Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
DI options
- Thread starter rodv66
- Start date
Just be aware that the passive JDI when daisy chained to the speaker inserts a guitar speaker emulation (with pad and speaker switches in). They don’t specify the bandpass frequencies. By removing low frequencies, it allows their DI to handle more power handling capacity than of it weren’t cut off.
Other DI’s such as the RNDI and Countryman do not insert a speaker emulation. It pays to check these sort of specs out when shopping.
Other DI’s such as the RNDI and Countryman do not insert a speaker emulation. It pays to check these sort of specs out when shopping.
I haven’t tried the Bass Butler, but agree with the other poster that it’s worth a shot if you want the Orange sound.
Yeah could go any number of ways. You could just buy a mic and mini mic Stand if you want the sound of your rig in the pa and don’t want to worry about depending on whatever mic the soundguy provides. You could XLR out of the sans amp. Sans amps actually work very well direct into the PA and doing that wouldn’t cost you a nickel. But it would pretty much mean leaving the sans amp on all the time. If you’re ok with the sans amp being on all the time I’d go that route. If not I would recommend getting a clean Di type pedal to use as an always on pre amp and using the sans amp more as an on and off overdrive. Something like Mesa subway Di or ampeg SCR di would work great.
Why not do both?
A DI and a mic can sound wonderful mixed. Clean with a little speaker dirt, or dirty with clean bottom mixed in, or anything in between.
A DI and a mic can sound wonderful mixed. Clean with a little speaker dirt, or dirty with clean bottom mixed in, or anything in between.
I assume you are talking to the OP despite quoting my post... sorry if I got that part wrong. I did want to point out that he could use the parallel output from the Sansamp straight into his Orange amp, and his amp tone would not be colored by the Sansamp. Obviously the DI sound to the board would sound like a Sansamp rather than the Orange, but that’s still better than nothing at all. Micing the cab is always an option, but Soundmen tend to frown upon it.
FWIW I’ve been happier using passive DIs with active basses and active DIs with passive basses. YMMV.
Be careful with some class-D amps when taking the signal off the speaker out with a Countryman Type 85. Depending on the amp doing that can result in damage to the amp. @agedhorse had an explanation of why that is in another thread which I’ll try to locate.
Last edited:
That’s what’s generally recommended. I use a passive bass with a passive DI, no problems.
I may run my P bass through my passive Radial JDI next time I play at church (we are ampless with in ears) just to see how it sounds.
As I said in my post: FWIW and YMMV.
Didn’t say there were any problems doing otherwise.
I bring my own DI Box to every show to get the sound that I want...
As I said in my post: FWIW and YMMV.
Didn’t say there were any problems doing otherwise.
I just looked up YMMV. Now I get it. Old people aren’t always up with the latest acronyms.
I have one of those as well. It’s nice, sound wise, to allow for some air between the cabinet and a mic rather that a DI.
I actually didn’t see your post I was replying directly to the OP, sorry if there was any confusion. My point about using the sans amp as a DI. Which I did for years, is that it then becomes more of an always on pre amp and you can’t really use it as an on and off overdrive because if you’re using it as an overdrive and then turn it off it’s basically the same as running a Plain Di without any pre amp at all.
I like the JDI for the way it connects to a speaker signal in parallel, and for the way it has no active circuitry to worry about.
With the Countryman I have to keep a 9V handy in case phantom power is not available. (And while on 9V be careful plugging & unplugging from the "input" jack - it will send a loud "pop" through the XLR. Most PA owners really hate that.)
I did a bunch of testing and found my JDI sounds noticeably worse with my passive basses going straight in. (Less treble, not as even, just kind of "stale" overall.) It would of course be better than nothing in a pinch, but I would definitely prefer to insert a good active buffer circuit before it (onboard pre, outboard pre, rack pre, amp, etc) or use the Countryman.
IME passive basses respond more naturally and musically with the Countryman and for what I could get for my beat up unit, it's probably worth hanging on to for those times where I might want a clean, unaltered capture.
What I really want to do is add high quality tube character to the DI signal and maybe some tone adjustment, but still have a separate control for stage volume. There are of course multiple ways to achieve this, with varying degrees of convenience and expense. (Hopefully the 1/4" line out from my 50W tube amp to the JDI will do the trick. May have to patch together something different for louder applications.)
I could always give up on the separate volume concept and that would open up a few more possibilities. (Like the post-power send, the speaker signal, or not least of all a mic.)
With the Countryman I have to keep a 9V handy in case phantom power is not available. (And while on 9V be careful plugging & unplugging from the "input" jack - it will send a loud "pop" through the XLR. Most PA owners really hate that.)
I did a bunch of testing and found my JDI sounds noticeably worse with my passive basses going straight in. (Less treble, not as even, just kind of "stale" overall.) It would of course be better than nothing in a pinch, but I would definitely prefer to insert a good active buffer circuit before it (onboard pre, outboard pre, rack pre, amp, etc) or use the Countryman.
IME passive basses respond more naturally and musically with the Countryman and for what I could get for my beat up unit, it's probably worth hanging on to for those times where I might want a clean, unaltered capture.
What I really want to do is add high quality tube character to the DI signal and maybe some tone adjustment, but still have a separate control for stage volume. There are of course multiple ways to achieve this, with varying degrees of convenience and expense. (Hopefully the 1/4" line out from my 50W tube amp to the JDI will do the trick. May have to patch together something different for louder applications.)
I could always give up on the separate volume concept and that would open up a few more possibilities. (Like the post-power send, the speaker signal, or not least of all a mic.)
Last edited:
