Which DI to Chose?

[bigjames]

I just read an article on selecting the best DI and it left me with more questions than answers...

Basically it said that the best DI for any player depends on their bass and whether it is active or passive.

I have an 8v active Warwick Corvette Std 5 and a 8v active 6 string fretless and I am considering picking up a DI for live venues.

Can anyone give me a recommendation based on my guitars or at least give me some insight into what one should consider when picking a DI.

Also, I am curious...my GK MB150E amp has a DI built in, are there pros and cons to just using this built in DI?

 

[LiquidMidnight]

The Countryman is pretty much the industry standard as far as DIs go. As far as your GK's DI, in my experience, most DIs on amps are pretty good. However, some are noisy. The biggest con of reying on the amp's DI is that if the head malfunctions during a gig, you most likely won't be able to just go direct to the board to get through the show.

If you like the head's DI, I'd use it and just pick up a $40 DI for emergencies.

 

[esa372]

My pick for best all-around DI is the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

 

[Son of Bovril]

I would say the Radial JDI and the Countryman are the industry standards (or should be). You can of course spend much more money on a DI if you require or want, in which case something like the Avalon U5 or REDDI are good choices...

There are also a wide variety of DI preamps available like the sansamp BDDI, EBS Microbass II or Hartke VXL (most amp brands offer one nowadays) that will give you some tonal characteristics of that brand and some eq.

 

[Devo-lution]

If I recall correctly, there was a topic stating that active basses go better with passive DI's a while ago. Details 'd have to be searched in that specific topic.

In that tradition, I guess the Radial JDI would be best pickings...

 

[silky smoove]

A Radial JDI or Countryman 85, both passive, are basically the industry standard for live use. I don't know that such a standard exists, but if you bring either of these DI's to a gig the sound guy will know exactly what to do with it.

If you want an active DI, I'd suggest looking at the Radial J48.

 

[JimmyM]

countryman di's are active, silky. the jdi is passive, and the j48 and jdv are active.

devo, i have to say i don't buy into the active/passive passive/active thing with di's. i've done all combinations and they equally suck nah, i shouldn't say that....it's just that a clean di is a tone i don't care for too much. but the worst that happens if you do passive/passive, you get a little capacitance build up and you lose your highest of high frequencies. maybe your dog can hear the difference but i think it's no big deal.

 

[Devo-lution]

countryman di's are active, silky. the jdi is passive, and the j48 and jdv are active.

devo, i have to say i don't buy into the active/passive passive/active thing with di's. i've done all combinations and they equally suck nah, i shouldn't say that....it's just that a clean di is a tone i don't care for too much. but the worst that happens if you do passive/passive, you get a little capacitance build up and you lose your highest of high frequencies. maybe your dog can hear the difference but i think it's no big deal.

I'm no expert at all, since I just use the DI on my LMII... I'm just saying "I heard someone say in a previous topic that..."

Someone (I think it was someone working for Genz) explained that Active bass plus active Di can make the whole thing a bit noisier... Thought it might be ok putting that down here.

 

[JimmyM]

on a technical level those arguments have merit, but usually they work out fine in practice. at least they have from my experience.

 

[Devo-lution]

so you mean...

You'd have to analyze the tone mechanically in order to truly notice the difference?

 

[bassboysam]

I use a JDI for live situations and in the studio. All my basses a passive and I have never had any issues. The thing I like about the JDI is that it is so flexible and it sounds great.

 

[KJung]

I just read an article on selecting the best DI and it left me with more questions than answers...

Basically it said that the best DI for any player depends on their bass and whether it is active or passive.

I have an 8v active Warwick Corvette Std 5 and a 8v active 6 string fretless and I am considering picking up a DI for live venues.

Can anyone give me a recommendation based on my guitars or at least give me some insight into what one should consider when picking a DI.

Also, I am curious...my GK MB150E amp has a DI built in, are there pros and cons to just using this built in DI?

If you always run your basses active, then the passive Radial JDI is king of the hill... super high quality, transformer based, rugged, sounds great.

The Countryman is cool, but running an active bass into it is a bit redundant (kind of running a preamp into another preamp).

While the JDI can have some issues with passive basses, it just sounds amazing with an active, buffered input signal... state of the art, small, and not that expensive.

That being said, a pre EQ send from your amp's DI is fine, and for live performance, you wouldn't typically notice any difference between a high quality box like a Countryman or JDI, and the buffered, pre EQ send from your amp.

 

[esa372]

i have to say i don't buy into the active/passive passive/active thing with di's.

+1

I use a JDI for live situations and in the studio. All my basses a passive and I have never had any issues. The thing I like about the JDI is that it is so flexible and it sounds great.

+1

I play passive and active basses through my JDI; no problems at all.

 

[rockstarbassist]

I like the JDI. No phantom or 9V req's like w/ the Countryman and I know it'll always work when in a pinch.

I used to have a J48 but it was just too sizzly w/ my Dingwall at the time which is a pretty friggin' hot output signal.

 

[KJung]

+1

+1

I play passive and active basses through my JDI; no problems at all.

A lot depends on the tone you are trying to achieve. The primary issue with a passive bass and passive DI is treble roll-off. If you don't have a lot of 4K+ in your tone, it is often not an issue. With an active bass that puts a buffered signal into the JDI, it is a zero issue period.

 

[bigjames]

Thanks for all the input and advise on this. I have now researched the JDI and it looks good to me, but I also realized last night that my MB150-E Amp has dual XLR outs that support stereo outs (for chorus effects) and also switch to being a Mono Balanced Out and a Direct Out. I have been using it with the Mono Balanced out, which I THINK means the signal I send to the board is POST EQ. I will try experimenting with that as well and see what the sound man prefers. Right now, I get complaints from some sound guys about my amp and I think it might be a combination of issues.

 

[smgga]

I'm pending between a Countryman 85 and a Radial JDI. However, I read a lot of comments like "passive bass prefers an active DI" etc.
I know that many factors may have an impact upon the signal chain etc. but maybe you can help me / share your experience on the following:
Passive Fender > VT Bass or similiar 9V powered preamp > which DI?
It sounds logic to me, that the outboard preamp converts the passive instrument into an active one which will suit the JDI best. Or am I wrong?
Any disantvantages in using the Countryman with this setup (like overpowering the DI input > distortion / clipping)?

All I need is sending a strong signal to the board (or let's say feed the DI with a good enough signal).
I'd rather like to have more headroom / gain without distortion on the PA than being too calm with a passive DI.

VT Deluxe is no option, I want to have (single) interchangeable components in my chain.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Handyman]

I'm pending between a Countryman 85 and a Radial JDI. However, I read a lot of comments like "passive bass prefers an active DI" etc.
I know that many factors may have an impact upon the signal chain etc. but maybe you can help me / share your experience on the following:
Passive Fender > VT Bass or similiar 9V powered preamp > which DI?

VT Deluxe is no option, I want to have (single) interchangeable components in my chain.

Thanks for your input!

You still might want to consider the VT Deluxe. When put into bypass mode it still acts as a great uncolored DI. The only down side is that its a bit larger than many stand alone DIs. And if you plan on using your VT Bass anyway, you get a great two-fer in one box.

 

[Jim C]

Big J
My experience is that either will sound great in a live application and that even you probably can't tell the difference out in the crowd.
Here's a fun test that very few try; have the FoH engineer set up the 2 DI's on stage and match gain structures and EQ by ear; during sound check walk out into the venue (which may require a wireless) while the entire band is playing. The engineer will randomly switch between the 2 DI's during a song. Can you hear a difference, is it significant? More often than not, the difference is inaduible. If you can hear a difference it may be just that they both sound great alhtough slightly different. Typically the room and PA are far from an ideal enviornment to monitor subtle differences.

The studio is another story all together.

 

[JimmyM]

You still might want to consider the VT Deluxe. When put into bypass mode it still acts as a great uncolored DI. The only down side is that its a bit larger than many stand alone DIs. And if you plan on using your VT Bass anyway, you get a great two-fer in one box.

i agree. the di in the vt deluxe when the effect is turned off is as flat and high quality of sound as my countryman, plus it runs on phantom power like the countryman, so you could use it without a power adapter or battery. costs way less than a vt and countryman as well.

but if you insist on using separates, there is no problem at all using the vt into the countryman or the radial. just keep your vt level the same as when the pedal is bypassed so you don't scare your soundman or blow up his stuff.