D.I Dilemma

[sockdeluxe_mikey]

Hi all,

I have been assembling a sort of 'system' that would allow me to either go to a studio or a live gig without my amp and be able to (close enough at least) get a great sound that I can take around with me.

I bought a Rothwell Love Squeeze about a month or two ago and that is perfect for one half of the job - natural subtle string-to-string eveness and room boominess, if needs be at worst a 'room fixer'. Now for the second half of the job I need a D.I that will obviously go directly into a desk, either live or in the studio.

My situation is I don't know really whether I need a passive or active D.I - I do have two active basses (a Lakland 44-01 and an 18V Peavey Forum) and logic would dictate that a passive D.I would do the job, two which have caught my eye being the MarkBass Super Pro DI and the Radial JDI/Pro DI. If it turns out an active D.I would be best to get, then ideally I would like one that can source its power without the need of phantom power (such as the MarkBass Super Booster) because I wouldn't want to risk going to a gig and then not being able to source phantom power for the box. On the other hand, is phantom power from the desk actually a bankable option? I just don't want to turn up to a gig one day and be told I can't get phantom power!


Thanks everybody, all help would be welcome

[Doddy]

I always use passive DI's by EMO Systems and never had any problems.

[algmusic]

[quote name='sockdeluxe_mikey' post='919729' date='Aug 9 2010, 03:50 PM']Hi all,

I have been assembling a sort of 'system' that would allow me to either go to a studio or a live gig without my amp and be able to (close enough at least) get a great sound that I can take around with me.

I bought a Rothwell Love Squeeze about a month or two ago and that is perfect for one half of the job - natural subtle string-to-string eveness and room boominess, if needs be at worst a 'room fixer'. Now for the second half of the job I need a D.I that will obviously go directly into a desk, either live or in the studio.

My situation is I don't know really whether I need a passive or active D.I - I do have two active basses (a Lakland 44-01 and an 18V Peavey Forum) and logic would dictate that a passive D.I would do the job, two which have caught my eye being the MarkBass Super Pro DI and the Radial JDI/Pro DI. If it turns out an active D.I would be best to get, then ideally I would like one that can source its power without the need of phantom power (such as the MarkBass Super Booster) because I wouldn't want to risk going to a gig and then not being able to source phantom power for the box. On the other hand, is phantom power from the desk actually a bankable option? I just don't want to turn up to a gig one day and be told I can't get phantom power!


Thanks everybody, all help would be welcome [/quote]


Sansamp.. it can be powered via phathom power and on a rare occasion you don't have that it takes a 9v. Very few desk don't have PP.

To be honest, a 9v power supply is pretty cheap these days, I think I pad £20 and that had lots of adaptors for many pedals and it'll fit in your gig bag.

Also the sansamp will give a good range of tones that don't sound synthetic..

That said I do like the EMO..

[sockdeluxe_mikey]

[quote name='algmusic' post='919757' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:08 PM']Sansamp.. it can be powered via phathom power and on a rare occasion you don't have that it takes a 9v. Very few desk don't have PP.

To be honest, a 9v power supply is pretty cheap these days, I think I pad £20 and that had lots of adaptors for many pedals and it'll fit in your gig bag.

Also the sansamp will give a good range of tones that don't sound synthetic..

That said I do like the EMO..[/quote]

Actually, what I meant was that I was hesitant at getting a D.I box that needed phantom power from the [b]desk[/b] etc. just in case the desk can't power it and it can't accept a wall power supply - I took delivery of a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon last week so as long as an active D.I box can accept a power supply the Chameleon can take care of it although it does seem to sound like that most desks should supply 48V phantom power.

My girlfriend has the programmable SansAmp but I need to give it a proper try out - I've not been a big fan of the SansAmp (although when she got hers I learnt how to use them a LOT more effectively, which may be a factor when I try it out again properly). The Super Booster by MarkBass looks really appealing because it has the two filters which I happen to already like (I have a MarkBass SA450 as a normal amp) and it has variable preamp gain.

Doddy, those EMO's look good too! I have a Studiospares catalogue and they catch my eye quite a lot.

Edited August 9, 2010 by sockdeluxe_mikey

[EskimoBassist]

I would also recommend some kind of Pre/Di, like the SansAmp or the MXR M-80, both totally different sounds where the overdrive is concerned. I always carry my M-80 around with me, plenty of dirt on tap if I want it, but it's really used for the Pre section so that I always have a nice Bass sound, no matter what I'm running into. I run the amp flat behind me, merely as a monitor so I can hear myself on stage and send my signal straight to FOH, which is generally left well alone.

[algmusic]

[quote name='sockdeluxe_mikey' post='919777' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:23 PM']Actually, what I meant was that I was hesitant at getting a D.I box that needed phantom power from the [b]desk[/b] etc. just in case the desk can't power it and it can't accept a wall power supply - I took delivery of a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon last week so as long as an active D.I box can accept a power supply the Chameleon can take care of it although it does seem to sound like that most desks should supply 48V phantom power.

My girlfriend has the programmable SansAmp but I need to give it a proper try out - I've not been a big fan of the SansAmp (although when she got hers I learnt how to use them a LOT more effectively, which may be a factor when I try it out again properly). The Super Booster by MarkBass looks really appealing because it has the two filters which I happen to already like (I have a MarkBass SA450 as a normal amp) and it has variable preamp gain.

Doddy, those EMO's look good too! I have a Studiospares catalogue and they catch my eye quite a lot.[/quote]

If you like the markbass sound, go with that.. I love markbass, but I like the balance of option of that vintage grit.. I have the programmable one, which I like, as on some gigs, I need more grit or more warmth or blend or straight DI I can sort it out in the sound check then switch sounds between songs, just with my foot.

Also if you're going minus amp you are at the mercy of the sound engineer and their gear, which is a gamble (some great some awful), so try them both if you can.. .

The EMO are the broadcaster's fav's very good.. but that's assuming you always have a good desk behind you..

Just the down side of not having your monitoring (amp) is if you change your awful sound on stage, you might ruin the great sound FOH..

[sockdeluxe_mikey]

[quote name='algmusic' post='919810' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:55 PM']If you like the markbass sound, go with that.. I love markbass, but I like the balance of option of that vintage grit.. I have the programmable one, which I like, as on some gigs, I need more grit or more warmth or blend or straight DI I can sort it out in the sound check then switch sounds between songs, just with my foot.

Also if you're going minus amp you are at the mercy of the sound engineer and their gear, which is a gamble (some great some awful), so try them both if you can.. .

The EMO are the broadcaster's fav's very good.. but that's assuming you always have a good desk behind you..

[b]Just the down side of not having your monitoring (amp) is if you change your awful sound on stage, you might ruin the great sound FOH..[/b][/quote]

I concur with being at the mercy of the soundman - my Lakland (bass I use 90% of the time live) has a really good preamp which has already helped me out when using loanded equipment on a gig so I then don't have to touch their amp (a plus for both you and them).

Going direct in the fashion I'm thinking of in conjunction with the onboard preamp (3 band, really nice sounding and powerful) should hopefully be enough to avoid the not-too-serious EQ problems I might encounter without amps (or EQ on a D.I box possibly for that matter).

I actually used to really like having footswitchable vintage overdrive sounds but I've actually learnt that isn't what I've been after which was a minorly expensive lesson to learn. The MarkBass filters however do allow me to apply what some of the other D.I boxes I've been looking at such as a low pass filtering (the VLE on the MarkBass amps/Super Booster) and as I already mentioned, the boost would work as preamp gain. I still can't decide however whether all I want is a passive D.I box by itself (a la Radial, EMO, MarkBass Super Pro DI(?) or any of the others) or have some more powerful (or one of the bass specific preamps such as the Aguilar Agro, one of the SansAmps etc.).

Half of my desire to sort this out is so that I can avoid the sometimes awkward arrangements of being one of the first bands on in somewhere you a) either can't drive (or don't want to drive) to, and for this reason you can't take your amp and starts to get awkward when due to miscommunications you turn up at a venue and the band who end up bringing the equipment aren't aware they were supposed to lend it - or at the last minute decide not to! Then, I can just run my pedalbox through a D.I and that can all be avoided - and with very surprisingly good results sometimes, judging by what I've read about the experiences of some people who just gig on D.I all the time.

What I highlighted in bold I also want to be very aware of and I am actually very respectful of this - I almost always err on getting the sound great out front and try and be very reasonable, unless the sound is completely unusable and mental on stage!

Actually EskimoBassist, I have been looking on and off at the MXR M-80 - what has been your experiences of it? It actually looked really nice and appealed to me, but had a hard time working out what kinds of sounds it could do.