i play in a jazz/fusion/funk type trio and have some gigs coming up where im going to be going direct to the house. I play a passive fender jazz and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on a simple direct box that would help boost my signal. I know everyone here is a big fan of the sansamp but i want something thats not going to color my tone. Aguilar and Ampeg have nice tube direct boxes (i know they will color my tone, but tube coloring is good coloring in my book) but they are fairly expensive ($400-500). Anyone have any ideas?
The Radial is a great box, and since you have a passive bass, you may want to consider the Radial J48 which is an Active Phantom DI... it will cause less loading of the pickups for a fuller tone. The downside is that you need phantom power.
radial makes a great product. I haven't bought one yet, but the Duplex is nearing the top of my list (2 of the JDI in one box)
Countryman Type 85 has always been a standard on stages and my personal weapon of choice. http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--CTYTYPE85
Countryman is an old standard. Solid, simple. The Radial JDI is definitely on par with it, exceptional quality with both of them, you can't do wrong with either.
I'd go for the radial for the most natural tone. It won't 'boost your signal' though. It uses a jensen JT-DB-E transformer, about the best there is. If you're handy with a soldering iron you can build one yourself with the info on the Jensen site.
Whisper, that radial J48 sounds pretty good. I'm glad they come highly recommended. Thanks a lot guys for all the suggestions!!
I love the Radial JDI, and recommend it very highly. I've heard some people advise to use an active DI for a passive bass and a passive DI for an active bass, but I don't think this is necessary. The passive JDI works great with any bass, and has several other useful features as well.
I was just yesterday speaking to a long time friend/fulltime pro sound guy...and I asked him this very question. We were talking about my current setup, and his comment was "well, all you really need now is a good DI". I agreed with him, but told him I know next to nothing about DI's except for the super low end and the upper end, like the Demeter...he first asked me what kind of basses I play now... and since most of what I have is passive, he suggested that probably the best thing I could do is the active Radial. Says it sounds clean and good, and should only run about $179.00, and should last to next to forever. Commented that many top professionals are still using it live.
I use an MXR M-80 going to the house. It's *much* quieter than a Sansamp. In fact, there are lots of professionals on tour who go direct from an M-80 to the house, and also use it in the studio. Also, it allows some really versatile tone shaping that you won't get in the Countryman/Radial/etc. DI's. Most of the sound people I deal with just don't have a passion for getting a great tone for the bass. It's a real lifesaver for me to have the ability to dial in a sound that's right for the room.
