Started with summit audio td100, then noble, now monique. All great options.
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.
Hope nobody minds if I bump this thread. I'm wondering, is the REDDI a good choice at the end of a pedalboard signal chain, or is it really meant to be used with the bass plugged in directly, going straight to the board? For example if I put a boost pedal before the REDDI, will it overdrive the tube? (And if so, is it a pleasant sound?)
An excellent question! I never even thought to try it. I suppose it would eventually. But I always use mine with pedals. Works great either with or without pedals.
Since this thread was bumped, I realized that I never mentioned what I actually got.
I bought the REDDI and haven't looked back. I planned on just using it for recording, but I like it so much that I use it to practice AND I take it to every gig. I can't stand my sound without it now. It is absolutely my favorite amplification device that I've owned.
If people are still watching this thread at all, I may as well ask... How long can I expect the tube to last with about a 5 hours of use a week? Any guesses?
I bought the REDDI and haven't looked back. I planned on just using it for recording, but I like it so much that I use it to practice AND I take it to every gig. I can't stand my sound without it now. It is absolutely my favorite amplification device that I've owned.
If people are still watching this thread at all, I may as well ask... How long can I expect the tube to last with about a 5 hours of use a week? Any guesses?
Mine's lasted probably 6 years at this point if my math is correct.
I have a PF-50T, and I find them very comparable sonically.
Many years after this thread was started a great DI shoot-out was posted on youtube which includes the REDDI, Avalon U5 and many others (but no Noble). The first part of the review is fingerstyle playing, and the second is slap. My top two favorites were the REDDI and the Avalon U5, with a slight edge to the U5 because the low end sounds a little tighter than the REDDI to my ears. Also, I wanted something I could use both in the studio and live, and the U5 sounded like a more elegant solution for this. So I bought a used U5 at a very reasonable price and it now resides in a rack along with my new Crown XLS 2502 power amp. Total weight of both units is a mere 22 lbs. I have never been happier with my live tone.
For my home studio I use the U5 or my Millennia TD-1, with a Telefunken tube.
Anyway, here is the link to the youtube video, and y'all let your own ears be the judge...
For my home studio I use the U5 or my Millennia TD-1, with a Telefunken tube.
Anyway, here is the link to the youtube video, and y'all let your own ears be the judge...
The above shootout had some interesting results. Although some were recorded louder so it was hard to really come up with a favorite but the markbass sounded nice using its direct out.
I’ve had several REDDIs. One was lost in a house fire, another stolen off stage, another stolen during load out (hmm, I’m starting to think the REDDI is bad luck for me; either that, or everybody else loves them, too); and I just ordered another. I won’t go onstage or into a recording studio without one. The sound is exactly what I want, every time. Yes, it has a baked in sound (if I wanted flat, I’d use my Countryman Type 85), but it’s a great one. Fat, thick bottom end, creamy mids, and clear highs. It doesn’t get any better. I’ve tried several other DIs, and even used some Ampeg heads as a DI, and only the PF20 really comes close. I’d almost prefer the Ampeg, but the REDDI still beats it by a hair.
I’m currently using - and pretty happy with - an OCSD for my DI/IEM rig. I previously used a JDI and lived it but felt it was a little too clean and I was missing “something” but I wasn’t sure what. Someone suggested the OCSD and I really liked what it did, and it’s small and affordable.
Many years ago I used an Avalon U5 and I still think it’s the best DI I’ve tried. If it weren’t so big I’d still be using it. So many people talk about the REDDI and Noble I was wondering if anyone still hauled around a U5.
Last edited:
Think about changing your motto to "I won't come off stage without one."
Good idea. I just got the new one, let’s see how long I can keep it.
Hey Tony...so about that Ampeg thing...
You are correct that the REDDI doesn't sound like a mic'ed Ampeg. You are also correct about the thickness, and how it appeals to more than just Ampeg fans. But what it DOES sound like is an Ampeg tube amp with a speaker level DI. With knobs at noon and all ultra switches off, it really sounds most like the V4B because V4B's are flat response with knobs at noon. But I can dial in matching tones with all my Ampeg tube amps, and with a little cut of bass and a little boost of treble, it sounds a lot like a B-15. And you don't even have to tweak the B-15's tone knobs when you use these Russian 6N1P's from the 60's that I have here. With them it's darn close to the B-15. I used to have a bunch of comparison clips, but through the miracle of computer crashes they're all gone.
Hope that doesn't scare the Ampeg hatersIt's a fantastic DI whether you like Ampeg or not.
I've never been an Ampeg fan, but I LOVE my REDDI.
I went REDDI. I was close to getting a U5 again. Many people swear it's a tube DI. It sounds amazing. I guess I went with the REDDI because I had already had a U5 and wanted to try a real tube for once. I'm hooked.
I whined waaaay to much in past REDDI threads about loving the sound but wanting it to also be an instrument preamp able to send what it does to my stage rig in addition to sending to FOH. A-Designs didn't listen but bassist Jon Erickson who designed the Pacifica Mic Pre while working at A-Designs did. I recently acquired his Tonecraft 363 pre/DI and it is as close to a REDDI as anything I know of but with all the functionality of a pro quality instrument preamp too. The thing is really good.
I debated the Tonecraft 363. It has a lot of great features. I think when I bought my REDDI it was still at the $700 or so mark, about 1/2 the price of the Tonecraft. Not that the 363 isn't worth it, I was just happy with the sound of the REDDI and the simplicity I guess. I run my active basses pretty flat. Lately I've been playing a passive P so I haven't really felt the need for a preamp. Sometimes I wonder, but right now my tone is SO GOOD with the Empress Bass Compressor to the REDDI.
A classic design. I've got one. Sounds great going from the speaker out of a tube amp into the PA. That way you get the whole amp sound and not bypassed or just the preamp. Badass!
NOTE: The vast majority of tube amps can't be run without a speaker load without doing catastrophic damage to your amp if it goes on too long? How long is too long? I don't know. I never did it long enough to find out!
