Custom DI/Preamp HPF3-VT2-Mid-DI-Phantom

[kringle77]

For awhile I have been trying to get the best sound possible to my in-ears and FOH. I've experimented with mics, pods, eq's, preamps, etc. The best sound I got was by running into one of Fdeck's HPF filters, into a sansamp VT2 pedal, into a DI box, to the board. Sounded great but, I hate all that clutter and extra wires. So, I talked to Mike Putnum of Putnam's Guitars in Lockport NY about doing a custom rack using these 3 elements AND also an added semi-parametric mid control to adjust to any playing situation. I took delivery of this rack unit yesterday and brought it directly to the gig. It worked like a champ without any hassle.

Aside from the 3 pieces inside, mike designed an adjustable mid control that is about 1 octave in width and is adjustable from 100hz to 1khz. I've always thought that the VT pedal needed some extra thickness in the middle to make it sound like an actual svt or any amp really to the board. The mid control on the vt is supposed to be 500hz but really, it is more like 1khz. I found myself boosting the new mid control at 500hz and it really made the di sound more like my live rig.

The unit can be powered by a 9v adaptor or phantom power from the board, has a ground lift, both 1/4" and xlr in/outs. It's designed to be operational and useful in any situation. In short, it's a real life gig tool. I just love the sound of it in my in-ears and out front. Last night we had to be very low volume so, my sound was about half front of house and half my rig. It sounded like I just had a mic on my cab and was using it for alittle clarity out front. It sounded like a mic on my cab in the in ears but, without all the mic bleed and room noise. My drummer actually commented on how clean the in-ear mix was. Im sure alot of guys would love this mid circuit that Mike designed for me and this rack unit in general. He did such solid work and for a very fair price. I have no complaints. I had the unit in the basement today and was playing through headphones and I actually prefer playing this way than to use an amp at home. It sounds better and I don't bother my cranky neighbor.

[kringle77]

Here's some more pics.

[kringle77]

I would feel comfortable showing up to a gig with just this and a compressor if the pa was solid.

[kringle77]

At tonights practise we are running this unit, e-drums and guitar into the mixer and a JBL prx635. I'll report back on the outcome. I already know that it works great, I'll just have more time to experiment. It feels so good when you get a new tool and it just works great from the get go. Im very happy.

[obsidianbass]

Very cool. Our band uses in-ears as well and I've been putting thought into my sound in my ears and to the board as well. I haven't gone the custom route (as of yet) since I can achieve a pretty nice sound with a simple, small pedalboard (Darkglass b3k into a clean VT deluxe). This allows me to have a few different tones at my disposal and to send it direct to FOH.

I like how you didn't settle though! The preamp looks great!

[kringle77]

Heading out to jam with a band who need me to fill in. They wanted me to go direct. A really good opportunity to give my new "di" some exercise.

[kringle77]

This preamp/di is really turning out to be what I wished the RPM had been. No regrets so far. I've got two gigs this weekend and then thats it for a long while. This di will get a good workout on these two. Bad sounding rooms that are always a challenge.

[kringle77]

I much prefer this rack for my in-ear mix over anything else including di and pod. The pod was pretty good actually but, I like having access to all of the controls of my di. So much easier to do a quick tweak while playing.

[kringle77]

Played a rough gig last night and this DI really helped out. My IEM's sounded great and my bass sounded like it was mic'd up in a really dry sounding room HPF set at about 100hz, drive at 9:00, treble 11:00, speaker sim defeated (rolls off that clanky 3khz bump) everything else at noon. That basically gives me a bandpass filter from 100hz to 5khz. I use the drive control to dirty it up alitt to sound more like a real speaker. Thats about it. It's got plenty of eq that I didn't really have to use last night but, at tonights gig I will probably be going through the pa alittle and then eq will be handy. I thought some of you would be really interested in this custom rack and Im surprised there hasn't been more interest in the thread. But, I'll continue to put down my thoughts and hopefully it helps some players.