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cheap DI vs. expensive DI

#81
With the right knowledge, you can build a passive DI yourself, for a pretty low cost:

electronique_di_passive_001c.gif


The Behringer passive DI is pretty much like this. 6 parts, and an enclosure. Can add phase reversal with ease. Like someone said, just use a DPDT switch and swap hot lug. Just like a phase switch for a two pickup instrument.
 
#82
isher1992 said:
With the right knowledge, you can build a passive DI yourself, for a pretty low cost:
Click to expand...

Jensen have a few different schematics posted on their website, including a couple of different padding circuits. I built one and compared it to the Radial JDI, sounds the same to me and cost about half as much.

Building your own active DI is not all that hard either. I did one with a Creation Labs Redeemer feeding a Jensen line transformer that sounds pretty danged nice. Didn't bother with phantom powering, since a battery will last quite a while anyway. For recording I'd probably rather just use one of my preamps in any case.
 
#83
Passinwind said:
Jensen have a few different schematics posted on their website, including a couple of different padding circuits. I built one and compared it to the Radial JDI, sounds the same to me and cost about half as much.

Building your own active DI is not all that hard either. I did one with a Creation Labs Redeemer feeding a Jensen line transformer that sounds pretty danged nice. Didn't bother with phantom powering, since a battery will last quite a while anyway. For recording I'd probably rather just use one of my preamps in any case.
Click to expand...

That's the way it goes, building anything yourself is usually cheaper, as you're paying for RnD and putting food on someone's table. I could understand why some people would put lots of money on a DI, because they probably want that tone coloration, but me, I do most of my tone shaping in the FX chain, so I want a transparent DI that just makes the signal work, so a passive DI is fine for me.

If you wanted to, you could probably build an AMZ buffer from one of his PCB's (http://www.muzique.com/tech/buffer.htm) and install it inside a Behringer passive DI, just after the input jack, remove the ground lift switch and just make one yourself, use that switch's location for a new one that does the phase reversal after the transformer, and bam. You've spent about half as much as you would spend on most DI's. I may try to do just that, I have one of those op-amp buffers I built but rarely use it now that I've got the Bass Whammy, and its lower impedance than an XP-100. Hmmm...
 
#84
Nope. not all. but many, many... . and thank god the list continues..
Lots of armchair quarterbacking go on here... And there are allot with actual hands on gigging experience too.. .No one in particular.. its just the nature of the beast in a forum!;)

The nice thing about Pro Audio gear like the REDDI is its seemingly endless Gain and high headroom.... You will not get that from a 9V power supply DI.. And the physics of a large iron xformer cannot be duplicated by an IC chip.. If one wnated something with a little more SS sound They are coming out with the KGB.. Ill post photos
I still to this day don't hear" the ampeg" reference in the REDDI... Maybe they are talking about the wide 3D tone it allows to pass? And we love the one knob.. K.I.S.S. approach..
Its an honor to get a studio call... , Home studio situation or Avatar in NYC , or Phase One in Canada, ,etc..... ya go through the house DI and then i ask if its cool to try my REDDI that I brought with me... .. the engineer will always say yes, then you plug in, and they always say the REDDI is the one we will go with..Never fails... 100% of the time.. .
And at the end of the day the engineer almost all of the time goes and buys one the next day or week.. that says allot.

If you listen to the incredible Reggie Hamilton bass tracks.. He uses a REDDI... and you are gonna tell me it sounds like an AMPEG Sound? Listen again...
Or the Great Gerald Veasley.... he uses the REDDI... I would not equate them to the 'Ampeg" sound at all..

Am i fan of A-Design and REDDI? YEP.. But First I am a bass player... Been doing it for 40 years....
Its only because i have owned almost all that you can imagine, You name it! I was a gear whore.... I sold all of the other boxes ( passive, active, plug into the wall ect) 8 years ago when I got the reddi.. .... I've gotten allot of feedback from FOH and REC engineers over the years that have way better ears than i could ever have.. So my input here is simply to help other people out .....



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warrplayer said:
That's what is called the argument from authority. ;) Other famous producers use other boxes. You just haven't worked with them all yet. :) Reddi is great if you are looking for that Ampeg sound. Can't say I would want that sound all the time. Pretty happy with my Juice Box, but I agree that it isn't five times better that a Radial.
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#87
What is talking about a REDDI without REDDI 'Pron" .... I have lots of it :D:) Reddi pics!!! yeeehawww

crew setting up the toys
IMG_2369-001.JPG


DSCN2286.JPG


cutting tracks at bonnie raitts joint in the country
Point Blank Recording (51).JPG

Point Blank recording 2013 (1).jpg


some control room in TX
KirkP- REDDI-001.jpg


Rehearsal with IEMs
IMG_2352.JPG


Windy outdoor gig somewhere
point blank. july 2012 (2).jpg
 
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#88
I have used a few, right now anytime I have to plug into any system I use a REDDI. I don't find it hard to carry around at all really, particularly for the tone it gives. Great thing is there are loads of DI's to fit everyones tone goals and size needs.
 
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#89
Gab124 said:
I have used a few, right now anytime I have to plug into any system I use a REDDI. I don't find it hard to carry around at all really, particularly for the tone it gives. Great thing is there are loads of DI's to fit everyones tone goals and size needs.
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Yep, and even if they're not my favorites, I say use what you think is best for you.
 
#90
I'd like to resurrect this thread because I'm looking at price differences in DIs. I'm going to buy a passive two channel DI and use it for my biamped system. I have a Yamaha PB1 preamp with low and high pass outputs; the high pass feeds my Digitech effects box and then both HP and LP go to an EQ and then to a two channel Crown XLS1000. I want to take the unbalanced low pass output of the preamp and the unbalanced high pass output of the Digitech and put them into the direct box. The "thru" jacks will pass the signal to the rest of the chain in my rig, and the XLRs on the DI will give a balanced output of both high and low pass signals. It's mainly for doing scratch recordings at our rehearsal space but I'd also like to be able to give two balanced outputs to a sound reinforcement mixer at bigger gigs.

I jumped into this thread because I'd like to get opinions about lower vs. higher priced DIs when being used line level, not instrument level. I'm fully aware that using a great DI with a Jensen or Lundahl is the way to go if your bass is going directly into the board. I don't want to do it that way because I've got my effects on the high pass only so I'd like to have two channels going into the mixer; if I go directly from my bass into the board I lose my effects. I'm also going to mount the DI solidly inside my rack cabinet to reduce the banging-around factor. At this point I can save about a hundred dollars between getting a Radial and something like an ART and that's currently an important financial consideration. I can always upgrade later. So any thoughts out there about using lower priced passive DIs on line level signals?
 
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#92
ejt said:
I'd like to resurrect this thread because I'm looking at price differences in DIs. I'm going to buy a passive two channel DI and use it for my biamped system. I have a Yamaha PB1 preamp with low and high pass outputs; the high pass feeds my Digitech effects box and then both HP and LP go to an EQ and then to a two channel Crown XLS1000. I want to take the unbalanced low pass output of the preamp and the unbalanced high pass output of the Digitech and put them into the direct box. The "thru" jacks will pass the signal to the rest of the chain in my rig, and the XLRs on the DI will give a balanced output of both high and low pass signals. It's mainly for doing scratch recordings at our rehearsal space but I'd also like to be able to give two balanced outputs to a sound reinforcement mixer at bigger gigs.

I jumped into this thread because I'd like to get opinions about lower vs. higher priced DIs when being used line level, not instrument level. I'm fully aware that using a great DI with a Jensen or Lundahl is the way to go if your bass is going directly into the board. I don't want to do it that way because I've got my effects on the high pass only so I'd like to have two channels going into the mixer; if I go directly from my bass into the board I lose my effects. I'm also going to mount the DI solidly inside my rack cabinet to reduce the banging-around factor. At this point I can save about a hundred dollars between getting a Radial and something like an ART and that's currently an important financial consideration. I can always upgrade later. So any thoughts out there about using lower priced passive DIs on line level signals?
Click to expand...
Get the Whirlwind Director. Sounds as good as the Radial JDI to me at less than half the price. The transformer in it isn't a Jensen, but I've heard recordings of them stock vs upgraded with the Jensen, and they sound the same to me. I am not sure about operating at line level but I don't see why that would be a problem.

EDIT: Just saw that they have a Direct2, which is two Directors built into one box.
 
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#95
Love the new Useful Arts BF-1..... 2 tubes and its more of a DI/Instrument Pre than a mic pre. Sort of in the lines of a noble but I find it amazing. It definitely sounds great in a studio. It out performs my Radial JDI and J48. But unless the soundman knows what he is doing he can make any di sound bad. But the Useful arts BF-1 is a nice punchy and tube warmness like few can duplicate or come close too.
 
#96
Well, I took the plunge and bought a Radial ProD2 new off Ebay. I decided to go with an extremely respected brand, and was able to get it for a really great deal. Now at least when a sound guy tries to insist that I use his DI, I'll be able to say use mine, I have a better one. It might make it a little easier to talk him into giving me two channels for bass as well. This was a great thread.
 
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#97
ejt said:
That DI review is pretty cool. I think those are all way out of my price range though. The Bing page has a lot of great info too. There are some pretty good deals on Radial DIs on Ebay that I'm looking into now.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I don't hear a whole lot of difference in tone from one to the other. Might just be my 70 year old ears, though !
 
#98
Juniorkimbrough said:
And just to specify I am talking about DI's that would be used in a live setting, not in the studio.

I totally understand why someone would by something more expensive for studio use but I have a hard time justifying the cost of a higher end DI for live use.
Click to expand...
A quality DI will suffice for both, and probably last you for the rest of your life.
 
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#99
With low impedance line levels you may not even need a DI
Part of a DI's job is to get it to a balanced line.
Low impedance line levels work fine without being balanced. Back in the analog snake days the amp and monitor returns were often unbalanced line levels.
You might want to just try your line levels outputs direct into line level inputs.
 
#100
Driving line levels over a snake has been balanced for as long a I can remember. The good 'ol days of sending unbalanced line levels are thankfully long gone as they were horribly plagued by ground loops an inability to easily handle these in a practical low cost way.
 
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