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D.I. overdrive???

E.J. T.N.T.

E.J. T.N.T.

Oct 10, 2005
696
330
38
Berlin, Germany
#1
I just finished recording some stuff for friend of a friend. I have used an SVT head with a really high gain setting to get some nice overdrive.

To my surprise I was asked to join that friend's band and play those songs. Unfortunately I do not own an SVT or a tube amp for that matter and since I was on the search of a high end D.I. I was wondering if it is possible to get an overdriven tone out of one.

I know that Sansamp bass driver and the MXR bass di plus can do this, but I am wondering if I can get this kind of tone by pushing the gain of a tube D.I. such as an Avalon U5 or a Low end True voice preamp. I am curious if there is any D.I. that can do what I want.

I already have an alternative of using an overdrive pedal but it just wouldn't be the same.I am also really not into the idea of getting a new (tube) amp and or micing cabs for live purposes but I might do that if it is inevitable.
 
#3
The only way to get tube drive through a DI box is to plug a speaker cable from the head to the DI box. Then from the DI box, straight to the cabinet. The DI would capture the sound from the tube head and allow the signal to keep going to the speaker cab. Since you are dealing with power tubes, you HAVE TO USE A SPEAKER CAB or something with a load on it so the head does not fry.

Certain DI boxes can do this (Radial JDI, Countryman DI, and more), but make sure they can handle the wattage. Most of them can not do more than 100 watts and the SVT is 300 watts. You could get the SVT 100/V4/V4B for this purpose.

VT Bass is a nice alternative, but will not sound the same as an SVT. At lower volumes, yes, but the louder more overdriven SVT tone is not achievable in pedal form just yet.
 
#4
E.J. T.N.T. said:
I am wondering if I can get this kind of tone by pushing the gain of a tube D.I. such as an Avalon U5 or a Low end True voice preamp.
Click to expand...

The U5 has no tubes and no overdrive capability at all. It was literally designed to be "impossible" to overdrive. The True Voice has a tube but it was designed for high fidelity, not overdrive.

You might be able to find an Ampeg SVTDI on the used market, but they are a bit rare. For a new item, the DHA VT1-EQ DI is nearly perfect for what you describe. The Aguilar Tone Hammer, though it doesn't have tubes, is a DI specifically designed for overdrive. Same goes for the Tronographic Rusty Box.
 
#5
Gearhead17 said:
The only way to get tube drive through a DI box is to plug a speaker cable from the head to the DI box. ...VT Bass is a nice alternative, but will not sound the same as an SVT. At lower volumes, yes, but the louder more overdriven SVT tone is not achievable in pedal form just yet.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I'd go that far. I'm not disagreeing completely, but saying "the only way" and "not achievable" are too extreme for practical purposes. For example, Geddy Lee uses exclusively solid state overdrive emulators, and has done for years.
 
#8
bongomania said:
I don't know if I'd go that far. I'm not disagreeing completely, but saying "the only way" and "not achievable" are too extreme for practical purposes. For example, Geddy Lee uses exclusively solid state overdrive emulators, and has done for years.
Click to expand...

I am referring to the tube growl (that woody, clunky sound) you get out of an 90's SVT, a la "Would?" from Alice in Chains. I also hear the same type of tube over drive through a Mesa 400+. That is the sound I am referring to.

At low volumes, many of these tube amp emulators do a decent job of simulating a tube amp. As you crank up the pedals/emulations, I feel everyone of them turns into a different style of distortion - great usable tone for sure, just not sounding any where close to what the SVT achieves. So I get bugged when these pedals claim to sound like an over driven SVT and they are not even close.
 
#9
Maybe look into a speaker simulator. Overdrive and such does not sound good at all (to me) through a straight DI.

A speaker simulator would run between the amp and the cab, and while it is essentially a DI, it is designed to simulate the tone a speaker gives, which is highly preferrable with overdrive and such.

Geddy lee uses them.
 
#10
Hey guys,

thank you very much for all of your feedback. It sure was useful.
Apparently I have a lot of testing to do. To tell you the truth that DHA preamp/D.I. looks really interesting, I wish I could test one out.

Apparently I was given the option to actually have a similar rig onstage, but I still need a nice D.I.

I will do all the testing I can and let you know what my thoughts were. Thanks again.
 
#12
I like the Tech 21 stuff, and prefer their ParaDI to their VTbass. It has a good drive/blend feature and superior parametric EQ—plus it is a good DI. However, if you want just a DI to use with an overdrive pedal, I recommend a Countryman type 85. I have not tried the "speaker" feature.
 
#14
I have a SansAmp programmable bass driver DI. I'm mostly pleased with it, but I think now that I could have gotten away with the non-programmable one. I basically dial in a bit of sizzle and let it sit there full-time.

If I get rid of it in order to reclaim a couple of inches of board space, maybe I should get the SansAmp Bass Driver DI (saves 3 inches)...but while I'm at it, maybe I should consider others.

The Aguilar Tonehammer seems like pretty much the same thing as the SansAmp--only with a parametric mid. The SansAmp seems a little scooped and there's no mid control to boost.

I just want a mild tubey sound to dial in and leave. Something with a DI so the front of the house can take me direct and I"ll still sound "ampy."
 
#15
scottfeldstein said:
. . . .
The Aguilar Tonehammer seems like pretty much the same thing as the SansAmp--only with a parametric mid. The SansAmp seems a little scooped and there's no mid control to boost.
. . . .
Click to expand...
One of the members (Zooberwerx?) suggested "relabeling" the volume knob on a BDDI as "mids." Apparently, due to the way the circuitry is set up, boosting the volume can be used to boost mids.
 
#18
A search will probably reveal the correct procedure, but as memory serves (apparently not too well :p) if you want to keep the overall pedal gain the same as bypassed, you would turn down the bass and treble slightly (which would lower volume) and compensate by increasing the level setting (which would take the volume back to where it was). The end result would be the same overall volume, but with the mid scoop removed.
 

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