Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Bass di+preamp or no?
- Thread starter Sunny Mahat
- Start date
My setup is very similar. Always w passive basses, I have the Xotic RC Booster always on, and sometimes the Xotic BB for grit, then to a JDI to FOH. Simple, bombproof, great sounding. I don't care what the backline amp is (unless of course it's something really cool and mic'd
)
)
Last edited:
Sorry to throw another train on the track, but if it was me, I’d do an MXR M81 at the end of the signal chain. Off it’s a great transparent high quality DI. On it gives you 3 bands of eq that include mid-sweep. It’s comparatively tiny, and won’t break the bank.
my bass is ibanez sr1400 mlg,....as you know it has active onboard preamp,....yet i make it passive and use ampeg scr di to connect to the mixer when my band do gig,.....
my point is,.....nothing is absolute,....you will find your tone and playstyle, gear along the bass journey
my point is,.....nothing is absolute,....you will find your tone and playstyle, gear along the bass journey
You could buy my tube Radial Firefly! It's for sale and it's really nice and has a lot of cool features...
Sure, run your OD direct into FOH but be prepared to sound like a swarm of bees. The EQ settings might be enough to fix it. Or you might find an LPF or speaker sim to be needed.
Maybe replace one of your pedals with a Genzler which includes high and low pass filtering?
Maybe replace one of your pedals with a Genzler which includes high and low pass filtering?
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am kind of new to this forum and am so glad everyone is so helpful out here. I've tried running my pedals directly through passive DI to the FOH. Have gotten mixed responses from the sound guys (the venues allot them since we can't afford a dedicated team every time). But most of the responses have been positive enough. I just wanted to make sure I try and get the best solution before I actually buy something. I live in Nepal and the shipping+taxes here are atrocious. Plus our money is weakest against the dollar right now. So just need to be careful of what I choose to get.
Wish I could. But the shipping will probably cost me more than the pedal itself. I am based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
I don't follow. I often go passive bass>Xotic BB (for a slight amp-ish grit always on)>JDI>FOH. I know exactly what I'm sending to FOH, no surprises. Never needed any extra anything in line, always works.
I clearly remember about 18 years ago, I went to a gig with my passive Lakland P, and my JDI. The sound guy was kinda young-ish/greenish I think, and he was like "no way this is gonna work". Afterwards he was raving about my sound, said it was the best and clearest of the night compared to all the active basses in the other bands. Said it "mixed itself"
I don't have the exact count, but I would think the majority of the bass sound we hear on big venues/arenas are coming from a bass with passive DI and whatever in between.
Ill throw my $0.02 for Pinestripe Pedals LWDI. It uses Jensen transformers, built like a tank and fits nicely on a pedalboard.
I was thinking of the OP's situation where they are running an Xotic Bass Booster plus Way Huge Pork and Pickles Fuzz/OD. As soon as I see "fuzz/od" I get the image of large amounts of distortion and the high freq hash that might be a problem if it isn't low pass filtered.
I would say that's the job of the soundman, not mine.
But what problem you hear in isolation might not be a problem in a mix.
But what problem you hear in isolation might not be a problem in a mix.
I do recall a time when I was running RC Booster always on>BB for distortion on/off, and kicking it on and seeing our FOH guy jump out of his seat
. I think a stage diver bumped my knobs
Ok. Now I'm confused if I really need a cab sim as well? What do you guys think? I really can't afford one at the moment since my country going into recession has cut down a lot of our gigs. Will a passive DI be perfectly alright or would I need to buy a more expensive preamp/DI with cab sim or a separate cab sim pedal?
Passive DI is fine. Cab sims are way overrated. Any sound engineer worth his salt will spray some bug spray for the bees.
Truly, if the aim is to reduce some aggressive/harsh trebles from the distortion, instead of going for a full cab sim, just a Low Pass Filter will remove that harsh stuff. Or, even a simple EQ pedal like the Boss GEB-7, which is a reasonably inexpensive option pretty much anywhere in the world.
Cab sims are nice, but I wouldn't say they are strictly necessary in your case. Especially if it's hard to test or play anything in advance in Kathmandu, it may be like shooting in the dark with regards to the sound you get. You may well be a-ok with what you currently have, it's hard to say with real certainty without being able to hear what you are hearing.