Acme Audio Motown DI

[dabis]

Everything you need to know about the motown di box is here:
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BTW the original transformers were Triad Magnetics A-11/12J. Read article for further interesting info!

Stellar article/clarifications/confession. The conclussion is anthological.
Thanks for sharing @Thundamental !

 

[Thundamental]

You're welcome!
My whole take on it all is that a poisonous transformer will give you a LITTLE bit more low end on your DI signal, at the cost of losing some high end because of the loading from having a 60k ohm input or whatever that transformer is.

 

[iandoublebass]

I’ve used the Reddi and for me, there is absolutely nothing special going on there. Yes it’s a good solid unit but that’s about it.

Couldn't disagree more

 

[Heikki L.]

Here's a link to a recording of a Motown-themed concert (yes, I know, not all the songs are Motown...).
I tried to do my best to cop the Jamerson-sound so I almost bought the Acme unit for that gig. Didn't have the guts to pull the trigger, used my REDDI instead. The amp was also mic'ed but I don't think it was used in the mix. IMO the result was pretty good but nowhere near the Jamerson's thumpy kick-a** sound. REDDI is sweet, polite, hi-fi and with no saturation, so that's one part. Heavy gauge Labella's were too much for me, so that's one part. Biggest part is of course the player not being Jamerson. Anyway - nice gig, great songs and another opportunity to get nerdy on di-boxes.

UMO plays Motown & Prince | Audio Areena (Finnish Broadcasting Company, should be safe)

The link is accessible for 25 days. Just click on the arrow on blue background (toista = play in finnish)

The last four Prince songs are from another gig. Don't know who played on it or what equipment was used.

 

[Yasubandini]

It looks like an earlier poster in this thread may have been onto something about the transformer. This poster analyzed an original Wolfbox

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[markjazzbassist]

It looks like an earlier poster in this thread may have been onto something about the transformer. This poster analyzed an original Wolfbox

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utc transformers are rectangular shaped and if that post was anything to go by, that shure looks like the Triad round can A11j or a12j transformer. the prices on those have gotten insane and i'm happy with my UTC A-10 and A-11 DI's i made. maybe one day i will try the true triad.

 

[Yasubandini]

Right on with the UTC, yeah, they are square shaped. I thought maybe you were referring to the Triad a10 mistakenly. The gearspace poster found that the Triad A-11J / A-12J weren't what was used their Wolfrum engraved Wolfbox, (he compared the wire colors and dc resistance) but another Triad!

 

[markjazzbassist]

Right on with the UTC, yeah, they are square shaped. I thought maybe you were referring to the Triad a10 mistakenly. The gearspace poster found that the Triad A-11J / A-12J weren't what was used their Wolfrum engraved Wolfbox, (he compared the wire colors and dc resistance) but another Triad!

right but they never said what. I don’t know what other round can audio transformers triad makes, at one point I tried to look through their catalogs to figure it out but I couldn’t.

There’s always the Bruce Swedien direct box which was used on Michael Jackson’s stuff. It’s a UTC LS-10 transformer which is something used in tube amps or the like, way way way overkill for a direct box but some people think that’s why those bass tracks (and synth bass tracks) sound so huge.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Triad is making the A-11J again, or at least their modern version of it.

A bit expensive:

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Triad specs:

https://catalog.triadmagnetics.com/item/audio-transformers/j-series-audio-transformers/a-11j

 

[Naack]

Just a quick question for those far more knowledgable than I: If I plug my pedalboard into one of the inputs, and then I run a cable from the other input to my Amps' input, will it add the transformers flavour or does it not touch that?
Finally, to use this box as a Reamping box: 1. I couldn't use my current amp as it is a Tone Hammer 350, 2. If I had a 100w or lesser amp, I would take the Speaker out cable from the amp head, plug it into an input, and then run the XLR from the MoTown to FOH, correct?

 

[AlexMG]

I just got the Acme Motown DI. Is it normal for there to be a significant volume dectrease from the XLR out even when going Direct (non attentuated) than when running straight from bass to recorder?

Using the Apollo X6 and this is the first passive DI that has a significant volume drop in this scenario.
Signal chain is: Bass- ACME DI - XLR Out - Apollo X6 Mic pre 1 in.

when I go straight from Bass - Apollo X6 Instrument input 1 through the same track the signal is significantly hotter

 

[Naack]

Yes that is normal. The Acme uses a 1:10 turn ratio on its transformers when lowering the impedance to a balanced signal so you will get a massive drop off in volume. All passive DIs do this. The real question is, when you gain up your channel to compensate for this, do you notice any negative effects?
Also, gain aside, let me know your thoughts on it after you have had some time with it, I have been itching to get one.

 

[AlexMG]

Thanks! I do need some more time with it as I just got it a few hours ago but I can tell that a previous post here is pretty spot on; after compensating volume, it does roll off some highs and deep lows. When I put the recorded dry Acme di signal through the UAD Ampeg B15 plugin (one of my faves) it stands out (just a hair) more than pluging in and recording direct without the Acme. It also handles the transients more nicely than going direct through the Apollo. Is it worth the $450 for me right now? No. I’d save up and get a Noble DI instead. That gave me the Wow factor immediately with no bad setting, just an array of colors (but then again, it’s an active DI). The Noble wasn’t as impressive through a quality amp but it is when going DI.

I also have a Neve RNDI tucked away that I will pull out and compare. Also an active DI but it has such a wide bandwidth, I expect it will do the opposite of the ACME Motown and give me a broader frequency response and harmonics as it did for my guitars, however I think most bass players would want a more focused sound.

 

[Naack]

Thanks! I do need some more time with it as I just got it a few hours ago but I can tell that a previous post here is pretty spot on; after compensating volume, it does roll off some highs and deep lows. When I put the recorded dry Acme di signal through the UAD Ampeg B15 plugin (one of my faves) it stands out (just a hair) more than pluging in and recording direct without the Acme. It also handles the transients more nicely than going direct through the Apollo. Is it worth the $450 for me right now? No. I’d save up and get a Noble DI instead. That gave me the Wow factor immediately with no bad setting, just an array of colors (but then again, it’s an active DI). The Noble wasn’t as impressive through a quality amp but it is when going DI.

I also have a Neve RNDI tucked away that I will pull out and compare. Also an active DI but it has such a wide bandwidth, I expect it will do the opposite of the ACME Motown and give me a broader frequency response and harmonics as it did for my guitars, however I think most bass players would want a more focused sound.

I have been tempted many times to get the Acme Motown DI, but what you said about the Noble is the exact reason I have held off. I currently have a passive DI with Jensen transformers that works flawlessly and I feel like upgrading to the Motown wouldnt give me enough of a sonic difference to justify that price. However, upgrading to a Noble, because it has EQ, will give a significant sonic difference, not to mention it has tubes.
That being said, I do wish you could buy a Noble without the PSU for other pedals to both reduce the size and price of the unit. But, since he has orders for months and months to come, I doubt that would ever happen.

 

[AlexMG]

So… I’ve had some more time with it and I’ll be keeping it. For two reasons:

First, the ground lift switch alone is quite a value for me. It’s way better than the noise suppressors I’ve been using to cancel hum. Now, when I use a noise suppressor, I can actually hear that’s it’s killing off frequencies I didn’t think were missing. It’s also much more effective than anything I’ve tried.

Second, I just came across this quote on an Alembic thread that, while referring to the Alembic preamp, describes what this passive Acme Motown DI is doing (to my ears):

The Alembic pickups are extremely rich in all the frequencies that matter, and to get a particular sound one basically eliminates the unwanted frequencies. Alembic active electronics are intended to "subtract out" the parts of the tone that are undesirable, instead of "adding in" more of the desired sounds. In that regard Alembic's EQ philosophy is a little different from most manufacturers', and that difference becomes critically important when you're live on stage.

That's what I'm experiencing, less of the 'ambience' and frequencies that surround the notes and more of the richness of the bass itself. Pretty cool. Maybe I could replicate it in my DAW with a tailored EQ, oh well. Keeping it for now!

 

[BassGreaser]

Been thinking about getting one of these for live shows.

 

[frankie5string]

That's what I'm experiencing, less of the 'ambience' and frequencies that surround the notes and more of the richness of the bass itself. Pretty cool. Maybe I could replicate it in my DAW with a tailored EQ, oh well. Keeping it for now!

Generally, if your DI is deleting that much signal, I'd say it's a pretty lousy DI.
A DI is not really meant to impart tone like that. Remember Motown had those little Pye-style preamps in the studio room musicians could jack-direct into. Those had WAY more to do with how the jacked in instrument sounded than the inline transformer that was doing impedance matching and dropping the signal down to microphone level.

 

[AlexMG]

Generally, if your DI is deleting that much signal, I'd say it's a pretty lousy DI.
A DI is not really meant to impart tone like that. Remember Motown had those little Pye-style preamps in the studio room musicians could jack-direct into. Those had WAY more to do with how the jacked in instrument sounded than the inline transformer that was doing impedance matching and dropping the signal down to microphone level.

its certainly ‘tailoring’ a sound more so than notching out frequencies. I would say this is more of a one trick pony, I wouldn’t want this sound for every bass track or for that matter every bass. I like my Jazz bass sounding more jangly so I wouldn’t apply the Motown DI in those circumstances

 

[byacey]

I have been tempted many times to get the Acme Motown DI, but what you said about the Noble is the exact reason I have held off. I currently have a passive DI with Jensen transformers that works flawlessly and I feel like upgrading to the Motown wouldnt give me enough of a sonic difference to justify that price. However, upgrading to a Noble, because it has EQ, will give a significant sonic difference, not to mention it has tubes.
That being said, I do wish you could buy a Noble without the PSU for other pedals to both reduce the size and price of the unit. But, since he has orders for months and months to come, I doubt that would ever happen.

You can't go wrong with Jensen. They are probably the best in the industry.

 

[Naack]

its certainly ‘tailoring’ a sound more so than notching out frequencies. I would say this is more of a one trick pony, I wouldn’t want this sound for every bass track or for that matter every bass. I like my Jazz bass sounding more jangly so I wouldn’t apply the Motown DI in those circumstances

I was tempted to get it for my P-Bass as it would make me feel ever so slightly closer to the legendary James Jamerson... if only I had "the hook" of a finger.