Am I crazy for wanting to stop using amplifiers? (Behold the REDDI.)

[KJung]

After picking up an A-Designs REDDI, I have been considering a rather dramatic move. Not replacing the two amplifiers I recently sold to begin building my studio.

The REDDI sounds absolutely phenomenal. Until I picked one up, I had always been concerned with the elusive perfect tone to my ears. I had spent hours and thousands of dollars cycling through bass gear. In the last year and a half, I have used Genz-Benz, Markbass, TecAmp, Glockenklang and Aguilar, eventually conceding that the Glockenklang and Aguilar amplifiers stood above the rest for my personal tone preference.

The trouble is that the differences were only significant in solo or low-volume practice settings. On louder performances, the difference between, say, the Markbass and Glockenklang -- or even Aguilar and Glockenklang -- were minimized from my point-of-view. And this seems to be in line with many peoples' views here. In a mix, a lot of these putatively salient differences we debate about fade away.

Moreover, neither the Aguilar or the Glockenklang sounded as good as the high-end studio equipment I have been accustomed to using recently. This includes the REDDI, but anyone with Universal Audio 6176 experience, for example, knows what bliss can come of high-end studio gear. In my opinion, it just smokes the Aguilar for gooey tube goodness in the studio. (But, of course, it's more expensive!)

Additionally, the fidelity of the Glockenklang signal -- as much as it stood out as being purer and lower-noise than any other bass amp, especially the DB750 -- was always inferior to the high-end studio gear I had come accustomed to using.

So, in the studio, the studio gear won over the amplifiers. And, in the mix, the difference across amplifiers, especially once PA was introduced, tended to vanish.

So why have an amplifier for my needs? Every situation I am playing in has a voice, and so even the practice rooms have PAs. With solo practice, I can go into the studio and sound heavenly through the system, especially if I am using the REDDI. The REDDI kills. Let me repeat that. The REDDI kills. To me, it's all the good things about the Aguilar amp that I love, without the weight, and with far superior studio applications. It has the tubey goodness, and it just oozes character. Plus, it's 33 pounds lighter, without a road case!

Anyone else experienced this kind of thinking, or abandoned amplification for a while? I read somewhere that Tommixx did this. Thanks for indulging me in this strange thread.

: )

Unless I had my own monitor mix and one heck of a good monitor system, I would never, ever give up a backline rig.

Also, interestingly, I find backline rigs to actually very much 'pull apart' from one another in a mix. I can make most things work at home solo at moderate volumes. However, in a mix cranking.... that's where things pull apart and you either love them or hate them.

Different strokes. I guess if I was lucky enough to have a separate monitor mix and side fills or a really good, high quality monitor and mix just for me, I'd have no problems not using backline. However, that virtually never happens. Even with the bigger corporate shows I do, there is usually only 4 monitor mixes, and guess who doesn't (EVER) get his own. I guess if you played in a fixed band (i.e., not a freelancer) and had good in-ears, you'd probably be OK as long as the band could hear you.

For studio... I've never used an amp in the studio.. unless you really need distortion or whatever, really no need. IMO.

 

[seamonkey]

Every bass player should walk over to the PA department and try out what they have there.
Gear for PA is produced in larger quantities and has outstanding measurements as compared to bass gear costing the same price.

 

[BassmanPaul]

My way of thinking is that I am responsible for getting my bass out to the audience. In my world not every club, very few in fact, have what I'd call a decent PA capable of doing that. I did for one project configure my PA to carry the whole band. guitar through a pod, electronic drums etc. The idea was to have zero stage volume and everything was controlled from the PA. It worked pretty well but didn't give my bass its sound - just a very generic tone.

If I am to play a gig I'll take my full rig, amp and a pair of Acme B2s, and use them even if it turns out that there is a good PA. That way even if the PA fails the band can still perform.

Paul

 

[johnk_10]

Every bass player should walk over to the PA department and try out what they have there.
Gear for PA is produced in larger quantities and has outstanding measurements as compared to bass gear costing the same price.

IME, having a great bass tone along with excellent punch and response has little to do with measurements. and i know that my favorite sounding bass rigs wouldn't make a good sounding FOH system either.

 

[pasta4lnch]

i also did own a few Manley pieces in the past and they just didn't do anything for me, so i sold them years ago.

I dumped my Manley stuff too. It was good, but nothing special - I did keep their ELOP though. It's great for vocal tracking . . .

 

[MNAirHead]

I've done it..

Opinion.. buy a kickback smaller amp.. this is a bit of security.. many have useable DI units..

I miss my huge rig.. not enough to keep carrying it.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Micro/Mini rigs have really made it much easier to get stage volume without having to lug heavy stuff. So imo the driver to go with a DI only solution is not as great as it used to be.

 

[bongomania]

I've ground this axe about the REDDI a few times before, so I apologize to people who've heard it already.

It's just not practical as an amp replacement, outside the studio. It's bulky, an awkward shape, as heavy as most "micro" amp heads, and unable to drive a power amp by itself. Adding a rack EQ to bring it up to +4 dBu line level increases the bulk, weight, and awkwardness of bringing it "instead of an amp".

Sure it sounds fantastic, but so do a lot of other solutions in more convenient formats.

 

[svtb15]

here is my REDDI at work.. Not my amp.. it was the studios with the neumann something or other mic.

 

[svtb15]

American Idol guy with Ricky Minor to the right of frame with his REDDI.. You can see the blue light..
Leno show just bought two REDDIs

 

[svtb15]

I have done huge 15k seaters size gigs and small churches with just and only my REDDI and my westone inears.. on my separate monitor mix.. Your separate mix is essential though. I takes a little to get used to , but once i did i prefer more than any stage monitoring.. And the REDDI in quality IEMS is the bomb. you do need a little pant leg thump too . just depends on the venues..

I've ground this axe about the REDDI a few times before, so I apologize to people who've heard it already.

It's just not practical as an amp replacement, outside the studio. It's bulky, an awkward shape, as heavy as most "micro" amp heads, and unable to drive a power amp by itself. Adding a rack EQ to bring it up to +4 dBu line level increases the bulk, weight, and awkwardness of bringing it "instead of an amp".

Sure it sounds fantastic, but so do a lot of other solutions in more convenient formats.

 

[naturalkinds]

I've ground this axe about the REDDI a few times before, so I apologize to people who've heard it already.

It's just not practical as an amp replacement, outside the studio. It's bulky, an awkward shape, as heavy as most "micro" amp heads, and unable to drive a power amp by itself. Adding a rack EQ to bring it up to +4 dBu line level increases the bulk, weight, and awkwardness of bringing it "instead of an amp".

Sure it sounds fantastic, but so do a lot of other solutions in more convenient formats.

Play fair, Bongo! I never said (a) it was going to drive a power amp or (b) it was the lightest route for getting good stage volume. It's as much of an amp replacement as any DI; I never intended to suggest it was anything more.

What I will say is that it imparts a bass tone I like as much as my heaviest Aguilar rig. And I have been experiencing that in rehearsal situations with a PA, at a much lighter weight.

Moreover, a Markbass ain't going to cut it as a multi-purpose studio tool. The REDDI will.

So those are just a couple of reasons. If funds were unlimited, and space were as well, I'd have every amp in existence. But that's not the world I live in.

 

[svtb15]

My friend is out on a major world tour right now doing arenas and larger. He has the REDDI as his DI with Aguilar amps.
His Aguilar amp had a malfunction which sent speaker voltage through the input jack and caused the Reddi to go poof..
He is on IEMs...
He likes the REDDI... and said he dint really realize how nice it was until that amp malfunction he had and had to send the REDDI out for repair.. He went a few days on another type DI and that is when he missed the REDDI. It was noticeable.
I know what he means in that regard... You dont miss it until you dont have it anymore.
I have used the milenia, jdi, avalon, countryman ect. .All of them are great...
But the reddi is rather unique.... i have engineers always request that i bring that box with me..i really found that nothing is like it.. in a good way.. Just my personal experience with this box...

 

[Plays_For_Dog]

I've played through a PA many of times and wasn't satisfied. Recently I've been rehearsing through the PA because I have gotten lazy and don't want to lug my rig over, but for live shows I like the security of having it there. That way I'm not depending on the PA and/or sound guy (have been to multiple shows where I asked sound dude ex-hippy to take me out of the mix and I'll handle it myself with my amp).


+1 for above mentioned monitors usually don't carry bass well. Often, I'm reliant on my rig to hear myself.

I'm convinced in house sound guys are all guitar players or drummers. It's all treble and snare most of the time.

However, the deciding factor is your personalized situation and comfort. If it works for you, then go with it. Either way it turns out, you'll learn from it and have cools stories about it.

 

[KJung]

Play fair, Bongo! I never said (a) it was going to drive a power amp or (b) it was the lightest route for getting good stage volume. It's as much of an amp replacement as any DI; I never intended to suggest it was anything more.

What I will say is that it imparts a bass tone I like as much as my heaviest Aguilar rig. And I have been experiencing that in rehearsal situations with a PA, at a much lighter weight.

Moreover, a Markbass ain't going to cut it as a multi-purpose studio tool. The REDDI will.

So those are just a couple of reasons. If funds were unlimited, and space were as well, I'd have every amp in existence. But that's not the world I live in.

As long as you are comfortable with the monitor system, any high quality DI will get you where you need to go (depending on your tone goals), assuming the front of house system is decent. Again, it is stage monitoring that keeps most from going this route (and also the fact that for many freelance players, a large percentage of gigs don't have front of house support.

If you, again, are in that rare situation to have your own personal monitor mix, and a monitor cabinet sitting in front of you that gives you the 'girth and feel' to make your bass sound good on stage, then I say it is a go, and you are a lucky man!

 

[bongomania]

Just throwing it out there: The TAB-Funkenwerk V71 and the Phoenix Audio (UK) "Nice DI" are two units that have tone as equally wonderful as the REDDI, yet they are in a more convenient rackable form. Plus they are both able to drive a power amp on their own, and they both have dual outputs, for sending a signal to the PA while driving a power amp (the Phoenix needs a patch cord between channels for that). Both are able to fit in the large pocket of a bass gig bag. Their tone is not the same as the REDDI, but in the same ballpark, and just as good.

I have owned all three (sold only due to needing money), and my preference for tone is:
1 Phoenix
2 REDDI
3 TAB-Funk
...and my preference for practicality is:
1 TAB-Funk
2 Phoenix
3 REDDI.

 

[naturalkinds]

Cool. Thanks for those recommendations. I saw that the Pheonix DI is stereo, too! At $350 a channel, it is certainly a little more reasonable in price than the REDDI. You seem to be familiar with using them as an interface between a bass an a power amplifier, but what about general purpose studio use, and on different instruments?

There is a serious disadvantage with the REDDI having only a dwarf's amount of gain. You generally require a preamp for recording, and, as mentioned earlier, to drive a poweramp. But there's something beautiful going on it in. At its price, you could buy half a used UA6176, and have a legendary compressor to boot.

Love talking about this stuff.

: )

 

[Bassflute]

get an IP.

Cheers
Cameron

After picking up an A-Designs REDDI, I have been considering a rather dramatic move. Not replacing the two amplifiers I recently sold to begin building my studio.

The REDDI sounds absolutely phenomenal. Until I picked one up, I had always been concerned with the elusive perfect tone to my ears. I had spent hours and thousands of dollars cycling through bass gear. In the last year and a half, I have used Genz-Benz, Markbass, TecAmp, Glockenklang and Aguilar, eventually conceding that the Glockenklang and Aguilar amplifiers stood above the rest for my personal tone preference.

The trouble is that the differences were only significant in solo or low-volume practice settings. On louder performances, the difference between, say, the Markbass and Glockenklang -- or even Aguilar and Glockenklang -- were minimized from my point-of-view. And this seems to be in line with many peoples' views here. In a mix, a lot of these putatively salient differences we debate about fade away.

Moreover, neither the Aguilar or the Glockenklang sounded as good as the high-end studio equipment I have been accustomed to using recently. This includes the REDDI, but anyone with Universal Audio 6176 experience, for example, knows what bliss can come of high-end studio gear. In my opinion, it just smokes the Aguilar for gooey tube goodness in the studio. (But, of course, it's more expensive!)

Additionally, the fidelity of the Glockenklang signal -- as much as it stood out as being purer and lower-noise than any other bass amp, especially the DB750 -- was always inferior to the high-end studio gear I had come accustomed to using.

So, in the studio, the studio gear won over the amplifiers. And, in the mix, the difference across amplifiers, especially once PA was introduced, tended to vanish.

So why have an amplifier for my needs? Every situation I am playing in has a voice, and so even the practice rooms have PAs. With solo practice, I can go into the studio and sound heavenly through the system, especially if I am using the REDDI. The REDDI kills. Let me repeat that. The REDDI kills. To me, it's all the good things about the Aguilar amp that I love, without the weight, and with far superior studio applications. It has the tubey goodness, and it just oozes character. Plus, it's 33 pounds lighter, without a road case!

Anyone else experienced this kind of thinking, or abandoned amplification for a while? I read somewhere that Tommixx did this. Thanks for indulging me in this strange thread.

: )

 

[andymcclure]

I personally just use basses with tones that I like. I keep a $20 Whirlwind DI on my pedal board and leave the amp in my truck unless I absolutely, positively need it. Blasphemy? Here's my logic...

A. Most gigs I can load in/out in one trip.
B. Most gigs I am at the mercy of the sound guy and/or house PA anyway.
C. Reduced stage volume means better stage mixes, fewer headaches and less sonic hangover the next day.
D. The greatest bass tone in the world don't mean sh!t if it doesn't sit in the mix well. The sound guy can hear the mix in the room and adjust to suit. If you're trying to fill the room from the stage, he can't do anything with you.
E. Most of us are playing in crappy bars with absolutely no consideration given to acoustics, sound dampening, ideal listening environments, etc. Your tone will not be conveyed to the room anyway.
F. If someone spills a beer on my DI, I can buy 2 backups for the price of a tank of gas. If someone spills a beer on your REDDI...

 

[svtb15]

Pro gear does have a price... Just as you are not going to put a Mackie preamp channel up against a NEVE, SSL or API when going toe to toe with the big boys.
Is the Reddi expense? perhaps.. depends on what you are comparing to and tone goals... the Demeter tube DI is $$ too... the Aguilar is too but the transformer on that DI has a roll off in the lows that i wonder why they did that.
You know its all so subjective..
Is the reddi pristine? yes...
ALL DIs have a sound , even the milena, UA, Avalon , Evil Twin,etc. Its just which sound to you prefer... yes even the Milenia has a sound to it..

I have had one of each and only kept the REDDI. The evil twin is more $$ than the REDDI and others are twice as much and much bulkier.

Cool. Thanks for those recommendations. I saw that the Pheonix DI is stereo, too! At $350 a channel, it is certainly a little more reasonable in price than the REDDI. You seem to be familiar with using them as an interface between a bass an a power amplifier, but what about general purpose studio use, and on different instruments?

There is a serious disadvantage with the REDDI having only a dwarf's amount of gain. You generally require a preamp for recording, and, as mentioned earlier, to drive a poweramp. But there's something beautiful going on it in. At its price, you could buy half a used UA6176, and have a legendary compressor to boot.

Love talking about this stuff.

: )