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Acme Audio Motown DI
- Thread starter jnewmark
- Start date
chris merrill
Supporting Member
- Dec 14, 2012
- 675
- 506
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist for: GHS Strings, Lakland Basses
I’ll echo what a few have said here. I recently got a used ACME for cheap.
It does not sound like a mic’d b15, or jamerson direct recorded tone. It does sound a little more plump and less sterile/flat than my radial JDI. If my comparative memory serves, it’s not as modern as the Noble and not as smeared as the reddi. And have to agree that ultimately, the strings, setup, player and technique will make more difference than a box with transformers will.
It does not sound like a mic’d b15, or jamerson direct recorded tone. It does sound a little more plump and less sterile/flat than my radial JDI. If my comparative memory serves, it’s not as modern as the Noble and not as smeared as the reddi. And have to agree that ultimately, the strings, setup, player and technique will make more difference than a box with transformers will.
I'd like to add for some clarification...
We should keep in mind that the custom recording board that Barry had made for him had a lot to do with the sound. Vintage recording desk are sometimes purchased by studios to "capture" that "special something". Yes, the Acme DI's and all others do as they are advertised but, we're often told (or sold) a story that doesn't frame the whole picture.
The B15 is the most recorded bass amp in history but, if we're looking to capture Jamerson, Dunn, or Kaye then we have to dig deeper. Some of these players didn't use they gear we think they did.
Great stuff, thanks for the comments. Earlier today I remembered a thread that Jimmy M created comparing some DI's like the Reddi to others. Kudos to Jimmy for doing this and taking the time to put up samples of various units. After listening to them again, I wound up liking the SVT DI the best, ( the unboosted sample ); its the sound in my head. Its a great thread : Just Got an Ampeg SVT-DI to try out
It's got a little compression and warmth to the sound that I really dug.
I use this DI for all of my live gigs. The OEM versions are hard to come by. I've been looking for the SVT-MP DI and they're either too expensive or don't come up.
The original engineer of the SVT-DI still makes them with a few updated features.
https://khanaudio.com/khan-di
I can’t comment on the Reddi, I haven’t used it but as Chris says above the Motown has something special going on in the mids and it brings a sterile dry signal to life really nicely, without taking anything away from the characteristics of your tone. It’s not life-changing, but it’s significant. A bit like home cooked food with fresh seasoning vs a perfectly ok but average meal. People pay huge sums of money for the perfect wine, while others are fine drinking whatever is cheapest (I can’t tell the difference between good and bad wine, it’s all just a migraine waiting to happen), so it’s all down to how much those tiny details matter to you.
Lots of great DIs out there, and lots of great DI Shoot Outs.
I've not heard the Motown DI, and not seen it pop up in any of the many, many shootouts on here.
My experience is that a lot of what ever you are trying to get at with a DI like the Motown (or other) come down to very subtle differences.
I guess I put stuff in three categories...
1. DIs - Countryman, JDI, RNDI, etc...
--- I think the Countryman is pretty hard to beat in this category. In most shootouts I've heard, the Countryman competes against the next category.
2. Tube DIs - which include a level - Reddi, *Motown DI*, etc...
--- Like the first, but with some added flavor, and you can adjust the input gain to add harmonic content from the tube. I guess you consider it a "pre-amp" in that way. The added benefit to this category is that you can use it to add a little flavor before you hit your amp - nice, especially on a passive bass.
To me, once you get here, you are just talking about very subtle different flavors - mostly all good. If I was shopping in this category, I'd buy a used Summit Audio TD-100. I guess it doesn't look as cool as Motown or Reddi...
3. Preamp/DIs - Noble, P15, etc.
--- This to me is a kind of different thing, because there is a totally different function - it's a preamp with tone shaping - that happens to have a XLR output. Alembic F-1X is in this category - just a different form factor. I'd compare the Noble to the Alembic before I compared Noble and Reddi.
I've not heard the Motown DI, and not seen it pop up in any of the many, many shootouts on here.
My experience is that a lot of what ever you are trying to get at with a DI like the Motown (or other) come down to very subtle differences.
I guess I put stuff in three categories...
1. DIs - Countryman, JDI, RNDI, etc...
--- I think the Countryman is pretty hard to beat in this category. In most shootouts I've heard, the Countryman competes against the next category.
2. Tube DIs - which include a level - Reddi, *Motown DI*, etc...
--- Like the first, but with some added flavor, and you can adjust the input gain to add harmonic content from the tube. I guess you consider it a "pre-amp" in that way. The added benefit to this category is that you can use it to add a little flavor before you hit your amp - nice, especially on a passive bass.
To me, once you get here, you are just talking about very subtle different flavors - mostly all good. If I was shopping in this category, I'd buy a used Summit Audio TD-100. I guess it doesn't look as cool as Motown or Reddi...
3. Preamp/DIs - Noble, P15, etc.
--- This to me is a kind of different thing, because there is a totally different function - it's a preamp with tone shaping - that happens to have a XLR output. Alembic F-1X is in this category - just a different form factor. I'd compare the Noble to the Alembic before I compared Noble and Reddi.
chris merrill
Supporting Member
- Dec 14, 2012
- 675
- 506
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist for: GHS Strings, Lakland Basses
Motown DI doesn’t have any tubes, and the “level” knob only works if you flip the switch to “attn” setting, which really attenuates the signal a ton (Attenuator Pad: -20db to -60db...I think I read that this is for amp speaker level signal?)
anyway, I wouldn’t classify the ACME in the same category as tube DI’s. It’s a passive box and is dead simple. More akin to your category 1)...with countryman etc etc
anyway, I wouldn’t classify the ACME in the same category as tube DI’s. It’s a passive box and is dead simple. More akin to your category 1)...with countryman etc etc
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Just shows what I know. Thanks for the info and correcting me.
I'm not sure how I feel about them calling the "Motown" DI now.
digging around on the Acme Audio page... Looks like the MTP-66 fits more in my category #2.
Man, $400+ for the Motown DI, and almost $2K for the MTP-66.
Man, $400+ for the Motown DI, and almost $2K for the MTP-66.
for the record, i looked up Obeid Khan and the guy is apparently a legend in the amp world. he resurrected Crate, then makes Reason amps and now Khan amps too. Over on the gearpage guys have nothing but the highest praise for both of those amps (and Khan himself who posts on there), so if you do decide to go Khan, know that it's a quality product with a solid person behind it.
If anyone is looking for a great sounding preamp/DI on a budget, the PreSonus TubePre sounds pretty killer. It's been a while since I listened, but I remember thinking it was punching way above its weight... and at a fraction of the price.
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Also, that web page - Bass Tasters - is pretty great for comparing preamp and DIs with a good set of headphones.
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Also, that web page - Bass Tasters - is pretty great for comparing preamp and DIs with a good set of headphones.
The Art Tube preamps aren't bad either. I ran one for a little bit. They do have funky power requirements though, pretty much requiring you to use the included power supply.
I was just on that site a few days ago and couldn't get any of the samples to play.
Is it still working?
not a true tube preamp, it's starved plate, aka the tube is just there for marketing (same with the ART). the cheapest True Tube Preamp is the Electro Harmonix 12AY7, full tube voltage and highly regarded. You use the XLR In/Out though, it needs the load to work correctly. the 1/4" buffered out should not be used. also you'll need to use a DI since it's mic level.
Ha. Well, disregard my post... I keep missing em on this thread!
Not working for me. Showing that flash player is blocked. Maybe that's a browser setting?
