REDDI DI "THRU"

[JimmyM]

I still think the best route for having that sound in the house and your rig is to use a tube amp and hook up a speaker out DI. True, any changes you make on your amp will go to the house, but most of the time a good tech can compensate for it if needed as long as you don't go nuts.

 

[Red Planet]

I still think the best route for having that sound in the house and your rig is to use a tube amp and hook up a speaker out DI. True, any changes you make on your amp will go to the house, but most of the time a good tech can compensate for it if needed as long as you don't go nuts.

I like tube amps right up until the point where I have to pick them up and then I don't like them anymore.

The reason I have been enquiring about this is I have been looking at different ways to get to the house and I have more than one type of situation. I'm building a new pedal board and want a DI at the end (which I have a DI I built with a British OEP Transformer) but I was looking at the possibility of using a REDDI too. I may want to hear one first.

 

[Mark Reccord]

How are you splitting it?


To make the signal Hi Z one needs to short pins 1 and three and pin 2 is the hot or tip. Using this alone into an amp should yield the same tone as what is going to FOH. The problem that arises that you hear I think is you cannot have the Low Z be both Low Z and High Z at the same time which when attempted would affect the FOH signal the most, there would be a drop in db and tonal degradation over 20 foot of cable. So say you were going through a 100 foot snake, when your signal got there it would be dead as a door nail. The only way to keep both good is to either electronically or transformer isolate each other from the other. The simplest way I can think of doing this is using a good transformer based DI backwards but you would need to get a Thru on the XLR side to get back to FOH. It would be fairly easy to do.

I'm sure there are considerations for not doing this so I'm not saying they should or not. I would think it would add 100 to 150 bucks or so to the price tag which could affect sales though they could offer it as an upgradable option. If I purchased a REDDI the first thing I would do is install a small Jensen transformer inside and an additional 1/4" out (or use the one on there) that would allow for getting the same good tone to both House and Rig. It would take all of 30 minutes to mod the thing to do this.

The way I see it is if I'm going to spend that kind of money on good tone I want it to go in both directions YMMV.

What you're referring to here is converting a balanced signal to an unbalanced one, not low impedance to high impedance. As you said, grounding one end of the OT will give you that unbalanced signal. It's still a low impedance signal though and can drive a pretty long line but it won't have the noise immunity of a balanced signal. Hanging a step-up transformer off the balanced output is probably inadvisable because it would likely load the output down too much. Stepping up as with a Jensen DI box transformer will load the balanced output. It would probably be OK connected to a bass amp input (around 1Meg giving ~7k on the primary side) but would be nearly a dead short connected to a typical 10k line input (~70 Ohms). The far better way is to use a buffer circuit to get an unbalanced output. I did it by picking the signal up at the primary side of the output transformer with a BJT buffer circuit using high voltage transistors so I could use the tube power supply voltage directly. This allowed me to bias the buffer at a point where it is very very transparent. I also put an independent level control between the stages of the buffer. I think the unbalanced out sounds a lot like the balanced out. There's about 4.5x the output voltage at the unbalanced output as compared to the balanced one.

 

[Red Planet]

I think for now I'm just going to stick with my trusty GB Bass Buddy. Its a pedal DI I built that has a volume level control instead of pad that only affects house and a passive tone control (for active instruments) that affects both house and Thru. It has a British transformer that has a lot warmer sound than the Jensen stuff. I actually had them design this transformer for me, the guys at OEP that is. It was in a larger box but I was able to squeeze it inside a pedal size box to get it on my pedal board.

Just got my new pedalboard put together early this morning. There is a local shop (DNA Woodworks in the Atlanta area) that is now building custom hardwood pedalboards and cabs etc..... they make absolutely gorgeous stuff.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

Just got my new pedalboard put together early this morning. There is a local shop (DNA Woodworks in the Atlanta area) that is now building custom hardwood pedalboards and cabs etc..... they make absolutely gorgeous stuff.

That pedalboard is awesome, my friend.

 

[Red Planet]

That pedalboard is awesome, my friend.

Thank you!

 

[Amplified]

I don't think there would be a matching issue if you were only taking the signal to only the amp. An adapter cable to take the XLR to 1/4" with tip ring and sleeve shorted would yield a high impedance signal. That would be easy.

Something like this?

How to Wire an XLR to a 1/4" TRS (Stereo Jack Plug)

 

[Red Planet]

Something like this?

How to Wire an XLR to a 1/4" TRS (Stereo Jack Plug)

No that would not work. That is balanced to balanced we would need balanced to unbalanced. Essentially the two Pins for sleeve and ring would be shorted Pins 1 and 3 IIRC.


Like this.

http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/images/XLR-monojack2.gif

BTW I had a typo in there it should have said

"Red Planet said: ↑
I don't think there would be a matching issue if you were only taking the signal to only the amp. An adapter cable to take the XLR to 1/4" with ring and sleeve shorted would yield a high impedance signal. That would be easy."

 

[Amplified]

Thanks for the clarification. I see some of these being sold, and I presume they are just cables like the one described in the link. Low to High Z Line Transformer.

No that would not work. That is balanced to balanced we would need balanced to unbalanced. Essentially the two Pins for sleeve and ring would be shorted Pins 1 and 3 IIRC.


Like this.

http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/images/XLR-monojack2.gif

BTW I had a typo in there it should have said

"Red Planet said: ↑
I don't think there would be a matching issue if you were only taking the signal to only the amp. An adapter cable to take the XLR to 1/4" with ring and sleeve shorted would yield a high impedance signal. That would be easy."

 

[Red Planet]

Thanks for the clarification. I see some of these being sold, and I presume they are just cables like the one described in the link. Low to High Z Line Transformer.

Yes there is no transformer in that transforming cable.
There are actual transformers that perform this task though.

Like this.


Link Removed

Or this.

Though the ratio may not be right on this one.

 

[Amplified]

Thanks for the explanation. Much appreciated.

Yes there is no transformer in that transforming cable.
There are actual transformers that perform this task though.

Like this.


Link Removed

Or this.

Though the ratio may not be right on this one.