bass DI recommendations?

[bozabus]

I want to run a Fender jazz bass into an Apogee Rosetta then into a Digi001. Any ideas of a good DI for this?

I tried a running it thru a POD, then thru a DBX 386, then the Rosetta and 001, but I seem to get too much hiss.

Anybody know of something nice that is not too expensive?

[jjjamison]

i recommend Sans Amp BASS DI - excellent tone - easy to use and inexpensive. demeter tube DI's are real nice to, but I prefer the Sans Amp (tech 21).

[byteme]

Countryman DI's rock. The Sansamp does also.

AJ [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[The Mighty Burner]

I love using my FMR RNP/RNC combo thru my Lucid A/D. Makes a kick ass bass DI, and a pretty good front end to boot!

[bassbuddy]

I second the emotion with the Sans Amp DI/Pre amp.Mess with the blend knob and you can get a really full sound...$189.00. Great unit to play out live with also.


Then I'd go with the FMR RNC ...$175.00

Does the Rosetta have inserts ? I have the Mindprint AN / Di PRO and insert the RNC and it receives the same conversion ..Have fun. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Kenny

[La Flange]

BSS (Brooke Siren Systems) AR116 is up there with the Countryman.

[ReniuR]

I just used an Avalon Ultra 5 DI on bass last week. They're like $600, but if you got the money, and you will be using it a lot, it can't be beat. We have the Berringer ultra DI's, and they work well and have a good tone, but the Avalon is a different beast alltogether.

[valvebrother]

The Avalon is very nice.

I prefer this:

http://www.mercenary.com/evtwinmod90.html

But, I agree the Avalon is pretty amazing. Also recommended is anything by Demeter.

D

[dBHEAD]

If hiss is the problem, have you tried going direct into the interface? I record bass directly into the 001 all the time and it sounds great. In fact --and this is something it took an incredibly long time and many different projects to learn-- I think it sounds better going directly into the 001 than going through anything. Because there is very little high frequency energy with the bass, the 001s converters actually work fine --especially if clocked by the Rosetta.

Mind you, I don't do this with anything else except the bass, and sometimes I wonder how it took me so long to figure it out. I think I just got locked into the mindset that you must have outboard pres/converters/etc. to make stuff sound good on the 001 because in general that is quite true. But it doesn't seem to be with the bass.

Of course, if you want a certain "sound" only available through a DI, it won't work. But the bass I record is clear, punchy, and has a tight, fat low end. I really love the sound of it recorded that way.

Two tips. ONE: turn the volume all the way up on the bass guitar to minimize any gain you might have to apply from the 001 preamps.

TWO: turn the bass tone control all the way to the treble end. Trust me on this one - it's very easy to add bucketloads of low end later if you think it sounds too tinny in the mix (I doubt you will, though) because there are already sufficient low freqs to boost. However, it is almost impossible to boost the highs (or even mids) later if you turn the tone control all the way in the other direction. You can, of course, do it, but you really have to boost the highs/mids substantially (eg.: 10 dB) to hear any appreciable difference and they are of poor quality - really bad sounding high frequencies.

I know a few people are going to jump all over me for this, but you have to admit it certainly is easy enough to try, right? I've been playing bass guitar since 1974; I have several DIs, several VINTAGE bass amps (including one of the old "Acountic" brand lines -- incredible sounding amp) and I'm telling you, IMHO direct into the 001 IS the way to go with bass unless you want a processed effect.

I consider this one of my hard-earned/hard-learned "secret tricks" and was a bit reluctant to part with it...but what heel.

[img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[bozabus]

thanks for all the tips. Heck, I think I will try running it straight into the 001.

Also, here is a crazy idea from Tape OP....run the bass thru an old Fender Deluxe Reverb (at low level) and mike the amp. I would have never thought to try that either.

Thanks again....certainly some food for thought.