Best DI Box $200 and under?

[Bassworship1]

I have one church that I play at that uses IEM that I want to get a good Cheap DI box. I have been using just my Genzler 800 head as the DI out to feed the house and it does good but I'm wanting something a little smaller that I could thrown into my gigbag and not worry about it. What is the best options for new or used at $200 or less?

 

[Obese Chess]

You can get a Darkglass B7K used for slightly more than that and it would get my vote.

 

[Chasarms]

Do you want something to shape the tone or just a straight up DI?

 

[Bassworship1]

I just want the best DI tone I can get for $200 or less. I'm not familiar with DI boxes at all. I will be using my Warrior basses and would like to shape with my bass EQ if possible. The DI on my Genzler 800 sounds very good through the house system but wanting something smaller that I can fit in my Bag.

 

[Chasarms]

If you don't want to tweak the tone, you can't go wrong with an LR Baggs Paracoustic D.I. I have used it many times silent stage with my Sadowsky and everything set flat on it. It sends a nice, hot uncolored signal to the board. Plus, you can shoot phantom to it and not have to worry about a battery or ac adaptor. They also work well for acoustic instruments, so you get a little more diversity from it.

If you want something with tone shaping and color, the T21 sansamp bass has been around forever and can easily found for less than $200 used. They are around $200 new. They work pretty well as long as you don't get too extreme with the settings. If you push the "tube" effect or other eq too far, the tone suffers. They also can choke the highend, depending on the settings.

The Sadowsky one is nice. It sounds like a Sadowsky. You can decide if that is good or bad.

Truth is, there are a BUNCH of them out there that are going to color the tone somewhat. MXR, Ampeg, etc. They go on forever. It is a matter of taste. Best is a relative term.

Of course, a good old Countryman will never let you down.

 

[Bassworship1]

I've heard about the Countryman 85 but can't find any bass sample videos.

 

[Daveypoo]

The Countryman is an industry standard/classic. You probably won't find audio examples as it's notoriously clean. It only really does one thing - clean conversion of your signal. If your bass sounds good, the Countryman sounds good. I would choose one of these everytime. When it came time to pick up a DI box, this was the only one on my list.

Also - these things are indestructible. Very much like a Shure SM58 or SM57 mic or a Boss effect pedal - you can throw it down the street and run over it with a truck and it still works on the gig like new.

 

[blindrabbit]

Aguilar Tone Hammer.

 

[bass12]

Radial JDI or J48 (depending on whether you want an active or passive DI).

 

[Chasarms]

I've heard about the Countryman 85 but can't find any bass sample videos.

A countryman, by design, is going to color the tone very, very little. If you like the sound coming out of your bass, you're going to get almost exactly that coming out of the Countryman.

 

[kjones]

Countryman or Radial JDI, IMO. Both very reliable, almost literally bullet-proof, and very little if any coloration.

 

[SteveC]

Countryman or Radial JDI, IMO. Both very reliable, almost literally bullet-proof, and very little if any coloration.

And both sound A LOT like the Genzler DI on their amps.

I've been using a JDI fir a long time. It sounds amazing - active OR passive basses. I sometimes think about getting a Tone Hammer or something for some options but the JDI is so darn good...

 

[Bassworship1]

So will the Countryman and Radial JDI allow me to use my bass EQ for changes? Do they use battery power or Cord?

 

[PortlandBass77]

The best? Probably the Sansamp Bass driver DI.

The best value for the money? Probably either the Behringer bdi21 or the Joyo California.

 

[Chasarms]

So will the Countryman and Radial JDI allow me to use my bass EQ for changes? Do they use battery power or Cord?

If you mean the on-board EQ on your active bass, then yes that's sort of the point of a transparent DI. The Countryman used a 9V battery or phantom if the board provides it. The Radial is passive. No power.

 

[kjones]

So will the Countryman and Radial JDI allow me to use my bass EQ for changes? Do they use battery power or Cord?

Yes, eq on your bass works normally, with no coloration.

I own the Radial JDI. It neither has a cord nor a battery. It just kinda works, for about 15 years for me now.

 

[Bassworship1]

So I need to look into getting a passive DI unless I'm using Phantom power from the board?

 

[EastCoastThump]

In your shoes, I'd use the REDDI in your sig and call it a day

 

[SteveC]

In your shoes, I'd use the REDDI in your sig and call it a day

I didn't catch that. Yeah, use your REDDI.

 

[Bassworship1]

I would use the Reddi if I had one. The band I used to play with had one for a while for recording but I no longer have access to that.