Valve DI/Preamps for studio...

[fusionbassist1]

Evenin' all,
(Edit-I realise now that in my tired state i'm certainly more after a valve DI box than a pre amp as I'm relaly not after any kind of EQ features, I'm loving the look and no frills of the A-Designs REDDI Box but it seems fairly unique from what i can find in terms of 'relative products'....any ideas?)

It's been a while since my last post but I'm soon going to be doing a live studio session with some hilariously good musicians for which I would like to be on my game which, along with being vastly impressed by being shown the best dry bass sound I've ever gotten or could imagine getting out of my latest bass by having it going DI through a valve pre then out into the desk has lead me to posting this topic.

I'm looking to buy a nice, small, no frills, no EQ, valve DI/preamp that's easily patched into a mixer for numerous applications at around the £300 mark second hand.

Reason for this is the ease of using a DI type setup in the studio, not having to piss off other musicians during live studio sessions/preformances i.e. pit work at musicals and also the way i was impressed yesterday by the punchy but un-altered tone i was able to get in a studio going from my passive jazz bass (Wizard 84s) straight into the producer's rack-mounted TL Audio 5001 preamp.

Obviously buying a 4input, rackmounted, 3U unit is not convinient so I'd like a nice warm equivalent that doesn't change the sound but adds character to it.
I understand that seeing as what i'm talking about is a type of piece equipemtn where the character added to the sound will be fairly different from machine to machine but if someone could please point me in the general right directiont that owuld be fantastic.

In terms of basses/sounds I'd like to get out of this piece of equipment I'd like to be able to geeeeet.....
A nice gritty, both p'ups flat out, tone rolled to dirt sound from my jazz for a kind of pbass tone for electric country/folk stuff with a live vibe
A nice warm sound with bot pups flat out but tone rolled off for similar but more rocky stuff that DOESNT' boost any ugly muddy frequencies, something i've found prominent in low-end or non-bass designed valve equipment.
Nice bridge-heavy, barky sound.
(I'm hoping to get my hands on a pbass soon and if i do invest in one of these valve DIs i'd like to hope that it'd compliment a pbass with either a sub-heavy, fat sound or gritty, driving sound pretty damn well for the money).

I can't see how seeing as I'm focusing my efforts towards the gigging/session/studio side of things that having a valve DI i'm happy with would be a waste of money or bad thing to have ready to be used.

I haven't put this in teh 'items wanted' section as I think it would be great for anyone who has had good or bad experiences with equipment for this application to share good uses they found with them or warnings of what really not to buy as a general guide for people looking to invest.

Dissclaimer: I searched for valve DI topics and searched generally in this section for preamp information but didn't find anything specific to this cause at all.

Products suggested/found on t'web:
UNIVERSAL AUDIO Solo 110
Groove Tubes The Brick
A-Designs Reddi DI
Thanx guys,

Ben.

Edited July 3, 2009 by fusionbassist1

[rmorris]

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='531950' date='Jul 3 2009, 07:51 PM']Evenin' all,
(Edit-I realise now that in my tired state i'm certainly more after a valve DI box than a pre amp as I'm relaly not after any kind of EQ features, I'm loving the look and no frills of the A-Designs REDDI Box but it seems fairly unique from what i can find in terms of 'relative products'....any ideas?)

It's been a while since my last post but I'm soon going to be doing a live studio session with some hilariously good musicians for which I would like to be on my game which, along with being vastly impressed by being shown the best dry bass sound I've ever gotten or could imagine getting out of my latest bass by having it going DI through a valve pre then out into the desk has lead me to posting this topic.

I'm looking to buy a nice, small, no frills, no EQ, valve DI/preamp that's easily patched into a mixer for numerous applications at around the £300 mark second hand.

Reason for this is the ease of using a DI type setup in the studio, not having to piss off other musicians during live studio sessions/preformances i.e. pit work at musicals and also the way i was impressed yesterday by the punchy but un-altered tone i was able to get in a studio going from my passive jazz bass (Wizard 84s) straight into the producer's rack-mounted TL Audio 5001 preamp.

Obviously buying a 4input, rackmounted, 3U unit is not convinient so I'd like a nice warm equivalent that doesn't change the sound but adds character to it.
I understand that seeing as what i'm talking about is a type of piece equipemtn where the character added to the sound will be fairly different from machine to machine but if someone could please point me in the general right directiont that owuld be fantastic.

In terms of basses/sounds I'd like to get out of this piece of equipment I'd like to be able to geeeeet.....
A nice gritty, both p'ups flat out, tone rolled to dirt sound from my jazz for a kind of pbass tone for electric country/folk stuff with a live vibe
A nice warm sound with bot pups flat out but tone rolled off for similar but more rocky stuff that DOESNT' boost any ugly muddy frequencies, something i've found prominent in low-end or non-bass designed valve equipment.
Nice bridge-heavy, barky sound.
(I'm hoping to get my hands on a pbass soon and if i do invest in one of these valve DIs i'd like to hope that it'd compliment a pbass with either a sub-heavy, fat sound or gritty, driving sound pretty damn well for the money).

I can't see how seeing as I'm focusing my efforts towards the gigging/session/studio side of things that having a valve DI i'm happy with would be a waste of money or bad thing to have ready to be used.

I haven't put this in teh 'items wanted' section as I think it would be great for anyone who has had good or bad experiences with equipment for this application to share good uses they found with them or warnings of what really not to buy as a general guide for people looking to invest.

Dissclaimer: I searched for valve DI topics and searched generally in this section for preamp information but didn't find anything specific to this cause at all.

Products suggested/found on t'web:
UNIVERSAL AUDIO Solo 110
Groove Tubes The Brick
A-Designs Reddi DI
Thanx guys,

Ben.[/quote]


Sorry to be pedantic but "[i]a nice warm equivalent that doesn't change the sound but adds character to it[/i]." is a contradiction in terms.
If you add 'character ' then you are, by definition, altering the sound.
From what I understand you to want I'd recommend looking at Alembic kit or maybe Avalon U5 DI ( above your budget I think if new but worth a listen anyway ).
From what I remember though the TLA kit is competitively priced so maybe something else in their product range would do the job ?

[BassBod]

look for a used Alembic preamp (F1x or F2b) - it isn't just about having a valve..its about circuit design. I'd also rate the SWR grand prix or Studio 220 head or Groove Tubes preamp (front end of the Studio 220). The Aguilar stuff is great, but tends to be expensive.

Don't forget cheaper pedal/ preamps - the Sansamp, Aguilar DB924 or Sadowsky DI can all sound fantastic.

[Phantom Power]

Well, fancy that.

I'm very new to this site, but it just so happens I'm about to flog an Alembic F1-x pre-amp. (I've just invested in an SWR SM900).

This would undoubtedly fit your bill; (but not for £300). I have DI'd it loads of time, and it is fantastic.

I'm going to research a realistic price, and then post it up for grabs, if anyone is interested. Along with a SWR 500x that is ungigged and mint.