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Amp Direct Out vs DI box?

#41
MIJ-VI said:
"Be careful though, plugging straight into the DI box and unplugging your bass during the show will result in a loud pop over the PA system. Very bad!"

Using cables fitted with Neutrik 1/4-inch Silent Plugs would help to avoid this.
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so would placing a tuner after your bass and before the d.i. box. shouldn't you take a tuner anyway? you know... just to make sure your in tune ;)
 
#42
Any amp with a pre-DI mute switch takes care of the pops when unplugging your bass. Mute the amp (some have footswitches), unplug and plug in the next bass, tune up (most mutes keep the tuner output active) and unmute.
 
#43
For some reason amplifier di's have a bad rep with a lot of people. I've always wanted the Radial Tonebone, I think it's a killer box. I never much cared for the Sansamp. To really use it the way it's intended it seems to totally color your sound, which is the whole point of it I guess. Anyway, not for me.
If you have good dual-driver in-ears or better, I'm sure you could get away with those and a di for a lot of gigs. Imagine showing up with a gig bag that holds everything you need for your setup! No amps, no cabs... this is either a dream scenario or a nightmare depending on your perspective!
 
#44
Akito said:
For some reason amplifier di's have a bad rep with a lot of people. I've always wanted the Radial Tonebone, I think it's a killer box. I never much cared for the Sansamp. To really use it the way it's intended it seems to totally color your sound, which is the whole point of it I guess. Anyway, not for me.
If you have good dual-driver in-ears or better, I'm sure you could get away with those and a di for a lot of gigs. Imagine showing up with a gig bag that holds everything you need for your setup! No amps, no cabs... this is either a dream scenario or a nightmare depending on your perspective!
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Put me down for nightmare.
 
#45
I thinking of getting a Demeter DI for home recording. And when I practice with the band I play through a cheap 150 watt bass amp. Would it sound better if I have a DI box between the bass and the amp? Because now it sounds very sterile.
 
#46
All of the amps I have had in the past 10 years had decent DI's. I think soundmen don't like to always use them for the sheer factor of unpredictability...they like to use their own since they know it.

I also run sound for my band when we use our conventional system and IMO, a DI that is pre-eq is way easier to mix and therefore sounds better. Like others said, you may have to eq to get a solid tone from your amp, but through the big stuff out front a fairly flat signal does best. The subs will pick up the low end...
 
#48
SteveC said:
Some amp DI's have come a long way. No one has complained about the DI in my Genz Benz Shuttle. It's easily as good as any outboard box I have used.
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Be sides reduction in size that has been the biggest advance in amps over the past ten years or so. My Thuderfunk 550 A has an exceptional direct out. The Aggie DB750 has a Jensen balanced studio level unit. My first Eden Traveller (WT300) was terrible in this regard. My last one (WT 550) had a much better box. The Radial JDI or Tonebone is still nice to through in your gig bag just in case. Years ago I carried an Avalon U5 around, but the amp boxes have gotten much better since then.

One other comment, be careful with the Countryman, I've seen it get real noisy with some active bass pre's. It's a great box, but like most gear it doesn't work well with everything.
 
#49
nperry77 said:
The Sansamp Bass Driver D.I. pedal is a little $200 box of magic. I'd highly recommend it.
Geddy Lee uses the rackmounted version of this pre and a ton of guys use the pedal version. Great for recording too.
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Too noisy for my liking - and I certainly would never record with one of those... I've never really cared for how they sound all that much, and for recording would MUCH rather run a good quality DI straight in, and tweak things afterwards...

To each their own, though...



- georgestrings
 
#51
Dave Bassincus said:
The only trouble with post-EQ is that you probably EQ based on the EQ curve of the cab you're using. This could be completely wrong for the PA system, which is why many soundguys prefer a DI box. The longer I've played, the less important EQ on my amp has become.
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Yup - before my current setup, I always had to add some highs and lows to get the tone I was looking for - so I'd go pre-EQ with my DI send from my amp... My current rig is a G-K 700rb-II into a Mesa Powerhouse 610 - which gives me just what I'm looking for, set pretty much flat... As a result of that, I've been able to use a post-EQ DI send from the G-K without causing the soundguy any nightmares - and even though it's flat, the post-EQ send does add a bit of the preamp's sound, which is an improvement over my pre-EQ sound...

The other part of this deal is that I don't start changing things once we're playing - so, I'm not making things difficult for the guy at the mixing console...



- georgestrings
 

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