Best way to go straight into PA?

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

Sorry, was a bit unsure where to post this.

My Markbass broke a couple weeks back, still being fixed now, so I'm borrowing an amp from a friend.

It got me thinking about a backup though.

We have a DI, just a Pulse £30 jobbie, but we use that for keyboard.

What's the best little box (affordable, £150ish) I can get for bass so I can just go into the desk and use the monitors and PA?

[LukeFRC]

I'm sure that folk will come along with lots of knowledge, and some will suggest nice valve DI boxes.... personally I just use any cheap one as it seems to work fine

[Ghost_Bass]

The Behringer ULTRA-DI (DI100) is a very good and cheap one, no need to waste too much money in a backup solution.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Ghost_Bass

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

I've seen those Sansamp type ones, with a bass "sound" inside it, with EQ and stuff...

Sorry, I'm not much of a bassist, don't know all the terminology haha.

[Ghost_Bass]

But do you need the EQ on those DIs? I only see a point for that if you use some kind of driven or "valvey" sound of if your mixer doesn't have a good pre-amp. The tone sculping can (and will) be done on the desk. This is, of course, for the "going straight to the desk" option.

[LiamPodmore]

One of the Sansamp type Pre-Amps would probably be your best bet if you want some tonal control from your end, i love my Behringer BDI-21 and you can pick them up for next to nothing, mine was only £30 new, though if you wanted you could easily get the Sansamp version AND the Behringer in that budget. If you love the sound of your bass flat then a bog standard DI box like the one above will do just fine.

Liam

Edited July 9, 2012 by LiamPodmore

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

The desk is a Presonus 24.4.2, and the amp is a EV CP2200.

So I should just get a decent reliable DI box (active or passive? My bass is active)?

Edited July 9, 2012 by Herbie The Rad Dorklift

[Ghost_Bass]

You should get anything that'll leave you happy with your sound

But if your idea is to get your sound from the stage monitors (going out of the desk) and don't have any particular sound in mind that your mixer is unable to produce (presonus is a good mixer) then i think a simple DI would do the job.

Of course this is Bass Chat and as a member you can never have too much gear so if you have the chance to get a DI with more knobs and bulbs for a good price it wont hurt to have it...

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

I think a regular DI will do. As I said, I'm not much of a bassist right now, so any sound will do

Seeing as my bass is active, I can use a passive DI right? (I don't wanna eat 9v batteries!)

[Mog]

There's a few options. You could pick up something with a pre amp like a sans amp bddi or a mxr m80. Or if you just fancy a straight DI look at something from Radial. Their stuff is excellent IMO.

[bremen]

[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' timestamp='1341835037' post='1724722']


Seeing as my bass is active, I can use a passive DI right? (I don't wanna eat 9v batteries!)
[/quote]

That's right.

[lonestar]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1341832711' post='1724669']
The Behringer ULTRA-DI (DI100) is a very good and cheap one, no need to waste too much money in a backup solution.


[/quote] i use one of these direct into the PA with a link back to my Markbass combo.

[Herbie The Rad Dorklift]

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1341835528' post='1724732']


That's right.
[/quote]

Thanks! I'll check out Radial

[Jack]

The good thing about a Sansamp (or MXR, Sadowsky, Markbass, Hartke etc etc) type box is not only that it's a tone shaping DI, it's also a tone shaping effect. You could use the Sansamp as a distortion pedal in front of your amp on every gig, if you wanted.

I like my MXR for when I show up to a gig and the house amp is rubbish, I can guarantee a good house sound by using the MXR as a DI and then running it into the effects return of the amp.

[Lozz196]

If you`re happy with the Markbass sound, why not get their DI pedal:

http://www.markbass.it/product_detail.php?id=117

[ThomBassmonkey]

Another option is to go for a teeny tiny head.

The MB200 has a DI and is also a 200w amp so if your head goes down, you can plug it in and use it with your cab. http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_mb200.htm There's other similar amps out there too but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

The disadvantage though is you can't leave it in your signal chain like you could a Sansamp or similar. It depends if you want something you can instantly use (and potentially use as an effect before your amp) but will leave you without a head in emergencies or a head that you'd have to spend a minute re-plugging if it was needed.

[discreet]

Another vote for the BDI-21. Does the DI thing, [i]plus [/i]you get lovely, lovely valve warmth and then some. Does 95% of what a SansAmp will do, for a fraction of the price. I know Behringer gear gets a bad rep, but this is the one box that bucks the trend. Really. Twenty-five quid. What's not to like?

[url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/behringer-bdi21-v-tone-bass--26905"]http://www.dv247.com...one-bass--26905[/url]

Recommended. I use mine as a pre-amp. It's great.

Edited July 10, 2012 by discreet

[Lozz196]

+1 to the Behringer. It`s what I use. I`ve also recorded straight to desk with it, and it sounds very good, for such a small amount of money.

[xgsjx]

What about plugging the bass straight into the desk? I've done that a few times & had no issues.