Bass D.I units

[Mr Wolf]

Hi guys I hope you can help,

The bass player in my 50's rock n roll band has recently grown up, become engaged and sadly enough has left my band. Anyhow the singer fortunately used to play bass, and all seems well after rehearsals with him handling bass duties as well however - he now needs a rig.

Being that we have our own PA we are strongly considering going down the D.I route rather than getting a proper bass amp.

I have a few questions...

Firstly... how do you guys rate D.I over traditional amps? What are the general pros & cons? I imagine of course it depends a lot on the PA.

Secondly of course... What D.I unit? I see MXR have one, Tech21, the Duncan Paranormal and so on. Any recommendations? Any to avoid at all costs?

Thanks very much

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Bass D.I units

I like using the SansAmp Bass Driver.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Bass D.I units

i have the sansamp bass driver too. it records great direct and adds muscle to my amp's tone too (hartke lh 500 and 4x10 xl cab). Its also brilliant for getting your favourite bass tone in any venue and you are not stuck with the regular dry uninspiring DI sound that most players have to use. You also have the option of running it like a regular DI, or a DI/preamp with eq, or DI/eq with some warmth and overdrive, presence and cab sim (you can mix in as much or as little as you want). There are also a number of options for outputs to amps, desk or whatever either thru the preamp circuit or not. It also has options for line/instrument level for both of the preamped outputs and a phantom power option. In short - it does everything and sounds great too. An indispensable tool for any working bassist.



However...
You might also need to look at getting a bass amp for your singer anyway because bass frequencies require a lot of power (wattage) to move the PA drivers, so often what happens with lower powered PA systems is that the bass being amplified by the PA robs the vocals of much needed headroom. Having a bass amp takes the load off the PA to a pretty large extent because bass frequencies spread. This allows the DI bass signal to be much lower. It also gives the player some onstage monitoring without interfering with the foldback either.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Bass D.I units

A big +1 to what Gibbo said, and thanks for typing what I wanted to say but didn't have time to!

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Bass D.I units

If your going to go DI for live: I'd say Sansamp

However, in relation to Gibbo's comment, I would get a smaller bass amp (200w or so) and run along with a DI to take some of the load of the PA while giving better monitoring (for bass AND vocal) and then that way if you need more juice the DI is there to pick up the slack. You can always find an amp with a DI out too, usually not as good on the DI side but will save a few pennies.

 

[Mr Wolf]

Re: Bass D.I units

Hi guys,

Massive thanks for the input. The PA/vocal headroom issue is a concern. Our PA, whilst not knowing the exact wattage offhand it is not huge by any means. The singer has thought about getting a DI with a bigger bass-orientated speaker in the PA as well. I don't know whether that would help with the issues raised.

As far as actual DI units go, are there any opinions on the MXR M-80 unit? I get the impression the Sansamp is a pretty popular one anyhow.

Anyway thanks for the input once again guys. I usually stick to my guitars, pedals and amps so this is territory that I haven't covered that much so I appreciate the help.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Bass D.I units

have a look on the talkbass forum. There are lots of fans of both DI units.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Bass D.I units

When I played bass, I had a Bass Driver DI, and I thought it was fantastic. It somehow made me sound like I knew what I was doing. It was solidly built, quiet, versatile, a real no-nonsense product.