What is a speaker level DI?

[Jamison]

I have a radial passive DI for home recording

 

i also have a orange AD200 that has no DI and the slave out is also not good for DI

 

i can run the bass into the DI, the. To the head and the from the DI to my interface but not getting that full tube sound.

 

mic ing the cab at home isnt of course something i can do for long periods of time

 

I was considering another head (really want the svt v4b but the demos show the DI is preamp sound only and its best to mic it) - anyone aware of a solution to capture tube sound from a DI?

 

I am wondering what speaker level Di is? Is that connecting the DI box to your speaker?

 

thanks all

 

any ideas on how i can capture the tube tone helpful, or what tube heads may have the right DI for this

 

( i am considering my class D spare anp and trying to create tube tone with pedals.. but so far nothing sounds authentic headroomy/bold and deep)

 

 

[Bolo]

There are DI's that can be put between the amps out and the speaker in like the Neve RNDI.

https://rupertneve.com/products/rndi/

A low power tube amp like an ashdown ctm 15 or 30 could help bring down the volume enough for home recording, if you don't run them through a massive cab.

 

How much are you recording at home?

[skidder652003]

I think it that scenario Id be using  plug in or VST type software for home recording rather than trying to cobble togeather my hardware.

[Beer of the Bass]

You still need to run a speaker with your amp when using a speaker level DI - the DI has a relatively high impedance and places essentially no load on the amp on its own, which is a quick way to damage a valve amp. So it's more of a solution for live use without the potential bleed of a mic, not a method for quiet home recording.

If you are considering other heads, the Ampeg PF50T has a speaker level DI output and (unusually) a dummy load that allows you to run it with no speaker. But having done this, I think the magic for recording is in the mic'ed speaker sound - the DI sound doesn't really have the same feel as that.

[Downunderwonder]

CountryMan 85 is the standard speaker level DI. Just make sure you plug it in correctly. No idiots allowed.

[Dan Dare]

2 hours ago, Beer of the Bass said:

I think the magic for recording is in the mic'ed speaker sound - the DI sound doesn't really have the same feel as that.

 

Agreed. It isn't just the amp, but the way it and the speaker interact that gives the "tube sound". A speaker is a reactive load. It's impedance varies according to frequency. Speaker level DIs incorporate a dummy load to protect the output transformer of the amp. Unlike a speaker, it will have a fixed impedance and the amp will not respond to it in the same way as it would to a speaker..