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Best Bass DI

#21
i'm a DI nut. i take maybe 3 or 4 to each session i do. course, if there's a manley, neve or millennia in the house, no need. :p

for sheer tubey gloss, nothing touches my Demeter. for fat burly tube sounds, the aguilar is pretty dang good. heck, it sounds awesome for acoustics, too. then, there's my U5 for open, airy, clean sweetness that wont compress no matter how hard you slam it. great for adding a nice steely toughness to rock tones.

for simplicity sake, tho, my countryman has with me longer than any other piece of gear i own, studio, guitar, bass or drums.
 
#22
cabcreaser said:
I am curious, Westland, if the REDDI has made it to Hong Kong, have you tried one (or better yet a/bed it to a BRICK--I think you would be quite surprised by the results)?
Click to expand...

I have not seen a REDDI except for their website, so I'll take your word for it. I actually had to order the GT from the US as no one here stocks them. People speak highly of the REDDI so I'll be interested in trying one out sometime.
 
#27
cabcreaser said:
I respectfully disagree and yes I have used a Brick as well.

The 6N1P preamp tube sounds different from 12ax7s (more open to my ears) and the output transformers are quite different.

The only direct box that seems comparable to the REDDI (though it utilizes a 12ax7) is the Eclair Engineering Evil Twin. IMO the Brick (for bass) ranks lower than the Aguilar or Demeter box, and as stated previously, the REDDI above them all (with the exception of perhaps the Evil Twin).

I am curious, Westland, if the REDDI has made it to Hong Kong, have you tried one (or better yet a/bed it to a BRICK--I think you would be quite surprised by the results)?
Click to expand...


One other box to compare is the DB659 ... a preamp, but it has a DI out. I suspect this may get closer to the REDDI sound, as it is very warm and tubey (I own one, and have experimented with different tubes, settling on the JJs). The GT really doesn't seem to color the sound all that much, unless I push it with a JAN GE 5751 in the V1 socket.

I don't have experience with the 6N1P, but I can vouch for the significant differences in sound simply by switching tubes.
 
#28
I use a Sadowsky preamp/DI. I think of it as the same as a guy who can't afford an SVT mustang buying a V6 Stang and supercharging it. Since I can't afford a Sadowsky (or other high end) bass, I had to make my mid level Yamaha sound as good as it could, and this was the unit to do it. I have played through $3000 preamps in studios, but I honestly think that the Sadowsky pre is the best value, considering how good the sound quality is.
 
#30
McHack said:
Does anyone have any comments regarding the DI on the Aphex Punch Factory? I wont have a chance to test this out, for another 10 days...
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Really good. On my board I use it strictly for recording, as a replacement for my amps compressor. I can set it up so that I can have a higher XLR signal, but still have an instrument/mic level going to the amp, if necessary. BTW my computer needs a higher signal than "normal" mic level, even when set to mic! Just plugging a passive into it doesn't even registar :bawl:

Oh, and even with the Drive at 8, and the volume at 9 it's silent :D
 
#32
westland said:
One other box to compare is the DB659 ... a preamp, but it has a DI out. I suspect this may get closer to the REDDI sound, as it is very warm and tubey (I own one, and have experimented with different tubes, settling on the JJs). The GT really doesn't seem to color the sound all that much, unless I push it with a JAN GE 5751 in the V1 socket.

I don't have experience with the 6N1P, but I can vouch for the significant differences in sound simply by switching tubes.
Click to expand...

I love the Aguilar sound (I use a DB359 and use to own a DB680 which I used for recording). I sold my DB680 once I started using the REDDI. The REDDI is the first direct device I have used for recording that I have been satisfied with (on lower gain settings it sounds hifi and open and on higher gain soundings it sounds vintage and fat--the designer is a bass player and had aspects of the B15 sound in mind). This is the only direct box I have used where I am happy enough with the direct signal that I do not feel the need to blend in a mic'd amp signal unless I want overdrive (I never felt this way about the Aguilar, Demeter, or Avalon direct boxes--though they all sound great in their own way, just not as present in the mix as the REDDI imo).

I did a session last week with an engineer who has been using a Demeter VTDB-1 exclusively for awhile now and he was blown away by the REDDI.
 
#34
I also own the REDDI. I did a ton of research and AB comparisons. Avalon, Sansamp, Evil Twin, Aphex, Grooves Brick, DITTO, Demeter, Aguilar, Sadowsky and a few more I am sure I cant remember. First let me say that all of these DIs are great but the one thing that the REDDI has that the others do not is that the REDDI makes your bass feel like your playing thru an amp much better than the others. The REDDI really sounds alive and yes old school is a good description. I know when I bring my REDDI that I dont need an amp unless the engineer ensists on one but so far that has not happend yet. If you look at Ricky Minor on stage with the American Idol band he has one on stage with him. Hard to not see. Big Red Brick with neon blue light. I know the REDDI is expensive but I dont know about you guys but I can not live with myself knowing that my bass can sound better thru another DI regardless of cost.

One more thing. The REDDI is not the best product on the market. I do have another DI preamp I use which sounds even better but that preamp cost 4 thousand dollars and the REDDI gives me about 75% of what the $4,000 preamp gives me :) So keep this in mind.

I would love to work with Adesigns to get some of that 4k design philosophy into the REDDI to make it the best DI on the planet :)

You can also go to this link and listen to these for yourself
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"The tube DI roundup was an overwhelming success, and for those of you that haven't checked it out yet - here's a detail of the contents, here's the list of participants: A-Designs REDDI, Aguilar DB-900, DeMaria ADL300G, ART TubeMP, Behringer Mic200, Demeter VTDB2b, DW Fearn VT3, Eclair Evil Twin, Groove Tubes Brick, Manley Tube DI, Millennia TD1, PreSonus TubePre, Summit TD100, Uncle Albert's VTD3A, Universal Audio SOLO/610, & Valvotronics D19. A huge thanks to all the manufacturers who participated and made this an epic collection!"

:hyper:
Cheers

cabcreaser said:
I love the Aguilar sound (I use a DB359 and use to own a DB680 which I used for recording). I sold my DB680 once I started using the REDDI. The REDDI is the first direct device I have used for recording that I have been satisfied with (on lower gain settings it sounds hifi and open and on higher gain soundings it sounds vintage and fat--the designer is a bass player and had aspects of the B15 sound in mind). This is the only direct box I have used where I am happy enough with the direct signal that I do not feel the need to blend in a mic'd amp signal unless I want overdrive (I never felt this way about the Aguilar, Demeter, or Avalon direct boxes--though they all sound great in their own way, just not as present in the mix as the REDDI imo).

I did a session last week with an engineer who has been using a Demeter VTDB-1 exclusively for awhile now and he was blown away by the REDDI.
Click to expand...
 
#37
alotabass said:
The REDDI really sounds alive and yes old school is a good description.
Click to expand...

Yep, I love the REDDI. My only complaints are the form factor (huge and hard to rack), and the fact that it only has one balanced output. The Avalon, Summit, and Daking DI's have a secondary balanced output so you can simultaneously drive a stage rig while sending a signal to the desk. You can add a mic splitter to the output of the REDDI, but for an item as large and (relatively) expensive as it is, it would be nice if they included that feature built in.

I use the REDDI for old-school fatness, and the Countryman for clean.
 
#38
Oh you have the older REDDI. The made some improvements. This was a major complaint from the orginal REDDI owners. You can now send a signal to your amp and house at the same time. Though the form factor is still the same. The form factor is not an issue for me since I only use it on recording sessions and do not need to rack it.
 
#40
Since the OP did not mention any price range he/she is looking for, there are hundreds of different options in the marketplace today. It is also a matter of looking for a preamp/DI solution integrated in one box, or just a DI box.

Among the ones I have used, I am impressed by the following:

- Millennia TD-1: One of the best out there IMO and IME. It is not only a DI though, so if one is looking solely for a DI, this is a bit too much. But as a recording interface, it is a great solution in a super cool package!

- REDDI: The other day I was in the studio for my album recording. The engineer heard some high-pitch noise from my Millennia (which I had difficulty in hearing, myself) so we tried the REDDI. Amazing piece of gear! In terms of its quality, it is on par with Millennia, if not better. By the way, the Millennia, which I am in love with, is on its way to California for a check-up! :)

- Epifani UL-502: This is a bass amp, right? But it has one of the best DI's out there IME! In my previous album, I used this along with the Avalon U5, and in the mixing stage, we did not use the Avalon at all! Even though I am not using the Epi on stage any more, the quality of its DI is one of the reasons I am still holding on to it.

- Aguilar DB680: Great preamp, great DI! As a preamp/DI package, I would not pick this over my Millennia or Epifani, but still, I find this one of the nicest preamp/DI's of all times.

- Avalon U5: Quite a decent DI (yet, see my comment for Epifani UL-502). For that range of pricing, I would add another $130 and get the REDDI, though.

- Countryman Type 85: Small, cheap, reliable package. I always carry this with me. Within the $150 range, this is one of the best DI's out there, maybe challenged by DI boxes from Radial.

- Aguilar Tone Hammer: I recently got this out of curiosity, and I am loving it! For such a low price (I got it for $185), you have a very decent DI, a nice preamp, and some overdrive, if you are interested in that type of an effect.

Cheers,

Alper
 

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