Who has put these head to head? I am curious how different they really are. Especially in the studio
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Radial ProDI vs JDI
- Thread starter TheArchitect
- Start date
The difference is beyond subtle... I have a few JDI's and maybe 7 or 8 Pro, stereo Pro and Pro AV... maybe some better ears than mine can hear it... maybe I have too many days in side stage monitor world...
Tested here among many others.
The difference is significant to me, but might not be to you
Tested here among many others.
The difference is significant to me, but might not be to you
I appreciate the effort to do that shootout but it's hard to hear the differences through the insane amount fret rattle. I will give it another listen on headphones when I can
proDI sounds warmer, JDI has more high end (but well, considering they both have sub-500k input impedance, they don't sound overly bright with a passive bass).
sweetwater had a nice DI shootout, the difference is clear from their records.
sweetwater had a nice DI shootout, the difference is clear from their records.
The fret rattle helps showcase the difference sometimes. Also, in the mix (with drums here) the fret noises are not that audible and help with the articulation.
As with any bass demo, headphones or good speakers
Here's a comparison with soundclips including those two: The Great Direct Box Comparison with Audio Samples - inSync
The Great Direct Box Comparison with Audio Samples - inSync
If you can hear the difference then spend the money, if not why spend the money unless you need to? I'm frugal by nature. I can also hear the difference as can many of my clients so I chose the Radial JDI to pair with my various preamps because it is the industry standard for good reason. That said some have different favorites from the classic Countryman Type 85, the Neve RNDI or more recently my @Sushi Box FX Finally with the Jensen JT-DB-E that replaced my long running Avalon for one particular fellow. Another consideration is that some basses work better with a passive DI others need and active DI and almost all will benefit from some sort of a preamp whether it is a simple boost, colored boost, amp style preamp or channel strip. Mixing and matching basses with preamps and DIs to me is fun and often leads to interesting sonic discoveries.
Also if you may not even need a DI for recording as many interfaces already have buffered inputs perfect for basses and guitars and there are many specifically made for bass or guitar. I'm doing a lot of recording using a Zoom GCE3 interface that has been faultless with all my DAWS with the plus of all the effects and amp models with no need of a DI.
If you can hear the difference then spend the money, if not why spend the money unless you need to? I'm frugal by nature. I can also hear the difference as can many of my clients so I chose the Radial JDI to pair with my various preamps because it is the industry standard for good reason. That said some have different favorites from the classic Countryman Type 85, the Neve RNDI or more recently my @Sushi Box FX Finally with the Jensen JT-DB-E that replaced my long running Avalon for one particular fellow. Another consideration is that some basses work better with a passive DI others need and active DI and almost all will benefit from some sort of a preamp whether it is a simple boost, colored boost, amp style preamp or channel strip. Mixing and matching basses with preamps and DIs to me is fun and often leads to interesting sonic discoveries.
Also if you may not even need a DI for recording as many interfaces already have buffered inputs perfect for basses and guitars and there are many specifically made for bass or guitar. I'm doing a lot of recording using a Zoom GCE3 interface that has been faultless with all my DAWS with the plus of all the effects and amp models with no need of a DI.
Studio, get a fancier DI with tubes and doodads.
But that JDI is hard to beat. Do you really need the features of a Jensen, if not then save a few bucks and get the ProJDI. Listening to the shootout, they sound the same and not far from the Reddi. The RNDI may carry Neve's name but there is a reason that a Neve Channel strip cost a lot of money, the one that goes into the consoles. That and the telefunken smooth out the highs.
I say get the WARM Audio -- I am not affiliated, but listen to this. They make good microphones.
But that JDI is hard to beat. Do you really need the features of a Jensen, if not then save a few bucks and get the ProJDI. Listening to the shootout, they sound the same and not far from the Reddi. The RNDI may carry Neve's name but there is a reason that a Neve Channel strip cost a lot of money, the one that goes into the consoles. That and the telefunken smooth out the highs.
I say get the WARM Audio -- I am not affiliated, but listen to this. They make good microphones.
That's a good video, I like how he advocates for the advantages of using a good DI even if your interface has a hi-z in. Sure, it's easy and simple to just plug your bass into that hi-z, but depending on the unit it could likely be pretty average-sounding. I have a MOTU interface here that has a hi-z like most do. Sounds just OK. Even my JDI straight into the MOTU's very clean mic pres sounds waaay better (that said, I usually don't use the interfaces pres anyway as I have way better ones on hand, but just sayin').
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For me at least it’s the ability of the JDI transformer to saturate gracefully … I tend to “push” my signal.
The JDI is last inline on my pedal board
The JDI is last inline on my pedal board
I'm pretty glad I held out for a used JDI. The extra features do come in handy, and I don't have to wonder whether I should have paid that extra few bucks for the Jensen transformer.
