HD OMNI users. Thoughts on the instrument input

[abt]

I've had the omni interface for a while now. Is suits my needs very well. Lately I've been noticing that I just can't get my guitar sounds they way I want. When I compare my DI sound, tracked through the instrument input, to other peoples DI sound, the vast majority of their sounds are much darker and smoother than mine, like there's more bass content and the highs have been smoothed out.

I recently used a high end pre amp on a completely different rig and the DI sound was way more like what I'm looking for.

Has anyone else notice the omni instrument input sounding, well I want to say thin or harsh, but that's probably over the top. Let's just say not all you want it to be.

[nst7]

I haven't used that many DI's, but the way you describe other people's DI's (full, high end rolled off, etc.) is actually the way my Omni's sounds.

I'm wondering if yours might be defective. It's not thin and harsh at all, and has a nice bottom. But actually, I feel it's too warm. It's nice, but I prefer the sound of some other DI's. Part of the issue is that I don't think the impedance is high enough. Putting hot humbuckers through it still gives a little distortion, no matter where I set the input. Whereas my Waves PRS interface I used to have, didn't do that (I think it was higher impedance).

But it still sounds very good, and full and warm. If you're not getting that, I would seriously have the unit looked at.

[abt]

hmmm.. not what I was expecting to hear. I thought most people would say that they were good but not verging on too warm. I'm going to do some testing. I'm pretty sure I've tried the second input before and it sounds the same.

[chrisdee]

It depends on what you compare them to. To my ears they are very good and on the neutral side.

Not as big, fat and smooth sounding as running through the BAE 1073 + a CL1B or a TG1, however better than most preamps i've tried.

[YYR123]

just for clarification b/c i could be a challenged individual (it's happened once or twice before)


a DI input is not the same thing as pushing a guitar input thru a mic pre.

a DI will bring it up to Line level but won't give you mic pre color (ie the bae1073 for instance)

or am I missing something?

1Meg Ohm I have found the best setting for guitars, (active and passive guitars and basses that is). There is more colour there to me personally.

on another note it is humorous that it's high for guitar/bass but for mic's it's a low impedance that makes the colour come thru.

[nst7]

The DI on any interface like this is simply going thru the built in preamp, just like on a 003, Apollo, etc. So it is the same as having a separate DI through a separate preamp. In this case (the Omni), the preamps are clean and neutral and won't color the sound like a Neve, etc.

But even though it's clean and neutral, I still find it to be a good sounding DI.

[abt]

Thanks for the replies. I'm starting to wonder how much of the DI sound I'm looking for really DI and how much is preamp.

[zedhed]

Originally Posted by abt

When I compare my DI sound, tracked through the instrument input, to other peoples DI sound, the vast majority of their sounds are much darker and smoother than mine, like there's more bass content and the highs have been smoothed out.

Originally Posted by chrisdee

It depends on what you compare them to.

chrisdee hits the nail on the head.

Unless you are using the same Instrument that they used through their DI, into the Omni, you're comparing apples to oranges IMHO. To get reliable A/B results one would need the "other peoples" to come over with their instrument and plug into your gear, baring in mind too that individual playing technique plays a major part in shaping the signal heading into the amp.

Personally, I use both the instrument and an outboard Pre-Amp to Line level into Omni purely for a wider palette of sounds. I find the Omni Pre to be quite transparent, vanilla for want of a better word, but I see that as a positive.

After all said and done though it's just a matter of personal taste. Any manufacturer of gear can please some of the people some of the time but they can't please all of the people all of the time hence the variables in equipment ....so you may need to check out some pre amps.

This is what I use;(Beware good ones don't come cheap)
http://www.effectrode.com/blackbird-vacuum-tube-preamp/

[Greg M]

First, I agree with all of the comments above. Also, there was a lot of discussion about DI's when Eleven first came out. Those threads might be worth reading.

I will also say that the Instrument input on my OMNI sounds very good. If you are looking for "something" that you are not hearing, it might be a transformer. You might want to try something like a Radial JDI (passive or active versions) then into a mic pre on the OMNI.

FWIW, the DI that I have that is most pleasing to me is on my Focusrite ISA 430 MKII. But that's a pretty expensive channel strip.

Hope this helps,
Greg