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DI Brands

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Freyja

Apr 17, 2000
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#1
Okay, so here's a question...

What's the best DI box to use for bass at a live show? I'm getting pretty tired of these fried, cheapo DI boxes that the house sound guys always give me at clubs, so I'm thinking about supplying my own from now on for more quality control...

Any thoughts?
 
#2
i hate behringer stuff, but i got their Ultra-DI because i needed one cheap and quick... turned out to be pretty nice. very sturdy, 40db pad, auto-sensing phantom powered, ground lift. works.

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#6
The standard one most pro sound companies have used for years is the Countryman.They sell for about $185 but are worth every penny They are built like a tank and the sound that goes into it is what goes to the sound system with no coloration.Many session players have these in thier bag of tricks also.
I use a Sans Amp cause I like the tone of the emulation circuitry.It also sounds very clean if you want it to.It runs for about the same price as the Countryman.
 
#12
For tubey ones, there's demeter's Tube DI, and aguilar's DB900. the demeter is what i personally use, and is a bit more versatile given its crisper hifi sound. i use mine for both bass and my acoustic guitar. the aguilar seems to be more bass oriented, with a slightly burnished tone.

Solid state wise, the Countryman is a definite fav round our studio. like everyone else pointed out, its built like a frickin' tank. our's survived a fall from a high shelf, twice, and worked perfect thru a wet outdoor gig, all the while sounding and working great. The Sansamp is a good choice for maximum tonal flexibility, and a great way to add some nice grind to your DI tone.
 
#13
I'm an actual soundman/recording engineer as well as a bassist. For live general purpose DIs, I like:

Countryman; 'nuff said.

BSS AR-150; the Behringer's a blatant ripoff of this and nowhere near as sturdy or good sounding.

Radial Engineering: JDI; the best passive DI I've ever encountered. JDV; the active version of the JDI. Very well built and they sound great.

The Avalon U5 is amazing, but it's pricey.
The Sansamp works very well as a bass specific DI, I don't know what it's like for anything else.

While I've never personally encountered the Demeter or Aguilar, judging from other products I've used from these companies and from other peoples impressions, they are very nice. Again, pricey.

Personally, I don't like the tonal colouration of the Klarks, but they are convenient in a festival situation because they have an LED that lets you know they are receiving phantom power....Pretty well built, but I've seen a few go down. I've never seen a Countryman fail.
 
#16
Originally posted by Blues Bass 2
The standard one most pro sound companies have used for years is the Countryman.They sell for about $185 but are worth every penny They are built like a tank and the sound that goes into it is what goes to the sound system with no coloration.Many session players have these in thier bag of tricks also.
I use a Sans Amp cause I like the tone of the emulation circuitry.It also sounds very clean if you want it to.It runs for about the same price as the Countryman.
Click to expand...

Here, Here I also have both. Ever since I started using the Sansamp every sound person I've worked with comments on the tone. This never happened with the CountryMan. I would also make sure to get the A/C adapter. The Sansamp is also good for getting a good tone out of any backline amp.
 
#20
I think it depends on what you want to spend and what you are really willing to live with.

Countryman is a good DI at a decent price point at about $150 or so street. I also own the Sadowsky Preamp/DI (I send ALL my basses through this first. I am the Tom Stanley on the testimonials page for the preamp) and for twice the money you can't beat it. PERIOD!!! Definately worth the difference in the Countryman because it is also a REALLY GREAT bass pre if you are using active or passive basses.

THE HOLY GRAIL in DI is the Avalon U5. I paid $440 for mine from GC in Raleigh NC WITHOUT the rack ears (another $70) It is 2 spaces tall by 1/2 rack space wide and heavy as hell for a DI (12 LBS) but there is NO other DI that even comes close to it. I run ALL my Basses through the Sadowsky FIRST in my signal chain and then into the Avalon (flat here as it has 6 different EQ curves on a rotary dial) to a console, monitor rig or into my own live rig and my basses sound great. (The U5 straight into a power amp into a quality speaker will tell you volumes about your bass's tone and your technique)

check out www.avalondesign.com
 

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