Posh DI Box- is it worth it?

[scalpy]

Hi all. I’ve got a nice session coming up with a team I’ve worked with before. It’s a social as much as a job and part of the tradition is surprising each other with a new bit of kit. Despite being on basschat I don’t really covet much but was thinking about something along the lines of Reddi or the Demeter on here at the moment. Normally my signal path is DI out the amp (markbass) and a large mic on the cab (U67?!?). Would I or the engineer gain that much from a decent DI signal? I’d ask the engineer but it’s him who likes the surprises!

[Happy Jack]

Some sooper-dooper DI boxes can add something to your original signal (let's go for a cliche here, how about "a warm valve sound") but that rather pre-supposes that you feel your original signal is lacking that something.

I use passive non-valve Radial boxes which don't interfere with the signal (at least, not in way that I can detect) on the basis that, if I'm recording something, then what I want to record is me and what I really sound like.

[scalpy]

6 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Some sooper-dooper DI boxes can add something to your original signal (let's go for a cliche here, how about "a warm valve sound") but that rather pre-supposes that you feel your original signal is lacking that something.

I use passive non-valve Radial boxes which don't interfere with the signal (at least, not in way that I can detect) on the basis that, if I'm recording something, then what I want to record is me and what I really sound like.

Thanks for that, but I was thinking more about something with a bit of personality. The studio has some hand built boxes done the old engineer, so I think ‘super accurate neutral’ is covered- should’ve made that clearer in the original post. 

[Happy Jack]

My best guess would be that, whatever DI box you use, the personality will be Markbass!

[scalpy]

I think you maybe right! Although typing I think I need more personality in the sound in my last post did make me realise I need to get a Darkglass or tone hammer, something along those lines. Cheers for the help though!

[WinterMute]

The Rupert Neve DI is a bloody marvel, a seriously great peice of kit, if you’re going to splash out, do yourself (and your engineer) a favour and try one.

[therealting]

I opted for a Sadowsky preamp/DI. Definitely makes a huge difference!

[dannybuoy]

What kind of stuff will you be playing, and with which bass?

If I were in your position, and of going after more vintage sounds I would probably be looking at a REDDI. The Tonehammer is also great, and a fraction of the price.

[Pea Turgh]

ZOD bass DI - Gearslutz people rave about them;

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1106476-incredible-zod-bass-di-saves-mix-day.html

[therealting]

1 hour ago, Pea Turgh said:

ZOD bass DI - Gearslutz people rave about them;

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1106476-incredible-zod-bass-di-saves-mix-day.html

Interesting - wonder how it compares with, say, the Noble. 

[scalpy]

5 hours ago, WinterMute said:

The Rupert Neve DI is a bloody marvel, a seriously great peice of kit, if you’re going to splash out, do yourself (and your engineer) a favour and try one.

Neve looks great, and would fit right in as the studio is peppered with mk1 stuff built by the man himself. Definitely on the maybe list.

[dannybuoy]

http://ozbassforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=18636

 

 

[scalpy]

3 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

What kind of stuff will you be playing, and with which bass?

If I were in your position, and of going after more vintage sounds I would probably be looking at a REDDI. The Tonehammer is also great, and a fraction of the price.

The material is pretty poppy, and the engineer is expert at getting a great organic sound. I’m going to approach most tunes with the lb-100 p with flats, the ASAT with rounds will feature on the louder stuff and there will some fake synth stuff as well! 

[scalpy]

1 hour ago, Pea Turgh said:

ZOD bass DI - Gearslutz people rave about them;

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/1106476-incredible-zod-bass-di-saves-mix-day.html

Uh-oh, that looks perfect. 

[dannybuoy]

https://reddit.app.link/IPahA3gTqN

[project_c]

I can recommend the Motown DI, works beautifully for me but I think I might be the only person in the UK who bought one, not sure how popular it is. It’s expensive as fük for what you get, but I fell in love with the sound. Some reviews say it’s transparent, others say it affects the sound drastically. It ultimately depends on how hot your pickups are, but it works wonders on a good old single coil, if you like a warm old school tone.

[Happy Jack]

The thing about all these really wonderful warm-up-your-sound get-that-vintage-tone persuade-people-that-you're-Jamerson DI boxes (and believe me, I'd be happy own each and every one of them) is that a far more economical approach would be to buy a top-quality vintage combo and stick a mic in front of it ...

 

[scalpy]

16 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

The thing about all these really wonderful warm-up-your-sound get-that-vintage-tone persuade-people-that-you're-Jamerson DI boxes (and believe me, I'd be happy own each and every one of them) is that a far more economical approach would be to buy a top-quality vintage combo and stick a mic in front of it ...

 

I can certainly see your logic, and I’m confusing myself with options as this thread goes on (!) but the old school combo thing and me doesn’t gel, I’ve played through John Giblin’s B15 and it was well rough and the b15 that used to reside at AIR Montserrat, and that broke.... At the moment the ZOD has the cache but the vintage deluxe micro tubes might have the most applications after the session. 

[dannybuoy]

If you've not tried the Darkglass stuff and have a recording interface setup at home, give the Darkglass plugins a whirl (I believe they have a free trial) to see how you get on!

There is also a Pike Vulcan XL for sale in the classifieds which is very similar.

[la bam]

How about a flyrig?

Loads of sounds, equipment and FX to play with including a great di.

 

[Treb]

Bo Hansen's DI perhaps. It's a DIY DI-box with a choice of three transformers. Can be made on a tight budget or you could really push the boat out and go for a top quality Lundahl transformer. 

Info here: https://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=36569.0

[dannybuoy]

I won’t pretend to know much about or even be able to hear the differences between some of the fancy DIs mentioned here.

But if you’re looking for an overdrive preamp pedal (which it sounds like if you are interested in the Darkglass Vintage) that sounds delicious with a P and flats, I would opt for a Tonehammer over the Vintage.

[scalpy]

2 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

I won’t pretend to know much about or even be able to hear the differences between some of the fancy DIs mentioned here.

But if you’re looking for an overdrive preamp pedal (which it sounds like if you are interested in the Darkglass Vintage) that sounds delicious with a P and flats, I would opt for a Tonehammer over the Vintage.

That’s interesting to know, I tried a tone hammer 500 recently and liked the ags sound, just didn’t go for it as I couldn’t change sounds quick enough (a lot of my gigs are pretty frenetic or I can’t reach the amp). The pedal therefore might be a good ploy, thank you.

[WinterMute]

On 03/06/2018 at 00:09, scalpy said:

Neve looks great, and would fit right in as the studio is peppered with mk1 stuff built by the man himself. Definitely on the maybe list.

It's top of my wishlist.

Some of the other units mentioned look great though, I'm going to have to do a bit of comparison.

[pete.young]

DHA VT1 Pro would be worth a look too. Has a great DI on it.