D.I. Only, no amp

jtc_hunter · #1 05-11-2011, 09:49 AM

Which of you uses a D.I. only , with no amp, for gigs, and please tell us what you use and why. I am seriously thinking of going that way.

tylerwylie · #2 05-11-2011, 10:02 AM

Look at John Myung's equipment list and you'll see his DI only gear

srxplayer · #3 05-11-2011, 10:03 AM

I have used it at church gigs many times both indoors and out. I don't like it but that's what they wanted to do. I'm not a fan of running bass into the monitors. I have never played anyplace that has used a monitor system that didn't sound like mud but I been asked to do it many times. I usually use my Sansamp BDDI but I have used Radial and Countryman active and passive DI boxes and I have used the cheaper Rolls passive DI boxes with good success. Most of those DI's were provided by the sound teams or churches.

MNAirHead · #4 05-11-2011, 10:04 AM

I have a few.. zoom b2.1u.. MXR M-80... IF it's something special I'll bring out one of the Radilals or countryman.

----

In all honesty, I do keep a kickback amp in the trunk of my car.. IF for some reason there's a glitch, I then have the ability to use my amp as a monitor.. or bass amp.

MNAirHead · #5 05-11-2011, 10:05 AM

The cheap rolls box he's speaking of is probably a DB25

jgroh · #6 05-11-2011, 10:10 AM

Ive done it and you have to make sure you have a good monitor from the PA to hear yourself. I have had problems so Ive since always brought an amp and cab. If you have a good soundman that will work with you, it shouldnt be a problem.

jaywa · #7 05-11-2011, 10:12 AM

I'm going to be trying this exact thing in a couple of nights. My band's got plenty of P.A. including great subs but we are playing two venues this weekend which both have extremely limited stage space (especially for a 6-piece band), so I'll be running through my SansAmp BDDI to the board. Monitoring through my IEM. If that works out I may start rolling that way even in bigger rooms. Will be keeping an amp in the trailer though, just in case.

TomB · #8 05-11-2011, 10:13 AM

I like that approach for festival or event stages, as long as there's a good system there and I know I can get my own monitor mix... otherwise it can be a crap shoot, especially with a large band.

Still, I'm seeing more and more of it as "backline provided" seems to be getting rarer and rarer. I carry around an old Tubeworks 4001 that sounds lovely and I can even splice it into the amp / speaker line if there is a backline rig on stage that I think sounds decent.

I still will take along a 1X12 & a micro head if there's room in the haulage... I guess I like the concept of a backup monitor if need be.

jaywa · #9 05-11-2011, 10:17 AM

I remember a summer or two ago being at a huge (100K estimated) outdoor festival and the headliner's bassist must have either been going direct to the board or had his amp offstage because there was not a bass amp anywhere to be seen. It sounded phenomenal out front and the band clearly wasn't struggling any with that set-up.

MNAirHead · #10 05-11-2011, 10:24 AM

Most larger setups are like this..

When I was touring it used to crack me up.. folks would pine away about the "sweet sound of an XYZ amp"...

I never told them it wasn't plugged in.

b_carville · #11 05-11-2011, 10:42 AM

I do it a lot.I usually use a Sansamp bass driver pedal.I've had good results using a Boss bass EQ pedal into a DI.Done that in a pinch a few times.I've even done that using a very basic DOD direct box.That worked OK.A good quality DI (I like countrymen or a passive Radial) really improves your tone.

I do it with my main band who usually hires a sound company.My van is in sad shape and I'm not rolling in dough right now so this frees me up to use public transportation.With gas prices it's a lot cheaper. I still do a lot of gigs where it's not possible to go through the PA so a decent sized powerful amp is still a necessity but if I have access to a good PA I DI.

jmeyers44 · #12 05-11-2011, 10:54 AM

I do it for all of my church gigs. I plug into a Radial JDV. Depending on the gig I use an Aviom mixer or a Rolls PM351 headphone mixer into custom earmolds. I love it.

jaywa · #13 05-11-2011, 11:03 AM

I do have to disclaim... I would never try something like this unless I were using IEMs that were under my total control, or a pro-level wedge monitori (read: big effin' driver) with a monitor engineer I trusted implicitly.

Go onstage with no bass amp and limited or no control over your monitoring and you are asking for disaster.

jmeyers44 · #14 05-11-2011, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

I do have to disclaim... I would never try something like this unless I were using IEMs that were under my total control, or a pro-level wedge monitori (read: big effin' driver) with a monitor engineer I trusted implicitly.

Go onstage with no bass amp and limited or no control over your monitoring and you are asking for disaster.

Totally agree.

jwbassman · #15 05-11-2011, 11:22 AM

I've been using my Sans Amp BDDI. The country band I've been playing with recently went "ampless". We have a 6 piece band and we all have IEM's and we've gone completely ampless at the last few gigs. The sound has never been better. Only sound from the stage is the drums. The sound man is in total heaven. I dig it because I can fit everything in my gig bag now. Bass, Sans Amp and my Line 6 Wireless. It's a beautiful thing.

seanm · #16 05-11-2011, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

I do have to disclaim... I would never try something like this unless I were using IEMs that were under my total control, or a pro-level wedge monitori (read: big effin' driver) with a monitor engineer I trusted implicitly.

Go onstage with no bass amp and limited or no control over your monitoring and you are asking for disaster.

+1 Which is why I never go DI only

I need my amp as a bass monitor.

In fact, for a lot of our bar gigs I have no monitor at all. I get all I need from the stage volume. Caveat: I do not sing.

TomB · #17 05-11-2011, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

I remember a summer or two ago being at a huge (100K estimated) outdoor festival and the headliner's bassist must have either been going direct to the board or had his amp offstage because there was not a bass amp anywhere to be seen. It sounded phenomenal out front and the band clearly wasn't struggling any with that set-up.

Yeah, man, it makes for an easy load-in. Have a back-up plan, and enjoy!

rockstarbassist · #18 05-11-2011, 01:11 PM

When I played at church I used to.
Bass, Line6 M13, Radial JDI, ran back through an Aviom system and my custom molded in-ears.

/win

Scogman · #19 05-11-2011, 01:24 PM

Redundant Alert :-)

Yes, using a Sansamp into board is awesome. But also if you don't have a good monitor you can be trouble. Having a micro bass amp as a monitor is a good thing if monitor is not good at the gig. Agree with jwbassman, everything into the gig bag is an awesome way to go. Twenty five years ago for me a big-bad-rig was awesome, now the inverse if true, the less I haul the better.

Just a thought. Is there a correlation between age and want for hauling a big rig? I think so.

jaywa · #20 05-11-2011, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scogman

Just a thought. Is there a correlation between age and want for hauling a big rig? I think so.

Yes. But it's an inverse correlation, i.e., more age = less want to haul a big rig. Especially when a nice big P.A. with plenty of subs is part of the equation.