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Best DI box for bass

#22
agedhorse said:
IMO and IME, absolute polarity is not distinguishable (unless clipping on an asymmetrical amplifier is causing other effects).

There is nothing wrong with any of the systems I have experimented on either, nor is there anything wrong with my lab test setup which is designed for these types of comparisons.

Here's some food for thought... if (absolute) polarity was that important, then each half of a symmetrical waveform would sound different. They just don't. The proof of this is to invert the signal of a pure sine wave and listen to the inverted versus non-inverted tone. There are no differences unless there are gross distortions due to (REALLY) poor amplifier design.
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In a symmetrical waveform, there is nothing to be heard when reversing the polarity. On a music signal, even my "I have no highs left" boss can hear the difference - on his guitar rig no less. If you aren't hearing it, there's a problem with the system, or you are not listening.
 
#23
TimmyP said:
In a symmetrical waveform, there is nothing to be heard when reversing the polarity. On a music signal, even my "I have no highs left" boss can hear the difference - on his guitar rig no less. If you aren't hearing it, there's a problem with the system, or you are not listening.
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I can assure you there is no problem with my hearing or the systems.

You are (IMO) confusing absolute polarity with relative polarity, and acoustic interactions (with an amplified acoustic instrument or relative to a PA) rather than a more open loop condition such as w/ EB or even recording. With your monitor example, that's a closed loop condition because the microphone is there to close the loop and amplify the source sound again.

I suggest that anyone out there try reversing the polarity of their speaker cabinet on their bass rig and listen to the difference. Generally there will be no clear difference or preference whatsoever. I have done enough testing to be confident of the results.
 
#24
agedhorse said:
I can assure you there is no problem with my hearing or the systems.

You are (IMO) confusing absolute polarity with relative polarity, and acoustic interactions (with an amplified acoustic instrument or relative to a PA) rather than a more open loop condition such as w/ EB or even recording. With your monitor example, that's a closed loop condition because the microphone is there to close the loop and amplify the source sound again.

I suggest that anyone out there try reversing the polarity of their speaker cabinet on their bass rig and listen to the difference. Generally there will be no clear difference or preference whatsoever. I have done enough testing to be confident of the results.
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We'll have to agree to disagree. I am quite certain as to what I have heard. Guitar amp, vocal mic, CD, whatever - it IS audible.
 
#25
I suppose this is the best resolution.

I do suggest that folks experiment with aboslute phase, it's a detail that (by itself) is of no consequence but does play into the overall sound when other sound sources of the same signal where the amplitude is similar is present. Though... you may not be able to do anythig to alter this response other than pick the best of the two positions. They may also sound different but neither may sound better. It depends on the summed acoustic responses.
 
#28
mrpackerguy said:
Anyone used a Radial Bassbone's DI? I'll be using it this Saturday for the first time. I assume it will be better than the DI off my Mpulse600 head.
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I was fairly underwhelmed with the Bassbone's DI. It's not in the same class as their excellent JDI and J48 IMHO. Too bad, as it's a really useful box otherwise.

Let us know what you think after you try it.
 
#32
LightGroove said:
Def. go with the heads DI...make yourself familiar with all of the features...heck I'm still learning some myself.. Wi ill say Im currently using a Genz shuttle 6.0...while the DI does the trick it isnt the quietest Ive used.
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For quietest operation, and generally (though not always) the most useful signal for the FOH engineer, use the pre eq position. This eliminates a lot of additional electronics that are not necessary for your basic DI signal. It will also eliminate some noise (hiss) that all electronics generate.

This applies to all amps in general.
 
#33
agedhorse said:
For quietest operation, and generally (though not always) the most useful signal for the FOH engineer, use the pre eq position. This eliminates a lot of additional electronics that are not necessary for your basic DI signal. It will also eliminate some noise (hiss) that all electronics generate.

This applies to all amps in general.
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I do this. It's a s good as ANY DI I have ever used - at least in a live situation. I recorded a demo using the effects send as we were out of channels for the XLR. It sounded as good as the other tracks.
 
#36
Felt like I had to add another comment here after playing on Sunday...

I usually use my SWR Bass 750 out direct to the board. I always had a fear though that if my head failed for some reason, I'd be in trouble. And guess what happened on Sunday?

Good thing we caught it at soundcheck. I plugged into a Countryman, split my signal, and all was well. Looks like my direct out on my SWR is having some issues, unfortunately.

I think I'm going to switch to a DI pre-head going forward just in case...

Anybody else ever run into a situation like that?

And by the way, the Countryman sounded great.
 
#37
Longhornhombre said:
.....guess what happened on Sunday?.......Looks like my direct out on my SWR is having some issues, unfortunately..
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It's possible that your amp's DI was seeing phantom power from the console and was unhappy about it. (A number of things that should be designed to deal with phantom power have trouble with it - I've seen even the megabucks Shure UHFR wireless receivers crackle and pop when fed phantom power.)
 
#38
Longhornhombre said:
I think I'm going to switch to a DI pre-head going forward just in case...
Click to expand...

And you will experience the same thing when you have a problem with the DI... your solution is a little bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water eh?
 

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