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Eden WTDI Direct Box/Preamp
- Thread starter esa372
- Start date
I know you're all going to hate me for this, but I snagged one of these used from Music-Go-Round today for $79.99. I already use a Sansamp RBI, but it's not always convenient to take along a rackmount DI. Plus, for the price, who could pass it up?
My overdrive is fairly touch sensitive (pigtronix OFO) and that in tandem with the compressor is wholly credible. If you like to play dynamically, this unit might just be what you'll need to sit up front onstage or in the jamspace.
So what if it's no navigator? It's a great unit now found for CHEAP.
So what if it's no navigator? It's a great unit now found for CHEAP.
I ran into a friend who has one of these and he let me borrow it and put it through it's paces. At the store where we met it sounded best in bypass mode running into the front of an Ampeg B500DR amp into a 4 ohm SWR Goliath Jr III. Very impressive, lots of presence, lots of physicality to the sound. We used it with a US Fender Jazz Deluxe 4 and my 2002 Brubaker K-5BNC 5 string with Bartolini electronics. It was very touchy when used with the Brubaker, which has the internal gain on the Bart NTMB preamp at around 75%... pretty hot. Distorted easily and not the desirable kind IMO. Tried running it into the preamp input on the Ampeg and got lots of mud unless in bypass.
This seems to be a very well built unit. The dense rubber pad on the bottom was a nice touch... gripped the gear I sat it on. Time didn't allow me to try it on any of my gigs weekend so I set up a rig in the garage...
Funny note... my Yamaha preamp is the heaviest thing in that electronics stack.
Tried it with two power amps, a Crown Drivecore XLS2500 and Stewart PA-100B 1/2 rack unit. Ran both amps in bridged mode, 180w @8 ohms for the Stewart, IIRC 2500 @ 4 ohms for the Drivecore. Side note: despite confirmation from Stewart, my amp did not like running at 4 ohms bridged. Went into protect mode after a couple of minutes of moderate playing. This was repeatable. Did this even with my bass in active bypass/passive mode.
Tested with Nahas 1-12/1-15 stack, both 8 ohms. I used a different Brubaker bass, an older NBS-1 five string with the same electronics package as the other Brubaker, set up the same way. Had the Mike Pope Mitre Box and Yamaha PB-1 there for A/Bing / troubleshooting purposes.
Again I found that what I really liked was the bypass mode. Sounded just like my basses, just bigger, which basically what I want from amplification. Nice and clear yet still very full-bodied. It does a volume boost in bypass mode and ran either amp with no problem. Ran into the same touchiness with the gain and eventually figured out how to use the components together based on an anomaly (as far as other gear goes) that I ran into.
I noticed that when not in bypass mode I got a very hard clipping noise, to my surprise even with the gain and the master turned completely off. This was easily repeatable... if I plucked hard the noise came through. That was actually a good thing as far as troubleshooting goes IMO.
I narrowed the problem down to an issue with the WDTI handling the hotter than average output of my basses. I gradually turned down the volume on the bass until the hard plucks weren't audible with the gains off and the clipping problem was gone. I could then use the EQ and even the bass button without issue. My guess is a pad on the input should address this.
Not crazy about the Enhance circuit, it seemed to remove alot of the character of the instrument. The compressor was okay for a built-in when used in moderation.
In bypassed mode the WDTI easily drove my power amps and I'm sure I could gig with just the WDTI to a power amp to a cab or cabs with very good results. When the circuit is kicked in there is even more volume available plus the EQ tweakability. After figuring out the gain structure issue this appears to be a very nice unit, especially for the price.
Didn't try out the DI. I have no problem with it being post-EQ only. I typically send my stage tone to the FOH anyway... it's not heavily tweaked.
This seems to be a very well built unit. The dense rubber pad on the bottom was a nice touch... gripped the gear I sat it on. Time didn't allow me to try it on any of my gigs weekend so I set up a rig in the garage...
Funny note... my Yamaha preamp is the heaviest thing in that electronics stack.
Tried it with two power amps, a Crown Drivecore XLS2500 and Stewart PA-100B 1/2 rack unit. Ran both amps in bridged mode, 180w @8 ohms for the Stewart, IIRC 2500 @ 4 ohms for the Drivecore. Side note: despite confirmation from Stewart, my amp did not like running at 4 ohms bridged. Went into protect mode after a couple of minutes of moderate playing. This was repeatable. Did this even with my bass in active bypass/passive mode.
Tested with Nahas 1-12/1-15 stack, both 8 ohms. I used a different Brubaker bass, an older NBS-1 five string with the same electronics package as the other Brubaker, set up the same way. Had the Mike Pope Mitre Box and Yamaha PB-1 there for A/Bing / troubleshooting purposes.
Again I found that what I really liked was the bypass mode. Sounded just like my basses, just bigger, which basically what I want from amplification. Nice and clear yet still very full-bodied. It does a volume boost in bypass mode and ran either amp with no problem. Ran into the same touchiness with the gain and eventually figured out how to use the components together based on an anomaly (as far as other gear goes) that I ran into.
I noticed that when not in bypass mode I got a very hard clipping noise, to my surprise even with the gain and the master turned completely off. This was easily repeatable... if I plucked hard the noise came through. That was actually a good thing as far as troubleshooting goes IMO.
I narrowed the problem down to an issue with the WDTI handling the hotter than average output of my basses. I gradually turned down the volume on the bass until the hard plucks weren't audible with the gains off and the clipping problem was gone. I could then use the EQ and even the bass button without issue. My guess is a pad on the input should address this.
Not crazy about the Enhance circuit, it seemed to remove alot of the character of the instrument. The compressor was okay for a built-in when used in moderation.
In bypassed mode the WDTI easily drove my power amps and I'm sure I could gig with just the WDTI to a power amp to a cab or cabs with very good results. When the circuit is kicked in there is even more volume available plus the EQ tweakability. After figuring out the gain structure issue this appears to be a very nice unit, especially for the price.
Didn't try out the DI. I have no problem with it being post-EQ only. I typically send my stage tone to the FOH anyway... it's not heavily tweaked.
After reading and listening and watching all this info, I came to the conclusion that the WTDI is Eden-esque in its sound, so I decided to buy it. I too like my preamp to have a clean sound and all the drive/grit/fuzz come from other effects.
A lot of people nagged about the "9 o'clock setting" for gain as being the highest with no problems. The real question is this:
Is 9 o'clock gain enough? Is it loud? If 9 is loud enough for strong output with no problems, then it's ok to leave it there. If you need 10 to be heard, but can't go there due to cranking-up problems, then what do you do?
Thanks in advance for any useful (or not) answer.
Edit: I use three P-basses, split or single coil, all passive.
A lot of people nagged about the "9 o'clock setting" for gain as being the highest with no problems. The real question is this:
Is 9 o'clock gain enough? Is it loud? If 9 is loud enough for strong output with no problems, then it's ok to leave it there. If you need 10 to be heard, but can't go there due to cranking-up problems, then what do you do?
Thanks in advance for any useful (or not) answer.
Edit: I use three P-basses, split or single coil, all passive.
Used mine with my 5 string Pbass last night. The gain really is touchy. I couldn't get to 9 o'clock without being too loud for the room even with the volume all the way down. Signal was Pbass>WTDI>Crown XS500>Genz Benz 410. Once I found a happy medium with the gain/volume, I was good to go. The tone was great. I still prefer my Sansamp RBI, but the WTDI is much more portable, so it will see use when running DI to the PA. Hey, that's pretty much what it was designed for, wasn't it?
I can turn the gain and the master on this box all the way up using an active bass and it stays clean as a whistle. I adjust the gain on my amp to avoid overdrive / distortion.
i like the sound of the WTDI on the demo's but i'm seeing comments on how this does not always play well with others.
is the high gain paired a sensitive amp pre the cause of most distortion?
is anybody chaining this with other pedals?
is the high gain paired a sensitive amp pre the cause of most distortion?
is anybody chaining this with other pedals?
Used mine as it was intended last night, as a DI to the PA. Absolutely no gain issues as when used direct to a power amp. The tone through the PA was awesome! This is actually making me consider not taking my rig along. I will definitely stick to the plan of using the WTDI only as a DI and stick with my Sansamp RBI as a pre to my rig.
I use Eden WTDI with Warwick Thumb 5 BO (Bartolini single-coil pickups, passive mode) and
Ibanez GWB-35 (Bartolini BC5CBC-T soapbar, passive mode).
With Warwick gain-knob on WTDI on 11-12 o'clock, cool mid-rangy sound with no issues.
With Ibanez I have some distortions even on 9 o'clock setting of gain-knob.
Pickup on both instruments are close to strings (1.5 - 2 mm).
sorry for my horrible english
I am.
The distortion is most likely in the WTDI. When it clips it clips harshly. The comrpessor can be used to smooth out those spikes and circumnavigate the problem but if it's on too much it can totally squash your tone...like at 4 o'clock on the knob.
Those settings don't correlate with my actual settings.
I recently had to change strings from tapewounds to rounds and everything was amiss till this evening, except for my bassballs which was set up for fat low end and now I need to readjust the trimpots to get it to work to my liking. I guess I know now why that mod is so important.
Anyway, here's what I'm doing.
JazzV>OC2>Disnortion (is or ion)>Bassballs>milkbox>Envelope Phaser>WTDI>Yamaha BBT500
Since I like to use my Disnortion's parallel drives as boosts of sorts I'm going to have to get the octava channel modded to have the level control work when engaged with the fuzz or overdrive because the controls get bypassed when that happens and that makes the output realllllly hot.
The WTDI plays just fine with others. You need to learn how to set it up properly and you need to learn how to set up your other effects up properly for it to work. Most players don't fully understand the concept of gainstaging and of those that do that still have issues, most have components in their signal path that don't allow for some sort of level control.
Here's what I do.
turn the bypass off on the wtdi, turn the compressor off, turn the output down to 9 o'clock or so.
turn the pre up all the way so it distorts.
turn it down until it DOESN'T distort.
turn the output up to the proper volume for the bypass volume to be relative to the effected signal
listen for tone
if I want more 'eden' tone, I turn the input gain up a little bit and turn up the compressor to smooth peaks that clip the preamp.
If I can't do this without the compressor squashing my tone I turn the input gain down until it feels and sounds transparent.
While I know that I've had this thing since last Christmas, I'm far from the smartest guy around here and generally presume that most people understand how to set up their gear enough to get this procedure.
If it doesn't work on your current setting, adjust it until it doesn't clip and then adjust that setting to put a hot enough signal out to your amp.
Not too difficult really.
Hey Gize, I ordered my WTDI in early May from Sound Of Music in Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
They told me that there would be a 3-month wait, as they were clearing CSA approval. It seemed like forever, but I finally got it on August 29th.
Someone said that it gave Eden back their credibility. IT DID ! !
I run a WT550 into a D210XST (a real David one) and a new Traynor Neo 210, (traded my D210XLT, as I wouldn't fit in my trunk, (too high) and as I have cancer, lifting 69 pounds, compared to 40 is no longer an option. The D210XST picks up what the 210Neo doesn't have for depth and the 210Neo has the 'mid bump'.
Bit I digress, the WTDI is, in 1 word 'FANTASTIC'.
Plugged it into the amp in`` of a Yorkville 400H + Yorkville 210 & a Yorkville 115. It turned it into an Eden, simply stated.
Setting it up was very intuative. \took about 1 minute to dial in the sound I wanted.
I gives the new Eden lost credibility. $169.oo + HST = $189.28.
Don't discount the value of a CSA rating in Canada. Without it, means no warranty in Canada and if, (hope not ever) you should have a WTDI related fire, - insurance issues.
Anyway Eden WTDI:- LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. WT Preamp in a tiny box
TommieTT
They told me that there would be a 3-month wait, as they were clearing CSA approval. It seemed like forever, but I finally got it on August 29th.
Someone said that it gave Eden back their credibility. IT DID ! !
I run a WT550 into a D210XST (a real David one) and a new Traynor Neo 210, (traded my D210XLT, as I wouldn't fit in my trunk, (too high) and as I have cancer, lifting 69 pounds, compared to 40 is no longer an option. The D210XST picks up what the 210Neo doesn't have for depth and the 210Neo has the 'mid bump'.
Bit I digress, the WTDI is, in 1 word 'FANTASTIC'.
Plugged it into the amp in`` of a Yorkville 400H + Yorkville 210 & a Yorkville 115. It turned it into an Eden, simply stated.
Setting it up was very intuative. \took about 1 minute to dial in the sound I wanted.
I gives the new Eden lost credibility. $169.oo + HST = $189.28.
Don't discount the value of a CSA rating in Canada. Without it, means no warranty in Canada and if, (hope not ever) you should have a WTDI related fire, - insurance issues.
Anyway Eden WTDI:- LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. WT Preamp in a tiny box
TommieTT
I have one. Plenty of control, if you like Eden amps, works like you hope. No junk noise. Very helpful in recording situation. Gain control and master volume really work well together, not just more of the same, not a fuzz tone. You really can get the right output for a good fat recorded sound without too hot a signal, and it has enough juice to make a power amp work for a stage rig. Compressor a little artificial, doesn't quite have that old bassman vibe where the power supply gave it natural compression. But an old bassman has lots of junk noise, sounds different every day, and won't play a low B string worth a darn. Would a $1500 preamp sound better? Yeah, but this sounds very good to me for a blue collar price.
