DI/Preamp Boxes: What do you go with for your sound?

[SteIIa]

So here's the exercise:

You're now a gigging musician but you're no longer carrying around an amp/cab. You've got a pedalboard and on that pedalboard you've got a DI/preamp. Here's the four questions:

1. What's the DI/preamp?
2. Why/what's your favourite feature?
3. What don't you like about it?
4. What style of music are you using it for?

 

[SteIIa]

1. Ampeg SCR-DI
2. You can blend in a teensy hint of dirt but still have a fantastic sound.
3. Not the most transparent tone - very much an Ampeg sound so that'd better be what you want.
4. Motown/rock/blues/soul

 

[alembicguy]

 

[brocket]

1. Tech 21 VT Deluxe
2. 6 settings of great tone
3. It’s big. Finding out the saved knob locations is a little fiddly.
4 Folk rock

 

[TheLopp]

1. Shift Line Olympic mkIIIs
2. Real tubey goodness. And a great cab sim!
3. The EQ is a bit limited
4. Heavy Metal

 

[estimated_eyes]

1. Countryman Type 85
2. Natural sound of my bass
3. No LPF (running fuzz and OD)
4. Psych folk rock

 

[Mushroo]

1. Whatever the sound guy asks me to plug into
2. He can do his best job using equipment that is familiar to him
3. Theoretically there is a tiny chance someday I'll show up to a gig and the sound guy won't have a DI for me (but I get around this hypothetical by carrying a spare JDI).
4. Rock/blues/funk/etc.

 

[bassbrad]

1 Zoom B2.1u or B3
2 Tweaked warm Bassman in small room - B3 is Polytone MBIII in small room
3 xlr is line level so sometimes they need to use the 1/4 out and a house DI
4 Live Rock, Country, Jazz, corporate.

For recording I have several preamp pedals and DI and choose the appropriate tool. My long time favorite DI was the Countryman Type 85 recently exceeded by the Rupert Neve RNDI that is simply sublime. If I have two tracks I will use a preamp pedal into the Countryman and bareback into the RNDI and mix the two.

 

[Zbysek]

1. EBS MicroBass II.
2. 10Mohm input impedance for my EUB. Parametric mids. Dual channel. Mute. Tube sim. It can be powered via phantom. Cab sim. FX Loop.
3. It doesn't have HPF.
4. Anything.

 

[ChaseBassism]

1. hartke vxl bass attack
2. Nice gritty sound
3. No mid knob althought it has shape feature
4. Punk, pop and rock

 

[keatz]

1. Aguilar Tonehammer DI
2. punchy, Parametric mid eq, AGS gain circuit is just so natural and also introduces a LPF and HPF
3. Wish the AGS engage footswitch was replaced with a drive knob like the amp head
4. Heavy Prog Rock

 

[dave_bass5]

So here's the exercise:

You're now a gigging musician but you're no longer carrying around an amp/cab. You've got a pedalboard and on that pedalboard you've got a DI/preamp. Here's the four questions:

1. What's the DI/preamp?
2. Why/what's your favourite feature?
3. What don't you like about it?
4. What style of music are you using it for?

Well i do use an amp, but its a TCE BH800.
1. I also have a TCE Spectradrive which is the same preamp section so i can gig with or without the amp if i have to, and still have the same tone, inc compressor.

2. My fav feature is the built in Spectracomp (via tone print on either).

3. I dont like that its not battery powered, although i realise why.

4. Playing general covers.

 

[EMoneySC2]

1. Noble Tube DI
2. TUBE
3. Not many tone controls
4. Everything

 

[Hundred proof]

Always use this setup even with just an amp, the Voodoo Bass has slight compression and gives me a fat dare I say “tube-like” vibe, the Sole Pressure adds more “push” as needed and has a soft bass rich OD, the Rust Booster adds more mid/upper harmonic “grit” again as needed. I started using this when I had to do a podcast that went out to 250k listeners and wanted it to approximate my live sound. Liked it so well it’s now my go-to setup, for blues, blues/rock.

 

[Gries Amps]

1. API TranZformer LX
2. Tone
3. Foot switches are unnecessary
4. Musical theater

 

[gregmon79]

So here's the exercise:

You're now a gigging musician but you're no longer carrying around an amp/cab. You've got a pedalboard and on that pedalboard you've got a DI/preamp. Here's the four questions:

1. What's the DI/preamp?
2. Why/what's your favourite feature?
3. What don't you like about it?
4. What style of music are you using it for?

If I wasn't using an amp, I'd look at getting an HX Stomp and an HX FX and a good DI like a Radial or Neve RNDI as well as my tried and true Rusty Box for my flavor. On top of that, I'd try and get something from Torpedo. One of their DI/IR loaders. I feel like with just those 3 things, that's all I'd need on a board. I'd most likely add some dirt, the Damnation MBD1, the Bloop, Para driver or a Rat tail and the DG X7. Maybe a muff. A wah. But the things taking place of my amp and cab would be the Stomp, DI and whatever Torpedo device I chose. I think with those 3 things alone, you'd have a world of sounds and options at your feet.

Fav feature would be the fact that the Stomp has all the amp and cab sims, IR loader and all the effects. The HXFX would be for more accessibility and ease of use. The Torpedo would be for perfecting my signal to the FOH. The Rusty Box would probably be my main flavor/pre. I would play hard rock original tunes if I had a choice. Not much to not like about a setup like this

 

[TonyP-]

Recording - It’s mainly the REDDI, but I add other lines ect.

Live - Q-Strip & Nordstrand Audio Statlifter

 

[rafitoprtx]

Digitech Cab Driver (1x15) cab. MXR 10 band Eq. Amper Scrambler OD. MXR compressor.

 

[Ultradust]

May be kinda silly to drag around a 2-space rack unit along with a pedalboard, but it doesn't weigh a ton and that's why I own two of these

1. SPL Channel One
2. Hybrid Tube design (clarity with a little push) and excellent subtle compression circuit if I'm running a simple signal chain. Super clean.
3. It can sound a little too "kind" when putting bass to tape, not all the tubey sounding.
4. Everything I have to do for commercials and soundtracks: pop, rock, funk, shoegazey bits, etc.

As for studio use, 18 years on it's still my favorite single preamp to sit prior to the AD converter for tracking bass, guitar, and woodwinds, and super smooth on vocals. Admittedly can't do an extreme this-or-that, but it's an excellent all-arounder.

 

[mattattack187]

I use two different preamps depending on what I'm feeling like for tone on a certain day.

1. MXR M80 & SANSAMP BDDI
   
2. Transparent tone/tube style tone
   
3. Color switch can't be turned off on distortion channel/Really have to work with it to find the tone you like
   
4. Any style for both.