I PREFER the ampless setup. Less gear to haul around, and you sound better anyways. The DI can be as clean or as dirty as you want, and with a decent EQ, you can sound like anything you want to.
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Banished to the DI Zone
- Thread starter socialleper
- Start date
A lot of good points here. Makes sense. But there are a number of us who do use dist/dirt. It's nice to get a mic'd cab in that regard. But I like your suggestion better, the DI that goes from your cab to your amp to the FOH. That's always seemed the best solution to me for guys who use dirt a lot. Either that or you run and HPF/LPF in your chain. But a DI that goes between your amp and cab seems best to me.
There just isn't any way around, DI for bass is the way they are always going to go until something better comes up. We're a different monster than the guitar or drums just like they are from us. We all need different treatments to our sound. It's not really bad or good. It's just the way it is. I used to get sour at sound guys about it till I got some perspective on it. Plus, most the gigs I played was to a 3-500 head sized room. It's not like I was playing stadiums or huge clubs most times. Not to say I don't care about my tone. But you gotta read the venue/situation.
True but you don’t have to use their DI box. There are several really great tube DI boxes available. The REDDI will probably be the best and closest to the sound that JJ had back in the day.
songwriter21
I have an obsession for wood. The musical kind.
I have no concern with the DI route. I used just the setup below, for a while, and even on big stages, the sound was monstrous in my ears and equally as good out front.
Thanks for this discussion. I just happened to start a new thread, called best bass DIs. Would love anyone’s thoughts. I did mention that Motown but lt its own proprietary, sort of secret in house DI. I believe that it’s now sold under some name or another.
Anyway, I’m new to trying digital recording,(PTools) have old p and j basses(62 and a fretlessed 70 and a j bass I don’t play much, bad neck, inherited that one).
Any thoughts on your fav DIs would be appreciated. Just for recording. Currently using radial j48s, as passive bass means active DI. Clearly better than the direct out of my Ampeg class D head. Any thoughts, ideas welcome. Thanks a lot,
Sk
A J48 is a very good choice as a transparent DI - nothing wrong with that. You just have to make sure the hi pass isn't engaged if you want real low end out of your bass. It's only real weak point (and it isn't that weak even there) is that it has a relatively low input impedance (220 kOhms), which some passive basses might not like. If you're looking to unload your pickups (meaning you'll get more high mid frequency cut form some passive basses), a Countryman 85 will do that very well.
Thanks. I’ll check the filter. I actually run it with the dB cut.
Provides more headroom before my preamp.
Depending on the rig... i put a piece of painters tape over my DI connection and put a sharpie frowny face on it.
Last year i was playing a show with my stereo rig and the sound guy scoffed at my request for two lines. I said "dude... we're a 3 piece.. the last band had two guitarists, two vocalists, bass, drums, and keys... are you serious?"
Last year i was playing a show with my stereo rig and the sound guy scoffed at my request for two lines. I said "dude... we're a 3 piece.. the last band had two guitarists, two vocalists, bass, drums, and keys... are you serious?"
The biggest revolutions in DI's is happening now, especially with guitarists, with the advent of Helix/Kemper/Ax ite-FX/Headrush/etc. Guitarists can now get a great sound without having to lug their amps, cabs & pedal boards around, and rely on placing good mics in places where they can capture the best sounds.
However, back in the early 90's, DI-ing the bass was de-rigeur, both in the studio and in the live environment. Again, the advent of pre-amp pedals (like SansAmp), and amp modeling has revolutionised bass as well, as we can now shape our sound before it hits the desk (and relying on the sound engineer to get the "best" bass sound - not always guaranteed!).
I recall having many a discussion with the sound engineers at gigs, as to why they were mic'ing the guitars but DI'ing the bass. Why not mic the bass amp as well, or have I lugged it to the gig for no reason? Why not take a DI from the bass amp itself, and therefore get a better bass sound FoH? The answer was usually guff about "what if the amp goes down?", "what if the power goes down?", etc., but now if you take your own pre-amp/DI/whatever, they should take the DI from there.
I'm pretty sure this debate will last a very long time, with positive & negative points from all sides.
However, back in the early 90's, DI-ing the bass was de-rigeur, both in the studio and in the live environment. Again, the advent of pre-amp pedals (like SansAmp), and amp modeling has revolutionised bass as well, as we can now shape our sound before it hits the desk (and relying on the sound engineer to get the "best" bass sound - not always guaranteed!).
I recall having many a discussion with the sound engineers at gigs, as to why they were mic'ing the guitars but DI'ing the bass. Why not mic the bass amp as well, or have I lugged it to the gig for no reason? Why not take a DI from the bass amp itself, and therefore get a better bass sound FoH? The answer was usually guff about "what if the amp goes down?", "what if the power goes down?", etc., but now if you take your own pre-amp/DI/whatever, they should take the DI from there.
I'm pretty sure this debate will last a very long time, with positive & negative points from all sides.
I use an Avalon U5 and you'll have to pry that thing from my cold dead rack to get me to mic.
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,077
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- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
get yourself a good tube DI and a Cab Sim, and you'll be almost as happy as with a rig.
You are playing the sort of bar\club gigs I am. In a lot of places there isn't a full PA, or the PA is just for vocals. I don't know about you, but to me the idea of taking just DI and in ears is a little quaint. There are times where I'm my own sound reinforcement. What's more, when you get these gigs, they are at places you've never been to or even heard of. You really don't know the situation. For me, I have to be ready to be able to fill a room or deal with the fact that the monitors simply can't have enough bass put through them to be useful.
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,077
- 9,799
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
The DSM OmniCabSim gets me real close to a large sealed cab in headphones and as a DI send to FOH. Yeah its not quite the same, but I'll take getting 90% of the way there.
Who cares when it happened just long as we don't have to lug a 300# SVT head and one of those 8x10 refrigerator cabs around why complain? Seriously, look at it from another POV. You're playing the room. That takes a lot of air movement which, in turn, means that no matter what it sounds like to you it doesn't sound like that to anyone else. Also, in this say & age it seems that the most common mix you'll hear out front is mostly drums & voice - unless the FOH guy is attached to your band and you can get him to listen to what you want. Sad but true IMHE.
Recording seems to be the same these days. I just got a mix from a tune I played on in the studio and, if I wasn't listening real hard, I wasn't sure the bass made the track. Coming from an R&B background that's just bone crushing to my since of self-worth. Really, if that's all You can hear on the track, why bother? Get a keyboard or an octave pedal and do it yourself*. That said, I've always preferred going direct in the studio. It just fits the way I hear the bass on recordings. Two tracks - one compressed the other direct - blended in the final mix can be heavenly to the ears but hard to get people to do these days.
*As you can probably tell I've pretty much had it with this band.
Recording seems to be the same these days. I just got a mix from a tune I played on in the studio and, if I wasn't listening real hard, I wasn't sure the bass made the track. Coming from an R&B background that's just bone crushing to my since of self-worth. Really, if that's all You can hear on the track, why bother? Get a keyboard or an octave pedal and do it yourself*. That said, I've always preferred going direct in the studio. It just fits the way I hear the bass on recordings. Two tracks - one compressed the other direct - blended in the final mix can be heavenly to the ears but hard to get people to do these days.
*As you can probably tell I've pretty much had it with this band.
Different people have different experiences and play different types of venues.
When I get shows, I often don't know anything about the venue. I've played more than my fair share of shows with now PA support other than for the vocals, or where the wedges are rubbish, so they can't produce bass guitar at any appreciable volume. I also wouldn't trust 50% of the sound people to not blow my ears out if I used IEMs. What you are describing a pretty world I simply don't live in.
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,077
- 9,799
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
nothing makes up for a real rig, or the control a real rig affords you on a gig with assorted dodgy variables like the ones you mentioned. I'm merely responding from the viewpoint that the luxury of a rig is not afforded, and as such, this is my suggestion for how to retain as much control and desired tone as possible, given being hamstrung by not having a rig present. But yeah, lots of crap monitors and sub par soundmen out there. Can't really get around that.
Agreed. Isnt it funny how backwards the needs are? If I'm playing a VFW or basement show, I need a big cab like no other... its all theyll hear of me. The United Center??? No amp needed lol. Just a DI and their massive array of monitors with thousands upon thousands of watts running to them.
we always have had full PA at every venue. i don't understand the challenge people have setting up their amps depending on the room. it really does not take long. we never soundcheck. 5 min line checks and we are good to go. i guess after 10 years we just know how to adjust and compensate for different environments.
