Bass DIs

[bigchiefbc]

My last two amps have had a direct out, so that's what I've always used. Before that, I used a Behringer BDI21. Same exact circuit as a Sansamp BDDI, but like one-sixth the price.

[StopReferencing]

I've been very pleased with the Sansamp BDDI. Effects sound significantly less shitty hitting that than your standard venue DI box.

[nad]

Markbass Superbooster is the only DI I've tried that doesn't make fuzz sound like shit.

DIs can suck it, but they are inevitable sometimes, unfortunately.

[Moustache_Bash]

I don't play live.

Why are bassists always DI'd?

[Achtane]

I don't play live.

Why are bassists always DI'd?

'Cause bassists don't use effects or tube amps.

[nad]

I don't play live.

Why are bassists always DI'd?

'Cause bassists don't use effects or tube amps.

yet all at once.

Your avatar hurts my soul. In the best way possible. Where it be from?

[Achtane]

I don't play live.

Why are bassists always DI'd?

'Cause bassists don't use effects or tube amps.

yet all at once.

Your avatar hurts my soul. In the best way possible. Where it be from?

[McSpunckle]

I don't play live.

Why are bassists always DI'd?

Because DIs give you the most natural, direct tone. They let you hear your bass, without it being strangled by speakers and the compression an amp gives you.



I'm lying. DIs are lame.

[Moustache_Bash]

I appreciate your guys' humor, but seriously why are bassists always DI'd? Is it just that DI'ing bass became popular at one point, and now it's like an "industry" standard?

[coldbrightsunlight]

I think it's mainly convenience for sound guys, bass>DI is much easier than micing an amp.

[nad]

I appreciate your guys' humor, but seriously why are bassists always DI'd? Is it just that DI'ing bass became popular at one point, and now it's like an "industry" standard?

Sound guys are lazy. It's honestly way easier to DI a bass then it is to properly mic it.

And, while the tube/fuzz whore in me hates to admit it, sometimes a DI'd bass is just fuckin' perfect.

Do I prefer a mic'd cab? YES. Have I recorded direct, gotten amazing tones, and been happy? Well, yes to that too.

Honestly I don't like PA systems at all. I play in small venues, so I'd rather have non-mic'd drums, cranked guitar and bass amps, and then PA for vocals only.

But WTF do I know? I'm named after a testicle.

[bigchiefbc]

As already said, sound guys are lazy. If they could get away with DIing guitars, they'd do that too, but they know that guitarists will always object to that, whereas bassists usually aren't assertive enough to demand mic'ing. Sad to say, in most bands I've interacted with, the bassist is the whipping boy who gets no say in anything.

Also, most sound guys only have a handful of SM-57s for mic'ing, and those really can't get the thump that most bassists want. That's why I bought my own mic, so I can just mic my cab myself, and the cable they hand me to plug into a DI, I'll just plug into my mic.

Lastly, when clean, hifi, solid-state bass amps went into vogue (probably early 80s), there ceased to be any reason at all to mic bass amps. They didn't tend to give you much coloration anyway, so what came out of your cab sounded pretty damn close to a DI'ed sound anyway.

edit:: and I kinda disagree with nad on the PA thing. Now that my covers band is playing at a lower stage volume and sending everything through the PA and subwoofer, I can't imagine playing without it. Now we can actually hear ourselves and each other. It used to just be all white noise up on stage before.

[Grrface]

But WTF do I know? I'm named after a testicle.

[behndy]

But WTF do I know? I'm named after a testicle.

HAH! this made me giggle so much.

yeah. i used to not have a problem with di'ing out the balanced output of my Rusty Box until i brought a wireless and listened from the crowd area in a part with loads of fuzz. BLEGH. i'm going to bring my Shure Beta52 with me..... actually, y'all know your shit, i love the Beta52 at home and how it sounds recorded at practice, it SEEMS to get a really tight focus on just my cab with little to no bleed through from the drums in our small rehearsal space...... is there a better mic to buy and bring? i use a buncha fuzz and some octavers and filtery stuff (duh) on a 6'er. murrrrrrrrr?

yay thread hijack!

urm.......... SansAmp is actually my favorite if you're just recording clean, i hated the Radial ToneBone (stupid physical layout for putting on a pedalboard and it is QUIET), the MXR M80 has about the worst "distortion" section of any bass pedal ever, the ToneHammer sounds good in clean gets LOUD and kinda too gnarly for my tastes on the distortion footswithc......... Rusty Box IS GOD LIKE.

[theavondon]

Honestly I don't like PA systems at all. I play in small venues, so I'd rather have non-mic'd drums, cranked guitar and bass amps, and then PA for vocals only.