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Creating a Touring DI Pedalboard

zagralin_arf

zagralin_arf

May 6, 2008
336
22
40
Seattle, WA
www.lastbastionofficial.com
#1
So my band is looking at doing a few fly in gigs and the guitarists are investing in Pod HD500's for use in lieu of amps. They get all that they need in this one unit, run it straight to the board or into a backline if needed.

I want to put something together that I can use for this, and ultimately I want to just have it at every gig as I think it will be handy, and I'm hoping some of you have thoughts on this process/gear to tell me if it just won't work.

The signal chain is going to go:

Bass->Line 6 G50->Tuner->MXR M87 Compressor->MXR M80 Bass DI+

From there at gigs with a good backline I can just use the parallel out to run into my amps input, while sending the DI to the board for Front of House. In gigs with good sound on stage (and a good soundcheck) ideally I won't even need an amp, just use the DI. And locally I can use the parallel out into my amp and just use the amp as a stage monitor.

Thoughts? Any reason as to why this won't work?
 
#2
I think this is a very sensible idea.

I'm not familiar with the M80. Does it give you the flavour you want? (Have you heard it feeding a FOH?)

What might be an addition to consider is a second DI like a Countryman parallel to the M80.
So you have the option to send two lines... if two lines are provided.
A clean transparant signal and a coloured signal. And let the soundguy mix them as he thinks is best.


Nice that your guitarists are going the POD route.
My only gig right now is on guitar and I love it as a DI option.

On bass the POD as DI is still a love/hate relationship for me. I had some good results, and bad results.
Even the newest POD HD (like your guitarists are going to get, I have the bean however) you can use it as a DI with some colour to it.
With the mid-focus EQ it's awesome for processing bass. (instead of speaker simulation which never had good results for me on bass.)
 
#3
You probably don't need another parallel out other than the m80. Just choose one DI and it would be sufficient. The eq section on the m80 is great, very usable.

Now as long as your not looking to utilise the distortion part of that setup then you would be fine :)
 
#6
No reason at all it wouldn't work. That's a fine setup, and you've thought of the different scenarios. I use the M80 as a DI to FOH all the time while going parallel to my amp, works great. I dig the simplicity of the pedal and the fact it doesn't have a huge tone imprint on my signal. Jealous, I'd love to do some fly gigs!
 
#7
I am a little unclear on the scenario. Are you flying-in to do dates at known venues? Does your band or provide a rider in the contracts? In cases where there is no backline, what do you expect the minimum monitoring system to be? Also, will you be using passive basses?
 
#8
BFunk said:
I am a little unclear on the scenario. Are you flying-in to do dates at known venues? Does your band or provide a rider in the contracts? In cases where there is no backline, what do you expect the minimum monitoring system to be? Also, will you be using passive basses?
Click to expand...

Yeah we will have a rider when we go out and do these gigs. My main thing in wanting to do this is to just always have a reliable fall back that I can always carry with me easily that will ultimately give me a quick to setup, easy for the soundguy, and consistent sound.

I did a gig a while back with another band and it was a festival, so the backline was huge. I didn't have much experience yet and so I just brought my bass. The backline was an SVT 4 pro, and while its a great amp it didn't have the compression I wanted. Thats where the MXR Compressor comes in...and then I just kept going and wanted to have a board that would just be always the same.

I'm also toying with the idea of getting an EBS Microbass II instead of the M80...any comparison of those 2 by any chance?
 
#11
I used to have a Microbass II and I was not knocked out by the DI. I'd stick with what you have unless you can swing a REDDI ;) However, you will be dependent on monitors, and if your monitors are undersized, you will hate life.
 
#12
I think I get what you mean. You have backline for stage monitoring, but it often does not meet your needs, so you are hoping that bringing your own effects/preamp would help.

If I were doing this, I would base my sound around a pedal pre-amp that was had enough output to drive an amp to full output. Then I would plug the output of the preamp into the power-amp in, effects return of the backline. That way you bypass the preamp of the backline which is the source of most signal coloration. You will have to deal with the power amp topology and speaker system coloration/quirks, but there is little you can do about that. In this case, you will need to be aware of how much output the preamp has. Some power amps have very low input sensitivity. So look for a preamp that can output 3 volts or more. Not many have that much output. (Really you need 1.4 volts, but you want headroom.) Also, you want it to be super reliable. (Unless you can buy two of each.)

I think you should talk to JGR about his box-o-tone. This is a 6SL7 based preamp/di that can drive a just about power amp to full output. The beauty of it is that it is simple reliable and sounds wonderful.

Here is a link to a video:

It is an excellent unit that allows you to filter out ultra-lows that contribute nothing to the sound, but rob power from the amp and can damage PA subs. Also the additional variable HPF allows you to dial out stage rumble and mud. I very nice piece of kit.

Add a comp, which you have, and an eq, and you are good-to-go.


zagralin_arf said:
Yeah we will have a rider when we go out and do these gigs. My main thing in wanting to do this is to just always have a reliable fall back that I can always carry with me easily that will ultimately give me a quick to setup, easy for the soundguy, and consistent sound.

I did a gig a while back with another band and it was a festival, so the backline was huge. I didn't have much experience yet and so I just brought my bass. The backline was an SVT 4 pro, and while its a great amp it didn't have the compression I wanted. Thats where the MXR Compressor comes in...and then I just kept going and wanted to have a board that would just be always the same.
...
Click to expand...

zagralin_arf said:
And yes I'm using a passive bass. P Bass with flats, Steve Harris style.
Click to expand...
 
#13
Yeah, the monitor thing is what gets me. Unless I was using IEM, I would not rely on the house monitoring system to provide enough bass for stage monitoring. Most stage systems are hi-passed at 100Hz or more. They are designed for vocals, keys, and maybe a little guitar.

In this case I would bring my Fearless 112 and a micro amp. The Fearless shape allows you to set it up as a foldback. Plenty of volume for stage monitoring. All in a very compact 35 lb package.

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F112_Wedge_S.jpg


JimmyM said:
I used to have a Microbass II and I was not knocked out by the DI. I'd stick with what you have unless you can swing a REDDI ;) However, you will be dependent on monitors, and if your monitors are undersized, you will hate life.
Click to expand...
 
#14
I've been doing direct from a custom pedal board with no amp for a couple of years now and it works great. Here's my setup:

Line 6 G30>Tuner>EFX>VT Bass>compressor>Countryman DI

IMG_0917_zpsfde04033.jpg


It fits in an aluminum case I got at Harbor Freight for $25. I've taken it on planes with minimal problems.

Also I'm on an IEM system so there's no amp on stage at all. One caveat is I'm in self-contained bands that run our own sound so my monitor setup and FOH sound is always consistent. Doing fly-in gigs with different soundmen might be a bit of a hassle with monitoring issues. Up side is I'm setup in less than 5 minutes, just 2 XLR's for my aux feed, my bass feed and a power cord.
 
#17
That board sounds ideal. The mxr can be as transparent as you want it to be, and the comp will give you lots of options.
The only thing worth considering is that the drive channel isn't to everyone's taste, so you might want to look at another option for drive ( if you use it)
The key with the drive is the blend. Where the drive sounds overly harsh on its own, with the blend and a band around you it can sound fantastic di'd
 
#18
Most _good_ soundmen want the signal from your bass without eq and comp. The eq and comp settings you use are for the amp/speaker system you are using which is not necessarily correct for the F.O.H. P.A. The soundman should then try to reproduce your sound in the F.O.H. As has been often discussed on this forum, some soundman just have no ear or no desire to recreate your sound. (But that is a whole other topic.)

And yes, get the IEM. The whole band needs to jump into this to make it really work.

zagralin_arf said:
Thanks for all the input guys!

So instead of going for a preamp/DI pedal you would suggest getting a straight DI like a Countryman or a REDDI and putting a separate preamp in front for coloration?

IEMs are going to be the next purchase for sure...but you know. Money.
Click to expand...
 
#19
zagralin_arf said:
Thanks for all the input guys!

So instead of going for a preamp/DI pedal you would suggest getting a straight DI like a Countryman or a REDDI and putting a separate preamp in front for coloration?

IEMs are going to be the next purchase for sure...but you know. Money.
Click to expand...
I recommend the REDDI for anything anywhere ;) The Countryman is OK, but if you like fat tubey sound, REDDI. It's big, but if you're using IEM's, you'll notice it, especially when your high notes don't lose their fatness like the Countryman does.
 

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