Simple and warm...for church

[learning_towalk]

Howdy folks...

Our church is moving to all DI for stage. They have tasked me with picking a DI/Preamp to meet the following:

1) Simple...we have 5 bass players on rotation...so the preference is something that is pretty much plug and play (i.e., not 17 knobs and 8 buttons ha ha).

2) Warm but not gritty...A fat and thick tone without a ton of gain.

3) Budget of up to $1200

All of the guys play passive Jazz basses or P-Basses, I play upright sometimes.

Here are a few I've been thinking about suggesting:
-Noble
-Shaw Direct Injection
-Shiftline Olympic mkIII

Thoughts/Opinions/Videos to pull me toward one/away from one/or consider something completely different would be greatly appreciated.

 

[slobake]

Howdy folks...

Our church is moving to all DI for stage. They have tasked me with picking a DI/Preamp to meet the following:

1) Simple...we have 5 bass players on rotation...so the preference is something that is pretty much plug and play (i.e., not 17 knobs and 8 buttons ha ha).

2) Warm but not gritty...A fat and thick tone without a ton of gain.

3) Budget of up to $1200

All of the guys play passive Jazz basses or P-Basses, I play upright sometimes.

Here are a few I've been thinking about suggesting:
-Noble
-Shaw Direct Injection
-Shiftline Olympic mkIII

Thoughts/Opinions/Videos to pull me toward one/away from one/or consider something completely different would be greatly appreciated.

Reddi 1

A Designs REDDI 1-channel Tube Direct Box

 

[dreamadream99]

A deceptively good DI, disguised as a headphone distibution amp is the Rolls PM351. Has volume controls for your instrument, a monitor or mix, and a microphone for vocalists.

Rolls Corporation - Real Sound - Products PM351 Personal Monitor System

 

[Munjibunga]

I use a simple Radial J48 to go direct to the board in my yacht rock band. No knobs, few buttons. Much less than $1K.

 

[Jeff Scott]

This should be pretty simple (idiot proof).

RNDI: Rupert Neve DI

 

[Mushroo]

In the holiday spirit: Radial J48 and $1,100 to feed the poor.

 

[saabfender]

A Tech 21 BDDI has knobs on it. It's $200. $1200 is a crazy budget for a DI. The Radial stuff is also excellent.

 

[ezstep]

Lots of talk on TB about the Mesa Boogie Subway DI. I cannot comment on one, though.


I have lots of studio time through an Avalon U5, but at three times the price. Nice, though. Avalon has... two knobs? lol

 

[johnpbass]

If we're talking straight DIs then:
Radial
REDDI
Demeter
Avalon (as ezstep says actually 2 knobs, but they're a level control and control for some very usable tone presets)

 

[robd]

A $1200 DI for a live church gig is major overkill... Radial has choices, Eden WTDI, Sansamp with a mid control.. any will be fine for that situation

 

[iamoldschool]

We use the Eden WTDI at church and it handles everything I throw at it with ease; passive fretless, fretted P-bass or Stingray, works well with all. Bargain box.

 

[darwin-bass]

IEM or bass amp on stage for bass monitoring?

 

[micguy]

I play in churches. The Reddi is a great DI (2 of the churches I play have them). A Radial J48 is also a very solid choice.

The Reddi does color the sound - a lot of the time, what it does is great. But if you don't want that color, tough - it's there. The J 48 isn't colored, so it is, strictly speaking, more versatile. As I carry my own pedalboard, I sometimes bypass the Reddi - depends on what's happening.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Avalon (as ezstep says actually 2 knobs, but they're a level control and control for some very usable tone presets)

IME, only one, maybe two of them (besides bypass) were really useful for bass.

 

[learning_towalk]

Thanks for the feedback so far folks... And it's not a "Hey go spend $1200" thing...It's "the absolute top dollar is $1200" ha ha.

We use IEM's.

 

[Djadja]

Virtually all of the current generation class D heads have a great DI section and can be run without speakers... then you have a backup amp if ever needed. Check out Genzler, Mesa, or Bergantino

 

[matt11]

Lots of good suggestions here. To some extent, your decision depends on the quality of your church FOH/PA setup and sound technician. The church I play in now has a nice PA, good monitors and a great sound guy, so I just send my active bass (set flat) to my pedal board to JDI to FOH, and the sound guy works it from there to suit the space. Seems to be easiest all round. So if you have a good PA and technician, any decent mid-priced active DI (J48, Neve, Countryman, etc) should work well with your various passive basses. And actually, if you guys are running from pedal board, a JDI would be fine too.

Howdy folks...

Our church is moving to all DI for stage. They have tasked me with picking a DI/Preamp to meet the following:

1) Simple...we have 5 bass players on rotation...so the preference is something that is pretty much plug and play (i.e., not 17 knobs and 8 buttons ha ha).

2) Warm but not gritty...A fat and thick tone without a ton of gain.

3) Budget of up to $1200

All of the guys play passive Jazz basses or P-Basses, I play upright sometimes.

Here are a few I've been thinking about suggesting:
-Noble
-Shaw Direct Injection
-Shiftline Olympic mkIII

Thoughts/Opinions/Videos to pull me toward one/away from one/or consider something completely different would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Wasnex]

Howdy folks...

Our church is moving to all DI for stage. They have tasked me with picking a DI/Preamp to meet the following:

1) Simple...we have 5 bass players on rotation...so the preference is something that is pretty much plug and play (i.e., not 17 knobs and 8 buttons ha ha).

2) Warm but not gritty...A fat and thick tone without a ton of gain.

3) Budget of up to $1200

All of the guys play passive Jazz basses or P-Basses, I play upright sometimes.

Here are a few I've been thinking about suggesting:
-Noble
-Shaw Direct Injection
-Shiftline Olympic mkIII

Thoughts/Opinions/Videos to pull me toward one/away from one/or consider something completely different would be greatly appreciated.

If the idea is to use IEMs and run ampless, I would recommend running a Preamp DI. The idea is to put some gain and tone shaping abilities at the player's finger tips. IMHO no need to spend $1,200.

Examples:



If IEMs are used and no system is provided to give each musician direct control over their individual IEM mix, the Rolls PM351 should also be considered. The PM351 functions as a DI and also allows the user to control the balance of an instrument, mono or stereo monitor mix, and a microphone. The PM351 does not have a limiter or tone controls.

 

[bassboysam]

Aguilar Tone Hammer.

 

[MaxSpinrun]

TC Electronic Spectradrive. Swiss Army knife. Very affordable and versatile as far as I/O flexibility. Check it out.