Alternative to Countryman Type 85 DI

[Bob_Ross]

It's been at Countryman for two weeks, and I found out today that it'll be six months or more before their service tech(s) look at it and can give me a quote. Since no one has these in stock anywhere, I'm assuming that these aren't being made anymore.

fwiw: I had to deal with Countryman recently (ironically, my Type 85 had the opposite problem as yours: worked with the battery but not with phantom) and they told me they are still making the Type 85...it's just that they have a severe shortage of parts required to complete them, so new ones won't be available for a while. (They also confirmed that their service department is bogged down in some delay that's preventing them from getting to new repairs in a timely manner.)

But what they also said was that they have plenty of the Type 85 modules -- the epoxy-clad blobs that contain the main electronics of the unit -- available for sale, so if you're handy with a soldering iron you can order one of those and repair your unit yourself. That's what I did, and mine works good as new now.

Of course, for the price of a Type 85 electronics module you could almost buy a new Radial direct box...

 

[gregbackstrom]

fwiw: I had to deal with Countryman recently (ironically, my Type 85 had the opposite problem as yours: worked with the battery but not with phantom) and they told me they are still making the Type 85...it's just that they have a severe shortage or parts required to complete them, so new ones won't be available for a while. (They also confirmed that their service department is bogged down in some delay that's preventing them from getting to new repairs in a timely manner.)

But what they also said was that they have plenty of the Type 85 modules -- the epoxy-clad blobs that contain the main electronics of the unit -- available for sale, so if you're handy with a soldering iron you can order one of those and repair your unit yourself. That's what I did, and mine works good as new now.

Of course, for the price of a Type 85 electronics module you could almost buy a new Radial direct box...

Interesting. I've done a lot of soldering over the years, so that could be an option.

 

[leonard]

Sansamp Bass Driver DI works with a battery and sounds similar when the effect is not on. Sadowsky preamp DI has the battery option and works as a straight DI.

 

[paskisti]

Many active DIs are very neutral for suggested use. Pick up the one that is for your liking, but I would go for Radial Pro 48. It is high/pro quality and not too expensive. Don't choose passive box unless you are always working with the active basses.

 

[gregbackstrom]

Interesting. I've done a lot of soldering over the years, so that could be an option.

I spoke with Rose at Countryman today. She told me that there are no Type 85 modules available. I'm having them return mine since it still works on phantom power. It'll be a backup when my Warm Audio Active DI arrives.

 

[cfraz]

The Warm Audio DI looks interesting, and it has some nice features. I wasn't able to see what's involved in changing batteries - but if they're not behind some screwdriver-required door, it may be a great choice.

Another alternative which may be a bit off the beaten path is the Aguilar Tone Hammer pedal (original version). It runs on 18 VDC from external power, batteries, or phantom power, and has both XLR and 1/4" outputs. I use the 1/4" out to drive my stage amp, and the XLR to run to the house PA. It has a three band EQ with semi-parametric mid, and a gain circuit that can give a nice dynamics-sensitive amp breakup type sound. With neither the EQ or gain circuit switched on, it just sounds like a good quality DI, to me.

Aguilar just released version 2 of this pedal. It doesn't have battery powered capability as far as I can tell, but there may be a few of the original version pedals up for sale now.

 

[gregbackstrom]

The Warm Audio DI looks interesting, and it has some nice features. I wasn't able to see what's involved in changing batteries - but if they're not behind some screwdriver-required door, it may be a great choice.

Another alternative which may be a bit off the beaten path is the Aguilar Tone Hammer pedal (original version). It runs on 18 VDC from external power, batteries, or phantom power, and has both XLR and 1/4" outputs. I use the 1/4" out to drive my stage amp, and the XLR to run to the house PA. It has a three band EQ with semi-parametric mid, and a gain circuit that can give a nice dynamics-sensitive amp breakup type sound. With neither the EQ or gain circuit switched on, it just sounds like a good quality DI, to me.

Aguilar just released version 2 of this pedal. It doesn't have battery powered capability as far as I can tell, but there may be a few of the original version pedals up for sale now.

On the Warm active DI, you have to remove 2 screws on the top and 4 screws on the bottom to get to the battery compartment. But the batteries last for a crazy long time. (1,600 hours, IIRC).

 

[Boneless]

Interesting. I've done a lot of soldering over the years, so that could be an option.

If you are comfortable soldering, there are several active circuits or active with a transformer you could tinker with for the price of a few cheap parts (well, it quickly gets expensive if you start rolling transformers...). You could get away with soldering the parts onto Veroboard. Really, if you go with opamp-based (and follow the manufacturer's recommendations, eg. power supply bypassing etc.) it's not that hard, the really hard stuff has been done for you by the opamp designers

 

[Jack]

There's a load of nice, transparent active DIs. In the UK backline/pa companies seem pretty evenly split between the Klark Teknik, BSS, and the Behringer copies of the BSS. All of which have the same functionality as the Countryman, if not quite the same sound or quality. If you want nicer options then things like Radial and Warm have already been mentioned. I really fancy one of the Neve DIs, and probably a Demeter as well, but I really have enough DI boxes now.

 

[cfraz]

On the Warm active DI, you have to remove 2 screws on the top and 4 screws on the bottom to get to the battery compartment. But the batteries last for a crazy long time. (1,600 hours, IIRC).

That's impressive! And certainly nullifies my concern.

 

[hennessybass]

hmmm, if it fits your needs well, why not just buy a used Countryman 85 ?

This is what I'd do.

 

[gregbackstrom]

This is what I'd do.

I thought about that, but it appears that Countryman isn't able or willing to support their DI's any longer. Rather than roll the dice on an "as-is" used product with no manufacturer support, I decided to see what the options are. The Warm Audio DI is great, and seems to provide the features and quality sound I'm most interested in. The Neve DI is also pretty compelling! With my mix of active and passive basses, the Warm won the day. But YMMV!

 

[hennessybass]

I posted before I actually finished reading the thread

I've had a countryman for a long time, but use the DI on my amp more often.
The Warm sure looks nice. The Neve looks really nice.

There are so many great options out there. Especially now with so many preamp/DIs.

I will say - Whenever i pull out all my gear and do the critical listening A/B thing - the Countryman is hard to beat.
It just makes my passive J bass sound good.

 

[gregbackstrom]

I posted before I actually finished reading the thread

I've had a countryman for a long time, but use the DI on my amp more often.
The Warm sure looks nice. The Neve looks really nice.

There are so many great options out there. Especially now with so many preamp/DIs.

I will say - Whenever i pull out all my gear and do the critical listening A/B thing - the Countryman is hard to beat.
It just makes my passive J bass sound good.

I agree! Countryman seems to be in pretty dire straits these days. I hope they're able to keep afloat. Regarding DI's, there are lots of viable options available these days at a wide range of price-points.

 

[WRM]

It's in the "upper range", and I didn't end up purchasing a Venus Z (yet - snagged a Neptunium instead), but it doesn't need power for the DI (and provides a palette of tones, if you choose to enjoy them)....

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-sushi-box-fx-secret-society.1484792/page-1044#post-28548571

 

[mbrain]

Out of curiosity, what are you plugging into that requires battery power? I thought phantom power was standard on practically every modern board worth having. I haven't had a battery in my 85 for maybe 20 years and can't remember it ever being an issue.

 

[hennessybass]

Out of curiosity, what are you plugging into that requires battery power? I thought phantom power was standard on practically every modern board worth having. I haven't had a battery in my 85 for maybe 20 years and can't remember it ever being an issue.

Hey man,,, you never know.

In the wild and woolly world of gigging, I like to control every aspect of my-thing as I can.

 

[gregbackstrom]

Out of curiosity, what are you plugging into that requires battery power? I thought phantom power was standard on practically every modern board worth having. I haven't had a battery in my 85 for maybe 20 years and can't remember it ever being an issue.

I'm outputting the di xlr into my IEM mixer. The FOH comes from the back line. This is rare - maybe 3-4 times a year, and always a last minute decision. It's not necessary when I'm using my own amps.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

The Warm Active DI runs on batteries, phantom power, and can run passive.
The Tech21 Qstrip can run on batteries, phantom, or pedal power supply.
Both sound great.