I'm more of a tube guy, so the JDI was already out of the way. Between the other two, I chose the Aguilar. Seems smoother and bassier to me. I love high end more than low end, but that Aguilar sounded great.
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DI comparison / poll Which do you like the best?
- Thread starter scotch
- Start date
I prefer the in order
Radial, Art, Aguilar.
I the Radial sounds like it is in between the two. The Art sounds tubey, but the Radial sound's tubey and cleaner. The Aguilar is to sterile for my taste. I would like the ART live, but for a studio recording. I like the Radial. Maybe the Aguilar with a boost in the lows.
Radial, Art, Aguilar.
I the Radial sounds like it is in between the two. The Art sounds tubey, but the Radial sound's tubey and cleaner. The Aguilar is to sterile for my taste. I would like the ART live, but for a studio recording. I like the Radial. Maybe the Aguilar with a boost in the lows.
Floridabwoy's comment reminds me that I felt that way about the Aguilar (relative to the Ampeg SVT-DI).
The DB900 might be better suited to guitar. Has anyone played guitar through it?
The DB900 might be better suited to guitar. Has anyone played guitar through it?
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I've used my Aguilar DB900 on acoustic guitar pickups, sounds great!
The big bass boost apparent in the ART, for instance, can be a bit much in the studio. Typically, anyway...
Floridaboy found the only di without a tube as sounding more "tubey" to him. Interesting how different people hear things differently.
Again, no right or wrong answers! This is all about opinions. Thanks for the feedback!
The big bass boost apparent in the ART, for instance, can be a bit much in the studio. Typically, anyway...
Floridaboy found the only di without a tube as sounding more "tubey" to him. Interesting how different people hear things differently.
Again, no right or wrong answers! This is all about opinions. Thanks for the feedback!
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Good poll here, Scotch. Since I have used all of the above DI's in various settings, it was interesting to hear your side-by-side comparisons. Here are my votes:
1) Radial JDI
2) ART Tube
3) Aguilar
The JDI sounded warm and full but 'clean' all over - that's to be expected with the passive Jensen transformer - and the ART sounded fat and warm with a little edge. The JDI is my preferred 'go to' DI all around... it's always in my gig bag. The Aguilar sounded sort of like a blend of the two, but with less 'oomph' to my ears. I recently recorded in a studio that wanted me to use an Aguilar just like that one, and while it sounded good, it lacked the character I knew either my JDI or J48 could have provided. You do what you do for the session though, ya know? For what it's worth, I regularly use an ART Tube pre (modded with either a JJ Tesla or Electro Harmonix 12AX7) as part of my live rig signal chain (and sometimes in the studio if it's accepted). I hit one of those and a VT Bass before going to the FOH or to my amp, and the FOH will typically get a feed out of either my JDI or J48 (with the ART and VT Bass), depending on the application. Sometimes I don't even use a VT Bass, depending on the application. At any rate, the ART Tube has earned a place in my setup, in spite of its 'budget' nature. Your test proves it's a darn good DI as well, served straight up.
1) Radial JDI
2) ART Tube
3) Aguilar
The JDI sounded warm and full but 'clean' all over - that's to be expected with the passive Jensen transformer - and the ART sounded fat and warm with a little edge. The JDI is my preferred 'go to' DI all around... it's always in my gig bag. The Aguilar sounded sort of like a blend of the two, but with less 'oomph' to my ears. I recently recorded in a studio that wanted me to use an Aguilar just like that one, and while it sounded good, it lacked the character I knew either my JDI or J48 could have provided. You do what you do for the session though, ya know? For what it's worth, I regularly use an ART Tube pre (modded with either a JJ Tesla or Electro Harmonix 12AX7) as part of my live rig signal chain (and sometimes in the studio if it's accepted). I hit one of those and a VT Bass before going to the FOH or to my amp, and the FOH will typically get a feed out of either my JDI or J48 (with the ART and VT Bass), depending on the application. Sometimes I don't even use a VT Bass, depending on the application. At any rate, the ART Tube has earned a place in my setup, in spite of its 'budget' nature. Your test proves it's a darn good DI as well, served straight up.
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I wish I could have ran a 4th channel straight from the bass into the interface. I might try that (getting busy though for this stuff..). The JDI is great, but I think what it's great at is adding no color at all! The ART and Aguilar really change the basses inherent tone, but the JDI stays pretty neutral (just my opinion and experience). I should put it to the test though, eh?
To my ears, the ART had the most bottom...maybe it is a bit scooped, but I guess I like scooped. 
The RDI was close, but it did not have the low end that I liked about the ART. I could probably be happy with either.
The Aguilar sounded too mid-centric for my tastes.
Brian
The RDI was close, but it did not have the low end that I liked about the ART. I could probably be happy with either.
The Aguilar sounded too mid-centric for my tastes.
Brian
+1 to whoever said J48.
Its a great DI for bass and keyboards. Built like a tank, and even if they break you can sent it off to Radial for a quick fix and turn around. Great product and company.
Its a great DI for bass and keyboards. Built like a tank, and even if they break you can sent it off to Radial for a quick fix and turn around. Great product and company.
I wish you could have got a recording of the bass clean. But still, good, no great, job giving us a very fair comparison!
On my computer, even with a sub, I could not tell the difference between the ART and the JDI. The Aguilar was obviously more bright. With headphones (and a better audio card) I could tell the difference between the ART and the JDI.
Live, any of these would work, but I would probably use the JDI if I could afford it just because it is smaller and doesn't need a power supply like the ART.
For recording, I would use any of these depending on the sound I wanted. If I had to choose, I have to say I liked the ART better. But then I don't really go for a bright tone.
For value for the dollar, the ART blew the other two away.
On my computer, even with a sub, I could not tell the difference between the ART and the JDI. The Aguilar was obviously more bright. With headphones (and a better audio card) I could tell the difference between the ART and the JDI.
Live, any of these would work, but I would probably use the JDI if I could afford it just because it is smaller and doesn't need a power supply like the ART.
For recording, I would use any of these depending on the sound I wanted. If I had to choose, I have to say I liked the ART better. But then I don't really go for a bright tone.
For value for the dollar, the ART blew the other two away.
I am a bit surprised. I thought the ART had more of a tubey Ampeg like tone than the Aggie.
I can't agree more! The JDI is amazing live. I was introduced to this a few weeks ago and I was blown away. From a FOH perspective the JDI is the way to go. The fact that it pretty much eliminates the ground loop problem makes it very attractive to the FOH guy. I ended up buying one...and possibly a lot more Radial stuff soon. Lol I found this site that lets you place an offer and they will then send you an email whether or not it was accepted. Very cool. I think it was Progearguys.com.
Groove Master
Commercial User
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I love these kind of tests and i have done something similar with a Demeter, an Avalon and the JDI. I'm wondering a bit about your routing. Can you be more specific on about how you splitted your signal? Because for me even the kind of cable used during tests had a significant impact on results so the way you split the signal can affect the tone. having said that, there is still a significant difference in tone between these units in your test.
Anyway, the Aguilar is top notch but considering the cost of the ART at 1/10 of the price of the Aguilar and the MP can serve as a mic-pre as well, I think ART is the best kept secret in affordable audio. The JDI for me ,again, sounds really dull, not bad, just dull. That is why I sold it not long after I finished my recording project
Anyway, the Aguilar is top notch but considering the cost of the ART at 1/10 of the price of the Aguilar and the MP can serve as a mic-pre as well, I think ART is the best kept secret in affordable audio. The JDI for me ,again, sounds really dull, not bad, just dull. That is why I sold it not long after I finished my recording project
I liked the ART. Nice bottom end, but I can see how that might be a little much while putting things together. I thought the JDI sounded even bigger than the ART, almost too much so, so the Aggie would be my second choice. It has a good balance between high and low end.
Meh. They all sounded fine to me. I think the differences are minute enough that they won't get noticed in a mix. I need a DI and this little poll came in handy. Thanks.
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Great thread.
Thanks for doing it.
I'm a bit of DI dork and prefer the JDI first the Aggie close second.
I play kind of brighter sounding basses and the JDI goes so well with them.
Thanks for doing it.
I'm a bit of DI dork and prefer the JDI first the Aggie close second.
I play kind of brighter sounding basses and the JDI goes so well with them.
I'm pretty impressed with the sound you got from the TubeMP, and I might pick one up as another tool in the box. There's some stuff I do that it might be a perfect fit for its low-end fatness.
Out of those three, if I had to pick one as an all-purpose unit, it would be the Aguilar.
All that said, sometimes the JDI is the right tool for the job. To me, it's the most pure translation of the sound of the instrument itself.
Out of those three, if I had to pick one as an all-purpose unit, it would be the Aguilar.
All that said, sometimes the JDI is the right tool for the job. To me, it's the most pure translation of the sound of the instrument itself.
This is why I would have really liked to hear the clean tone of the bass. I am suspicious that many don't like the JDI because they don't like the clean tone of the bass.
Scotch, any way you could do the test again with the clean and the JDI?
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Well, I could do a different test, yes. I could split the signal from the bass (as before), but "home-run" one straight to the interface and use the JDI simultaneously. I'll try to find some time...
