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Tube DI or DI from the Amp

ibassforhim

ibassforhim

Mar 3, 2011
86
3
Arkansas
#1
I am in need of help! I want to buy a new amp but I know 9/10 I end up going into the house. How do I make sure what I hear from amp is at least close to what is heard in the house.

My current set up is a Fender Pbass deluxe into a small pedal board (boss tu3 --> JHS Limeaid Compressor --> POG2 --> MXR M80 DI --> OUT

What is the best way to capture my sound aside from micing the cab? Should I DI from pedal board (mxr m80) and use the amp as a monitor essentially. Should I run from the board to the amp and DI from it (assuming I buy an amp with one built in thats quality)? I am really wanting to get that tube warmth from the hybrid amp but only if that is what will be heard in the house.

I am not very knowledgeable on any of this. I have worked pretty hard getting the sound I want and now I want to know how to make sure that sound gets reproduced in the house.

Thanks for any help!
 
#3
I use the DI built into my amp (Line 6 LowDown 150). That DI is post-everything but Master Volume, however, since we run our own sound from the stage we've got everything dialed in, and I never tweak my amp settings so everything's good that way.

I personally love onboard DI's cause they remove the standalone DI box and cabling from the equation and literally allow me to plug straight into the amp. They also allow you to add compression (assuming it's part of your amp), which makes your sound more "pro" but which some sound guys may not have in their system and/or want to use. That being said, if you're going to go out of your amp you'll want an amp with a Pre/Post switch for the onboard DI, and run it in Pre mode. Also make sure the onboard DI has a switchable Ground Lift, and if the amp provides a variable level control for the DI, even better.
 
#4
9/10 times as you said you'll get a DI only signal. So that's where I focus my attention on getting that to sound the best it can. I got Post-DI from my Mesa and sounds glorious. I had a 400+ before this but the DI on that doesn't sound all that so was no real reason to keep it if I had to use my Radial JDI instead, which I did.
For most of us your rig is just a big monitor to make you happy and (hopefully) the sounddude will make your tone workable in the mix with what you give 'em. So if you're happy with your setup and it's based on a DI signal, just get something pleasing that sounds good to you in regard to a new rig.
 
#5
You probably don't want to hear this, but even if you do run the DI out of your amp it still doesn't hurt to invest in your own DI box and bring it to gigs as backup. In my case that's a SansAmp Bass Driver but many active and passive options are available.

Onboard DI's in quality amps rarely fail, but if it does you don't want to be stuck the rest of the gig with no interface to the board.
 
#7
Just to clarify I love my rig but I want to add a warm tube sound to it either via a hybrid amp or a pedal or tube DI. This needs to a warm sound that can get thick and break up some if needed. So Im wondering how to achieve that with my current rig so that that tube sound also comes through in the house.

so in a nut shell the amp itself will have no effect on the tone whatsoever if I DI from my MXR to the board while also sending the signal to my amp simultaneously to make it a monitor. If thats the case I can either invest in a better DI (maybe a tube one) and keep the mxr (because it also has a clean boost and distortion) and just get a plain old solid state amp to be a monitor

or I can invest in a good hybrid amp that has a good DI built in. If I do the later will the DI on the amp capture that tube warmth when it sends the signal to the house?

thanks for all the input btw.

jazzdog why would I take my compressor and move it to after the DI? (btw they are both pedals in a pedaltrain)
 
#8
Getting a "good" hybrid amp w/ a great DI is gonna be pretty $$. Most quality DI's are gonna be more than average head unit DI's, and for good reason.
Have you considered the Avalon U5? They can be had for relatively cheap nowadays.

Good hybrid combos I'd consider would be Mesa, Eden and SWR. But again, very $$ pieces.

I don't know if you've stated a price point- what might that be?
 
#9
I have used an Avalon U5 for a couple gigs and it sounds great. I use the mic out to the front of house and the through to my amp. Amazing. If it wasn't so bulky I'd buy it. Even as I type I'm still tempted. I generally use the DI from my Genz Benz amp. Sounds as good as a Radial, Countryman, etc.

I am all about being as lean as I can be, so while it is a great piece of gear, I'm tor nif it is good enough to justify the cost and extra trip from the car.
 
#10
SteveC said:
I generally use the DI from my Genz Benz amp. Sounds as good as a Radial, Countryman, etc.
Click to expand...

Agreed. We do this at my church (also with a Genz Benz head), and it sounds just fine. In most if not all cases, an amp with an onboard DI will take the signal after the preamp stage, meaning that if you've got tube pre-amp in the head then all of that tubey goodness will get sent to the board.
 
#11
well I am working on a local deal on getting a SWR Basic Black. From what I have read this is a great amp all around that I may need to get an extension for bigger shows and maybe new tubes if these are old. SWR' site says "BALANCED DIRECT RECORD OUT: The Balanced XLR output is true balanced 600- ohm output. It is the equivalent of an ACTIVE TUBE DIRECT BOX, and no top panel controls affect its signal."

here is the site itself Invalid Link Removed

im pretty excited about this amp. hes asking 300ish and Im thinking i can talk him down a little :)

I am thinking Ill get this amp a gig with it and down the road get a better DI like the ones suggested if needed
 
#14
ibassforhim said:
<SNIP> jazzdog why would I take my compressor and move it to after the DI? (btw they are both pedals in a pedaltrain)
Click to expand...

If I send an uncompressed signal to FOH it can be compressed by the soundman if he think's it'll make my bass sound better in FOH; if I send him a compressed signal, his options are limited, and the sound of my bass through FOH could suffer as a consequence.

What sounds great through an on-stage rig often doesn't translate to a great FOH sound; bass frequencies interact with the built environment in ways that can be a PITA to deal with.
 
#15
awesome thanks everybody. I meeting up to try out and hopefully buy the amp saturday. ill keep yall posted

So heres what I am thinking...

Bass ---> Tuner ---> Compressor ---> POG2 ---> MXR M80 ---> SWR Basic Black ---> House

and based on the situation I could remove or not use the compressor depending on the house as suggested by jazzdog (mostly smaller churches who dont have good boards lol)

Now my next question is would my rig benefit from a good preamp? and to be honest Im a little fuzzy on how it would differ from my m80 but from what Ive read they are different. like the sansamp bass driver is a preamp di... would i need something like this? or maybe the aguilar tonehammer? what do you guys think?
 
#20
Those SWR Basic Black's are nice amps, I think you will be very happy with it!

Not to burst your bubble but most good soundmen will DI your bass directly, pre-EQ and pre-compressor. This is something the soundman wants to have full control over at the board.
 

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