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D.I. Only, no amp

#21
Hi.

Going the DI only route is often the wisest choise.

Of course the equipment chain has to be able to handle it, to even suggesting otherwise will just show the level of the "professionalism" involved.

Pro's can handle it, others shouldn't even bother, because if anything isn't to their liking, it's just bitching and moaning to no end.

For me it's SVTDI, for no other reason that it's the "best" DI I got. I have no problem using any other DI if I don't have mine.

And for me the reason isn't usually about hauling a rig, that's just an added benefit, it's about the audience and stage volume and -control.

Regards
Sam
 
#24
I use a BDDI have a Sans Amp do not use it much anymore I use the Behringer bdi21 cheap and it sounds good. I run it direct out into the front of the house I have 3 Bose Subs that I use as monitors placed in different location on stage so I can move to different areas and still hear myself. I used to use wedge but did not work as well. I use this setup for nearly all the shows unless it is a outdoors than I use a stage amp to FOH
 
#28
I've done it lots of times. I use my Phil Jones Bass Buddy as a DI to FOH. It also has a 10 watt amp inside to push my Bag End cabinet as a stage monitor. Works well, sounds good, and I can carry the whole thing in one trip from the car. Other rigs I own work well too, but this one gets a lot of play nowadays.
 
#29
I run the sound for my band. I have tried the ampless thing just using my BDDI. The monitor I use just can't handle all the music, plus my bass signal. At least not for me.

I have in the past brough my Shuttle 6.0 and 112 cab to use as a monitor. Works pretty well.

Lately, I've been hauling around my 212 for gigs simply because the height is right to place things on the cab when performing.
 
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#32
I have used a BDDI only, with wedge monitors a bunch of times. It works well enough, but not great. My band used to often be totally ampless - guitar player used a pod and went direct with his monitor, and keyboard player went direct as well. We all also sing, so that made it even trickier.

So we all shared the monitor mixes, which was tough, but it worked for us. Especially at better places with good sound guys and multiple monitor mixes.

In my acoustic duo, we both go direct to a Bose tower. The bass tone is lacking though, so i'm going to try a Tech 21 VT bass in front of it, and compare that to my BDDI.
 
#33
Having an amp on stage helps monitoring the bass more than it helps to the FOH bass sound.

I did 2+ years only DI because getting an amp wasn't up high in my priorities financially. In most of the small places you can't crank up an amp anyway and in most large stages I did there was already an amp.

Still the majority of the gigs I do with only DI because there's no space in the band van to put it and drums and keyboards are more important. With that band we use IEM's anyway.

With that said, last week I bought a combo because I just couldn't take it anymore. We did a gig on the beach and I had 2 cheap monitors running, one of them died a few songs into the show. Two days after that show, we performed in a place I knew they don't have an amp on stage, and by surprise I saw a little crappy monitor on my side of the stage. I got the amp the same morning of the show.

Not to mention the numerous gigs in the last 2 years I had to hear myself only from the back of the FOH speakers, or couldn't hear myself clear enough on stage, through crappy cheap wedges or even worse, small wedges that couldn't take enough low end. I just got full of it.

After I bought the combo and did the important gigs (ones with no appropriate way to hear myself onstage or IEM's) I couldn't believe I somehow got by without owning an amp for more than 2 years. Now I actually feel much much better on stage.

From now on it's either I have IEM's or a bass amp provided by the venue or sound company or I must bring my own amp. That's it. I also found out that even with IEM's a bass amp on stage helps with feeling the bass (but I can live with IEM's only).
 
#36
Update. picked a better powered monitor, ran a DI only test at our last casino gig and I loved it. A good monitor does make a big difference.
Plus we each have our own custom mix to each player, so I add a little more bass in mine and drummer's monitors.

I guess I have to join the crowd about getting older and liking the idea to carry less. However, our FOH has never sounded better not competing with stage volume.
 
#37
I practice at home almost entirely through Headphones or via my IEM's. So I'm used to hearing myself, but not necessarily 'feeling' bass. When I gig it's always a treat to be able to feel myself along with hearing. But just having my IEM's live is definitely good enough if needed.
 
#38
I just can't do it.

I go into the house through a REDDI, which is amazing, and the subs at my church are just beast. There is no lack of low end in the audience. When I am soundchecking, I can hear myself fine, and it sounds awesome. However, once everyone else is in, I'm lost.

Now, we do use IEM's and Avioms. I don't have molds, just some pretty nice Shure's. But, while every other instrument sounds great in the ears, the bass sounds horrible, and I just can't use that as my main monitoring reference. I think hearing myself that way makes me play worse.

We've tried lots of things, and now I'm using a little Ampeg combo... thankfully my new rig is almost built!!!
 
#39
I've done it in the past, mainly when I was in a country/rock power trio with my brother the guitard. Bass>Pedalboard>Soundboard/amps>Yammie 15" main cabs used as sidefills-no wedges. Bass, vox, and a very small amount of guitar were the only things coming thru the sidefills. It worked pretty well in this case, mainly because of the small group and big cabs.

I've also had amps die mid-gig and went total "emergency" DI but that's another thread entirely :)
 
#40
sjphi26 said:
I just can't do it.

I go into the house through a REDDI, which is amazing, and the subs at my church are just beast. There is no lack of low end in the audience. When I am soundchecking, I can hear myself fine, and it sounds awesome. However, once everyone else is in, I'm lost.

Now, we do use IEM's and Avioms. I don't have molds, just some pretty nice Shure's. But, while every other instrument sounds great in the ears, the bass sounds horrible, and I just can't use that as my main monitoring reference. I think hearing myself that way makes me play worse.

We've tried lots of things, and now I'm using a little Ampeg combo... thankfully my new rig is almost built!!!
Click to expand...
Get some good IEMs, the earbuds are crucial for bass players. Most sound like crap for bass. If you're hard up for cash, Atomic Bass II are pretty decent for Ipod style phones. I used them for quite a while before spending cash on some ultimate ears TF10s.

The big difference with the TF10's is how much better everything else sounds (vocals, instruments, etc), the Atomic bass guys handle the low end fine, but they don't have a lot of treble.

There's one club we do I've done no amp, just wireless -> preamp (Eden navigator) -> pa and iems. Works great. Nobody else can hear much bass in the monitors (they use floor monitors there, that's why I went to IEMs cause I couldn't hear any bass the first time I played there, ended up jury rigging an IEM system out of a headphone amp in an altoids box I happened to have with me).

There's another place we play I only brought an amp for the keyboard players benefit, everyone else had IEMs. Love it.

Randy
 

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