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Giving up the cab mic

#21
JimmyM said:
I think folks who run only clean solid state amps get along with DI's much better than tube snobs like me and effects junkies (not a junkie but I do like overdrive). But if you ever heard a tube amp running clean and DI'd to the board, there's this stoutness and body to it that you just don't get in SS. All of a sudden the high notes don't lose their bottom and you don't have to make the low notes woofy to accomplish it. And to my ears it's got all the tightness of a SS amp but with this natural warmth to it that responds to your playing in a way I don't get elsewhere.

That said, some don't like it, but while I respect their opinions, I don't see how anyone could listen to these clips and think otherwise:

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Countryman, REDDI, and B-15 with a speaker DI direct to my soundcard. I don't know man...people always try to downplay the difference between SS and tube, but I think that makes it pretty clear that we're not hearing things. And that's why I couldn't stand the thought of plugging into some solid state DI with an SVT or B-15 behind me.
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Wow! REDDI, like the B15 tap, but without the hiss!
 
#22
Marko5657 said:
If 2% of the audience cares and picks up on things like that, then you’re right, there are a lot more of them than I realize.

:)
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And that's why you're in the "Crappy Bassists With Expensive Gear Club" and I'm not ;)

Never take your audience for idiots. I'm sure there are a lot of folks in your audience who are, indeed, idiots. I get plenty, too. But I've seen plenty of bands who got booed off the stage for sucking, so maybe they're not such idiots after all. It's true nobody cares what gear you use as long as you bring it on your instrument, but I'm done bringing the gear I don't like for no other reason than the other stuff's cheaper and easier. And if nobody else notices it but me, that's fine. Makes me play better because it gives me less to think about on a gig other than "If I play really well, it will do this awesome gear justice." And that is something they will notice.
 
#23
scotch said:
Wow! REDDI, like the B15 tap, but without the hiss!
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That's what I said! Couldn't believe it. Thought it would be deficient somehow someway, but when you EQ them to sound the same, they sound dead on to my ears, except for the hiss. You'd never notice the hiss anywhere else but in a recording like this, but good to not have it if you don't have to.
 
#25
JimmyM said:
Or you can just do what I did...get fed up with it all and buy the best DI ever made ;) It's not a question of practice...I'm actually a pro musician. I can plug into anything and make it sound good. I just know what I like and solid state DI's aren't it. But trust me...I'm the first guy to tell people who need to be practicing instead of splitting hairs over gear to practice.
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Sorry, my comment was directed at the DI naysayers, not you, JimmyM! :)
 
#31
KingRazor said:
Actually I was already looking at getting one anyway. Has everything I could want: level control, XLR out to the board, 1/4" thru to the amp, on/off switch, ground lift. What more could you need?
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I do have to warn you that the 1/4" to the amp doesn't carry the signal from the REDDI but is an unaffected pass-thru jack. If you want it to go to your amp and have EQ, the Jule Amps Monique would probably be better for you, but it's twice as much and I have Ampegs already, so REDDI it is ;)
 
#32
TimmyP said:
1) Nice sound, a little too much top - nothing a little rolloff wouldn't fix.

2) Mellower top, but a bit of a hot spot in the upper bass. A little notch in the right spot should work.

3) I have a negative visceral reaction to this one, and I have no idea why.
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1. Agreed.

2. I added the hot spot to try to get it to sound closer to the EQ I had on the B-15 to demonstrate how dead-on the REDDI nails that tube sound of the B-15. It does have flat response, though, and you can tell when comparing it to the Countryman. Here's how it sounded recorded flat to the board:

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3. I pray to God I never have to work with anyone else who thinks that. Anyone who has a negative visceral reaction to the standard for excellence in bass tone for 50 years is someone I don't want on any stage I'm on. OK, they can do catering, but behind the board, forget about it. It was probably you who sneaked a DI in on me that one time ;)
 
#36
derrico1 said:
Roger Pinto modded a UA solo610 for me to add an affected 1/4" out. The REDDI could probably support the same mod if you want it to feed FOH and a power amp for your stage rig.
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I don't think you can do that mod on a REDDI, though. Your Solo 610 is a preamp as well, and the REDDI is just a straight up DI and can't drive a power amp. Might be able to mod it to do affected 1/4" out, but I'd be very worried about dulling its effectiveness in the slightest. I'd get a small mic mixer and route it to your amp that way if you have to have it in your amp. Fortunately, not a problem for me...I have Ampegs...BWAHAHAHA!!! ;)
 
#39
Marko5657 said:
If 2% of the audience cares and picks up on things like that, then you’re right, there are a lot more of them than I realize.

:)
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JimmyM said:
And that's why you're in the "Crappy Bassists With Expensive Gear Club" and I'm not ;)
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mkay…

Never take your audience for idiots. I'm sure there are a lot of folks in your audience who are, indeed, idiots. I get plenty, too.
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I never said, or even thought that anyone is an idiot ‘cause they can’t tell or don’t care about the difference between a “real tube/transformer construction and solid state emulation on a gig”.

I wasn’t even suggesting that what you were doing was wrong or a waste, just that I (crappy bassist that I am) didn’t think many in the audience would notice or care.

But I've seen plenty of bands who got booed off the stage for sucking, so maybe they're not such idiots after all.
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They got booed off the stage because the bassist was using solid state emulation instead of a real tube/transformer construction?

It's true nobody cares what gear you use as long as you bring it on your instrument, …
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???

…but I'm done bringing the gear I don't like for no other reason than the other stuff's cheaper and easier. And if nobody else notices it but me, that's fine. Makes me play better because it gives me less to think about on a gig other than "If I play really well, it will do this awesome gear justice." And that is something they will notice.
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There ya go… no rationalization beyond that needed.

:)
 

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