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Bass DI for both active and passive basses

#61
I will pick up a Subway sometime this year, but until then, how does the Markbass LM series DI work (if it was mentioned I missed it). I have a LMII and a my cmd121h also has the pre and post EQ switch with volume control. We just got a sub, so I have not been through the PA yet.
 
#62
Thumper said:
I will pick up a Subway sometime this year, but until then, how does the Markbass LM series DI work (if it was mentioned I missed it). I have a LMII and a my cmd121h also has the pre and post EQ switch with volume control. We just got a sub, so I have not been through the PA yet.
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Honestly, I think the LMII's DI is uber weak. It's usable, but years ago I did a shootout of all the DI's I owned at the time, which were the one in the LMII, one in my SWR SM-500, a Whirlwind Imp 2, a Countryman Type 85, and an EBS Microbass II, and only the Imp 2 sounded worse than the LMII. It's certainly usable, but it's just sort of blah.
 
#66
Radio said:
Not to hijack, but Has anyone tried this one? I had a thread asking about it, and then found this thread.

LDB-101 | One Channel High Performance Active Direct Input Box

They have a passive version, too.
Click to expand...

I don't know anything about that DI, but it looks like they have a half-decent six channel rackmount sub mixer for a nice price. :)

More to the point though, as I said earlier, I think you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference between DIs in a dense live mix.
 
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#68
NKBassman said:
My suggestions:

Passive DI: Radial JDI. Simple, bulletproof.
Active DI: Countryman Type 85. Again, simple, bulletproof option. Requires phantom power.
Preamp w/ tone shaping: Aguilar Tonehammer DI or Mesa Subway DI. As far as Class D heads go, if I didn't already own a Tonehammer 500 I'd be looking at the new Mesa Subway 800. Given the quality of these amps, I have to assume the preamp pedals are excellent as well.

Honorable Mentions: Tech 21 Sansamp BDDI. Tech 21 VT Bass. Ampeg Scrambler.
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Totally agree with this breakdown. I'm higher than most (is that possible?) on the SansAmp products. I strongly suspect that those who don't like it do not use it the way SansAmp technology was designed (it is NOT a stompbox used to feed into your preamp, necessarily). I've used the VT Bass DI usually when I need to keep it simple and I absolutely love it for the ability to quickly and easily send a solid overdriven cab emulated tone to the FOH while taking a parallel out to my pedalboard>preamp>poweramp. The SansAmps really are incredible: can take battery and phantom power, offer very decent cab emulation with LPF, blend, decent but not great EQ, very good and full-ranged overdrive to distortion to near fuzz tones ALL in a little box that will fit in your pocket. I never go to gigs without one. That being said, I use my Noble preamp/DI whenever I can but feel so much better knowing my SansAmp is with me knowing that the FOH will always get a solid overdriven/distorted tone from me 100% of the time in the even that my amp or preamp or whatever fails on me.
 
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#70
NKBassman said:
Ok fair enough, something like that Audiopile DI VS a Countryman (or REDDI in your case Jimmy) might be more noticeable.
My original comment I think I actually meant more for comparing say a JDI VS Countryman with the same bass in a live mix. That may be a more fair comparison.
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Yeah, that I get. A fair point.
 
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#71
Radio said:
Not to hijack, but Has anyone tried this one? I had a thread asking about it, and then found this thread.

LDB-101 | One Channel High Performance Active Direct Input Box

They have a passive version, too.
Click to expand...
I have a couple of them and also this ADB-404 | Four Channel Rack Mount Active Direct Input Box
Never had any issues with either box.. but they are NOT REDDI's or high end.. basic DI's.
I got them for live use (SR) to have with my rig - mostly for drums, bass, keys - and have never used them in a studio environment.
 
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#73
FunWithBass said:
I have the version 3.0 of the user manual for the Tone Hammer 500, and the top paragraph on page 4 is entitled 'Protection Features' and does not mention speakers. Maybe your manual reads differently?

I bought TH500 used and printed out the manual from the Aguliar website last year since it did not come with a manual.

That said, I did contact Auguilar and was told that the TH500 could be safely operated without a speaker load as you (and several others here) have said. So thanks for pointing that out.

So for my personal use, I will use my TH500 head for now, but this thread is about what the church will buy for their use.
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Aguilar must have revised the printed manual but didn't for the copy on their website. 'Protection Features' is the next paragraph on mine. My older 2.0 manual doesn't mention it either.
Glad Aguilar did confirm it though.
 
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#75
Al Kraft said:
Past the DI function, did you like the EBS pedal? The one time I heard one it sounded quite a bit different from what I would associate with the REDDI or Ampeg sound which immediately come to mind when I see your name. Just curious...
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Eh, kind of. It wasn't a bad unit, but what I didn't like was having treble and bass on one channel and sweepable mid on the other. I think if I had it to do over again in that situation, I'd have gotten a Tonebone, which makes more sense to me...one channel with no tone controls, the other with treble, bass and mid.
 
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#78
Ok, so I received a few more bits of informaion from the worship leader from the the church and he is looking for an active DI at the moment. A buddy of his recommended an MXR DI pedal (my guess is may be the M-80). That is an active DI, correct? They don't want to spend too much money.

I think I am the only one with an active bass, so I told them that I will bring my own.

Today, I used my Tone Hammer 500 just as a DI. Quite overkill to have a 500 watt DI pedal (ha,ha). I think I may look at a smaller DI pedal for myself for my active basses.
0122171213a.jpg
 
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#79
FunWithBass said:
Hey everone,
I was playing bass today in my church and the worship leader mentioned that he wanted to get a DI box specifically for bass (instead of using the ProCo CB-1 they use for all the other instruments). I am not sure what the WL is looking for as far as features or budget, but it would be used by several different bassists who would be using passive or active basses (as well as active with passive switch).

Seaching the threads, I saw mention of the Radial J48 for active and passive basses.

Are there any single DI boxes that you have used that worked well for both active and passive basses?
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I have a Radial Pro48 and it works great with both active and passive basses. It has -16dB pad that you can engage if you have a really hot active bass (like I do with my Washburn BB5). I scooped it up last year for just over $100 brand new. It's built like a tank and lets the natural tone of your bass come through. I highly recommend.
 
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#80
ccooney78 said:
I have a Radial Pro48 and it works great with both active and passive basses. It has -16dB pad that you can engage if you have a really hot active bass (like I do with my Washburn BB5). I scooped it up last year for just over $100 brand new. It's built like a tank and lets the natural tone of your bass come through. I highly recommend.
Click to expand...
If you know you'll have phantom power available (which in most cases is a good bet), the J48 is an excellent choice.
 
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