Need a good DI box for under £50

[redzombie]

Can anyone recommend a decent, cheap no-thrills DI box to me for under 50 quid? I don't need any tone shaping, just the usual 1/4" input and output and XLR and the other usual stuff like ground lift.

One thing I'm not sure about, is whether or not I need should avoid actives or not, since I use a very hot output active bass along with a fair few effects pedals.

I found a couple which I'm not sure about, anyone tried them?

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/palmer_pan_01.htm"]Palmer Pan 01 passive DI[/url]

[url="http://ftp2.dns-systems.net/~orchid/standi.htm"]Orchid Electronics Classic DI[/url] (although this one seems to be active)

I hear the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/radial_engineering_pro_di.htm"]Radial Pro DI[/url] is a good passive box, but I was hoping to spend a bit less than £75.

EDIT: I should also add, that I'd like to stay away from anything in a plastic box, such as the Behringers. I'd prefer something more roadworthy.

Edited December 17, 2008 by redzombie

[BassBod]

Radial is the safest bet - I use one with a very "hot" Alembic preamp with no problems at all. The Orchid is also excellent (and much better value). I've used mine with active basses, no problem (my old one had two inputs, one lower level labelled "line"). John at Orchid is a very helpful chap - give him a call or email and I'm sure he can give you some advice.

[redzombie]

Cool, I think I'll email John about the Classic DI. I like the sound of it, but I'd just like to make sure it will work okay with my active and wont mess with my sound or anything. It's always a little bit more reasuring to hear it from the dealer. Cheers

[Jarhead]

I've used the Art direct box before. I can't remember which one, but it seemed solid enough, gave a very 'True' sound, very little changed from what my sound was. I think that you can find them on Studiospares relatively cheaply.
Zach

[EskimoBassist]

Hey

I've used this Behringer DI both Live and in the studio. In fact last time I recorded I used two, one for dry bass, for for effected.

No hum, excess noise, just cheap, durable, ACTUALLY MADE OF METAL! This is one of the better Behringer clones.

All for less than £20!

[url="http://www.studiospares.com/DI-Boxes/Behringer-Ultra-Di-100/invt/370000"]http://www.studiospares.com/DI-Boxes/Behri...100/invt/370000[/url]

Just a suggestion, if you're on less of a budget perhaps.

Rich

[High score]

Yep,

can back up what eskimo bassist said - I have at least 4 of these little DI100 'bricks' and they get bounced around stage without any problems. Extremely transparent sound and can be run from battery or 48v phantom power. When I have a lot of DI requirements and running over 100 feet from the stage (extensive drum mics for example), I use a bank of three Behringer DI4000 that connect to the stage snake. More Behringer kit but again extremely efficient running off mains or phantom - worth a look - it is around £55 - £60 but it would allow more than you to plug into it. See link.

[url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Behringer-DI4000---Ultra-DI-Pro~ID~1394.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~B...Pro~ID~1394.asp[/url]

[tonybassplayer]

Could someone please advise me just what are the primary functions/reasons for using a DI box ?? I just plug my bass in to my amp and when we live record or play through a bigger pa I take an xlr out of the amp in to the recording/mixing desk.

Many thanks

Tony

[High score]

Have a look at the nice piece of work pinned under the ''Amps and Cabs'' section by BOD2 entitled ''DI Boxes and playing through the pa''. Will explain it in detail for you.

This is purely from a sound man point of view but the DI box is probably the unsung hero of stage setup for such a comparatively simple piece of kit. If you consider the range and strengths of signals a desk will see on each channel, the DI allows the signal to be boosted/ attenuated as required or simply split to allow separate monitoring not driven by the desk. This is pretty simplistic but in essence it enables a level of control. A good DI however will add no colour or tone to the signal. Commonest use is for placing in line when using mics which only output in mV so they can be taken to a level the desk (which is essentially a preamp) wants to handle - especally if the desk is a distance so the signal does not degrade.

If the desk has a good signal to play with, it can markedly clean up the PA sound without the engineer playing with the EQ which will change your sound or pushing the gain too high which can create 'noise'.

Read the notes by BOD 2 but there is a lot out there as well to research if you are interested. You might want to look at the Soundcraft web site and down load their mixing guide. I know it might not be your bag but trust me, I have no issues with musos telling me what they would like when they can talk sensibly around the desk. Makes my life a whole lot easier !!

hope this helps some...........

Edited December 30, 2008 by High score

[rmorris]

in which case your amp is providing the 'Direct Injection' DI function which may or may not be what you want depending on amp spec ( noise etc ) and facilities like pre/post eq switching.
Essentially the DI accepts a high impedance lowish level signal and outputs an impedance balanced signal either at mic ( low ) level if it's a passive transformer DI or probably at 'line level' if it's active.
And it will usually have the facility to optionally break the ground ( screen / 0V ) connection to handle ground loops between, for example, your on stage amp and the FOH desk.


[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='365854' date='Dec 29 2008, 11:02 PM']Could someone please advise me just what are the primary functions/reasons for using a DI box ?? I just plug my bass in to my amp and when we live record or play through a bigger pa I take an xlr out of the amp in to the recording/mixing desk.

Many thanks

Tony[/quote]