Not required. Any decent sound man will have inline pads in his workbox, and they are seldom used.
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DI Level Control - Necessary? New Poll
- Thread starter R Baer
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If memory serves, lack of a DI level control on the Little Mark II was a complaint and inclusion on the LM III a revelation. Nice upgrade but not a dealbreaker without.
There's definitely a few consoles out there that don't like too hot of an input on the balanced input, usually because they're cheap and don't have an input pad
There's also a few older digital consoles that are a bit finicky, M7CL comes to mind.
EDIT:
In fact, so seldom used that people don't carry them 95% of the time
No valid poll answer for me - because although I don't absolutely "need" it, I have used it a few times - and prefer to have one... For whatever reason, I have had to either boost or reduce my DI send at a couple of venues over the years - at the soundman's request... I also have turned it up a notch when I got out in front with my wireless, and discovered that the bass was totally non-existant in the FOH mix... In those cases, it was apparant that the sound monkey didn't want to hear ANY bass in the FOH, and that doesn't accurately represent my band's sound in any way...
As someone else said - I always tell the soundman to let me know if he needs more or less send level, and/or a ground lift - 95 out of 100 times, neither is needed...
- georgestrings
As someone else said - I always tell the soundman to let me know if he needs more or less send level, and/or a ground lift - 95 out of 100 times, neither is needed...
- georgestrings
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
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- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Often when using a line to send for recording with the LMII I found that I'd have to play with the pre level as well as the main to get the right send level on the DI. Usually with using the DI for PA insertion, my standard pre-gain level was just fine, and there were no worries on stage, where any time I needed to change amp volume I'd use the master anyway.
IMO, the issue with the original LMII DI was a lack of a pre/post EQ switch. You had to pop the top of the unit to change it. When the LMIII came out, they fixed that issue by adding that switch, and also added a level control.
+1
Nice to have but not essential, strictly speaking. I'd rather have one and not need it, than to need one and not have it...
For a boutique-quality amp, I'd expect to see a DI level control, and would be a little surprised if it wasn't there. I figure, so long as I'm shelling out for a premium product anyway, a little extra for all the bells & whistles won't hurt. But still, no deal-breaker if the level control isn't there.
MM
svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
- 4,741
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- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
My Genz Benz Amps have a switch for either Mic or LINE level.. Only one time did a FOH ask for mic level instead of LINE... It was a club gig and i have No Idea what board he was using..
... All other times I run LINE level. .Never had an issue...
... All other times I run LINE level. .Never had an issue...
- Jan 27, 2010
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- Endorsing Artist: Genz Benz Amplification
For someone who likes to send a post-eq feed I can see it being handy, especially if you're going to a budget PA with no mic/line switch (Yamaha MG, Behringer come to mind). I agree that a decent soundman should be able to deal with that small inconvenience, but not everybody has that luxury all the time.
A more economical compromise might be a -15 db pad rather than a variable attenuator.
A more economical compromise might be a -15 db pad rather than a variable attenuator.
Another flawed TB poll. The two extreme choices do not represent reality well. I voted "No" as in don't need it, but the rest of the text *does not* match my personal experience: yes, I've used it many times working with a sound man to dial in a level. I also do care if an amp has one, it is a "nice to have" feature. But is it absolutely needed, as in the amp's DI is useless without one? No, that is not the case, which is why I voted "No".
I find that the Genz Benz ShuttleMax approach of two levels, "Mic" and "Line", works very well. It's simple and less costly, with about 95% of the utility of the level-control knob on my Eden head.
I find that the Genz Benz ShuttleMax approach of two levels, "Mic" and "Line", works very well. It's simple and less costly, with about 95% of the utility of the level-control knob on my Eden head.
I'd rather see a higher quality built-in DI than one with adjustability. I've used the amp's DI's on my G-Ks, Eden and Genz-Benz in a pinch, but I prefer to use my Radial JDI when a DI is needed.
my one and only complaint about my Orange TerrorBass 500 is the overly hot DI. Not that it doesn't sound good, but that I deal with a few too many "soundguys" that don't know how to work gain stages on their board.
That said, the head sounds great once you throw a pad on the line, so I can't complain too much, but it'd be nice to dial it back when i know i'm working with someone lacking in technical skill (such as the ability to locate the pad button)
That said, the head sounds great once you throw a pad on the line, so I can't complain too much, but it'd be nice to dial it back when i know i'm working with someone lacking in technical skill (such as the ability to locate the pad button)
I haven't used mine, due to an outboard preamp/DI pedal, and seeing as how even that, with all of my other pedals going into it, has never caused a sound tech too much hassle, I can't imagine it being too much of a problem.
Btw, I visited your website and I must say, that Valkyrie looks damn good, both visually and judging from the specs. How does one get to try such a thing out in Europe?
Hnnngggg.... I shouldn't even ask that, I love my current amp.....
Mybe when I get rich...... Then comes the amp polygamy.
Martin
Btw, I visited your website and I must say, that Valkyrie looks damn good, both visually and judging from the specs. How does one get to try such a thing out in Europe?
Hnnngggg.... I shouldn't even ask that, I love my current amp.....
Mybe when I get rich...... Then comes the amp polygamy.
Martin
I am asked to adjust the level control on my DI about one time out of ten or so that a sound engineer runs a line to me. I travel a lot with the main act I play with and the FOH/soundman is potluck. Usually I get good, but sometimes not as much. I prefer to give the soundtech what he is asking for, it is easier than pointing out that they ought to be able to use what I am sending them. Most of the time I am running an external DI with level control, so perhaps that isn't directly applicable to your poll. Still, I would find not having a level control a drawback on an amp as it would then require the use of an external DI by me. I have to use an external DI, why bother with an onboard one to begin with?
IOW, yes a level control is mandatory.
IOW, yes a level control is mandatory.
- May 9, 2008
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DI out attenuator option?
With a dodgy scratchy cheap pot????... Nah matey!
Royal Naval Battleship. 600 Ohm attenuator:
Invalid Link Removed
We already got one you silly KNigit!
Now go away or I will wave my private parts at your maiden aunt.
Just a bit of info here. My engineer is quite the purist and the line he likes to use on me quite often is always "Anything in the signal path affects the tone. The purest path is always the simplest path". His feeling is that if the Di is designed right in the first place, any FOH engineer will be able to deal with the output level of the DI. Sure, you can ask a sound guy "Is my DI level ok?. Do you need more, or less?", but if you never bring it up and just present him with a usable DI level in the first place, the issue should never really come up.
And yes, while we are talking about just a few bucks in components, keep in mind I'm not just buying a couple buck worth of parts, I'm buying everything in multiples of 100, sometimes more if it's a special order part. A few bucks here, a few bucks there, really starts adding up when you are talking about a product with hundreds of components. We are trying to get the price on this amp as low as we can, given the design and every little bit helps.
I am genuinely interested to see if this is a feature guys are actually using, not simply a feature that players would like to have. The couple times I was asked about my DI level and I told the sound person that I didn't have any way to control it, he was like "No problem". So, in my experience, it's never been a feature that seems overly useful, as I've never owned an amp that didn't have a usable DI level.
And yes, while we are talking about just a few bucks in components, keep in mind I'm not just buying a couple buck worth of parts, I'm buying everything in multiples of 100, sometimes more if it's a special order part. A few bucks here, a few bucks there, really starts adding up when you are talking about a product with hundreds of components. We are trying to get the price on this amp as low as we can, given the design and every little bit helps.
I am genuinely interested to see if this is a feature guys are actually using, not simply a feature that players would like to have. The couple times I was asked about my DI level and I told the sound person that I didn't have any way to control it, he was like "No problem". So, in my experience, it's never been a feature that seems overly useful, as I've never owned an amp that didn't have a usable DI level.
It's been said that GB's built in DI is very similar to a Countryman Type 85, which sits side by side with a JDI.
IIRC, someone made some clips between the two (GB and Type 85) and it was indistinguishable.
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