Active vs. Passive DI question (simple & quick)

[taylor16]

I use passive basses but go through a VT bass with preceding overdrive and fuzz pedals. Would the VT bass pedal add enough gain to use a Radial JDI passive DI box or would/should I stick to an active one (passive bass -> active DI).

 

[RoadRanger]

Why would you need another DI if you already have the VT Bass ?

 

[taylor16]

Because the pedal doesn't have a DI.

 

[RoadRanger]

Because the pedal doesn't have a DI.

Oops, didn't realize they have a bottom end version with no DI - shoulda bought a Behringer BDI21 . In any case, pedals have active outputs so can drive a passive DI just fine - unless they are "true bypass" in which case it depends what's upstream of them. Myself, I always use a tuner pedal first in the chain so that buffers any bass I use...

 

[walterw]

yeah, it isn't so much "gain" as "active vs passive" that matters here.

running through pedals and such your signal is active, and will survive a passive DI just fine.

 

[taylor16]

Cool. Thanks dudes.

 

[Mark Reccord]

Not only will a passive DI work just fine in this application, I'd suggest it's what you should use. One less thing to worry about powering and one less active stage in your signal chain. Once your signal has gone through a preamp stage there's really no advantage to a phantom or battery powered active DI.

 

[Sliderbass]

Of course, you could have Putnam modify your VT pedal by installing a DI…

 

[TimmyP]

I prefer an active DI for a passive source, and a passive DI for an active source. If nothing that you use is true bypass, passive is the ticket - less likelihood of problems. (Passive is actually fine for anything but a piezo pickup, but a good active might sound a bit better.) I like the Radial Pro series DIs.