive or active bass) and would recommend either/both for being solid, relatively inexpensive and offering more pleasing results than I got with the cheap - but admittedly still completely useable - Behringer and ART boxes I had previously.

[quote name='Reverend' timestamp='1419119079' post='2636863']
I, er... sort of didn't return a Countryman Type 85 DI box back to a well known band when they left it at the studio I used to work at. They never asked for it back. Hey, trust me they could've afforded a new one. This was back when well known bands actually used to make money :-)

Really good box though. I've tried much posher DIs and this sounds just as good as any of them. Another added bonus is that it's ACTUALLY indestructible. I know a couple of guitarists who tried mine and ended up using it for all their clean sounds on a couple of records rather than going through an amp.
[/quote]

I've been thinking about getting a Countryman to add to the toolbox as it's well regarded and can run on a battery for those times when phantom power isn't available. Just wondered if you'd ever come across a situation where the lack of input pad on the Type 85 had been a problem with bass (not fussed about keys etc.) and you'd wished the Type 10 had been around to be left behind by the donor band?

[sk8]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1419085779' post='2636388']
Orchid electronics...
[/quote]

This

[Sean]

MXR M80+ for me.

[martthebass]

Another vote for the MXR M80+ here. Nice box, the distortion isn't too offensive should you want to use it, runs off phantom power, batts or DC and about £80 used.

[Bobthedog]

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1419176179' post='2637220']
MXR M80+ for me.
[/quote]

me too.

[sirmuppet]

I have the MXR M80+ and the Tech 21 VT Bass DI. It depends on what you need. Both are pre amp DI's. The M80+ for me does a better fuller clean tone than the VT bass. I'm not set on the MXRs Distortion channel much, I mean it's ok but there's better stand alone drive pedals out there.

The VT bass does a great clean tone, maybe not as full as the MXR but certainly more to my taste and the gain allows you to get a really Ampeg type tone. Can get very aggressive quick.

My pick of those 2 would be the VT Bass but that's if you're after a DI with a Preamp (which is a good idea). If you're after a stand alone DI then ignore me

[EBS_freak]

If you are sending to desk, you may aswell just use a DI as all the tone shaping should be done of the desk to accommodate the needs of the room/performance of the PA.

[BassBod]

Assuming you will always be using an amp, (and don't use radical eq) then Radial ProI (passive) run from the effects send or line output. No hum, no hiss and no nasty overloads. And engineers will recognise and use it.

Orchid (active) boxes are great if you want a flat and faithful sound of your instrument, but they can be overloaded by line level sends from an amp and the distortion is harsh (yes, I've done it). Again they will be recognised and respected by engineers..always a good thing.

Edited December 22, 2014 by BassBod

[Sean]

My M80 is my third one. I keep coming back to them. I've tried a Sansamp, Sadowsky, Behringer, EBS, Aguilar Tone Hammer but always come back to the M80, it's my sound. I love the distortion on it and use it loads.

[jazzyvee]

I use a Radial DI ProD2

[Ant]

if i needed tone shaping and DI in one box, my vote would go for the Darkglass Electronics Vintage Microtubes or the Tech21 VT Bass DI (had originally written this off, but heard some more demos today and was quite shocked by how ace it sounded),

for my own needs i run a Suncoast B1P bass Preamp into a Palmer PDI-09 passive DI with speaker sim (stops the distortions sounding fizzy out front) then into my power amp and cab

[Roland Rock]

It's a bit overkill, but the Avalon U5 is superb, although probably too big to use solely as a gigging DI. I use it, but only because it doubles as my preamp. If we're talking small boxes, the passive radial is faultless.

[franzbassist]

Thanks, one and all, for the replies. I don't need any tone shaping, so it's purely what's best to use running from the "preamp out" or "effects send" of my amp. Looks like the Radial ProDI is a front runner.

[Alec]

Radial Pro DI - passive, well respected, £80-85.

Orchid Electronics - a hidden British gem reviewed [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may12/articles/orchid-di-boxes.htm"]here[/url]
[url="http://www.orchid-electronics.co.uk/classic_DI.htm"]Classic DI[/url] - active, standard DI format, £36 inc postage
[url="http://www.orchid-electronics.co.uk/micro.htm"]Micro DI[/url] - active, no through output (fine for what you want, no good if you wanted to feed straight from your bass to the PA, and then into the amp), £25 inc postage.

Cheaper still - Studio Spares AR133 copy (does a decent job, £25), Behringer DI100 (common, OK, £20). But why pay that when you can get so much better for so little more.

[franzbassist]

Yes, the Orchid is pretty tempting at that price

[EBS_freak]

Micro DI no brainer

[ubit]

[quote name='goblin' timestamp='1419086992' post='2636413']
I've got an MXR M80+ which does the job really well.


[/quote]

+10 for the MXR, it's what I use all the time for distortion. I love the sound. It's much better than any distortion pedal I've used because it's distortion instead of fuzz! Plus, if my amp packs in, I've got a di already with me! Sorted!