lets talk di's

[chipss36]

So I have upgraded to pt 9 and a imac, all is running well , my mbox 2 pro and me are not so happy, I do not use Mic pre's much at all , all direct, v drums via MIDI. into the box, bass and guitar into the box, no vox.
I am wanting a hotter cleaner Di than the mbox 2 pro, seems most talk is about the Mic pre's not the Di's, any tricks to this?
Are the 003 rack Di's any better? Or would a better idea be, a countryman 85, into the Mic pre be a better idea. Or any other better ideas now that pt9 is not hardware dependant ,
I am only a hobbie level guy, writing my own songs and playing all the parts, so tons of in/outs is not a big deal, thanks for your time in advance, I put this under pt9, because 9 is now somewhat open.

[albee1952]

For hobby level, you really don't NEED DI boxes, unless you have things to plug in that have impedance issues that can be improved with a good DI(look for a DI with a very high input impedance like 1meg or more0. I often record my bass thru an Aphex Punch Factory, which is a DI with a built in opto compressor, and that works great with my Stingray. I have some high-end KT direct boxes for clients, but my Motif is patched straight into my 003(1&2). My other favorite DI for bass is the Ampeg tube DI. I remember reading a review that said the Presonus Eureka makes a killer bass recording channel, and its likely a better mic strip than the Mbox. It can also be fitted with a digital option card which would allow you to bypass the entire Mbox analog input circuitry

[Craig F]

I like the Avalon U5 but it carries a pro price tag with it

[CME]

I got a line 6 gearbox di that came bundled with the plug-in. It works surprisingly well. Before pt9 I just sent it line in into my 002. Now that I can, it is a decent interface for pt also. Nothing spectacular but works well.


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[nst7]

The new Mbox 3 and Mbox 3 Pro have much improved DI's from either the Mbox 2 or the 003. You might look into getting one of those. Also, they are 1 megaohm which is ideal for either guitar or bass.

[Park Seward]

Countryman makes good DIs.

http://www.countryman.com/store/?catid=10

[chipss36]

Thank you for the replys ,
I have the pod xt live and it also runs my line 6 guitar, podfarm....bass amp packs. Ect.
I to have try using it without mbox. Great idea and I have that gear already. But at sea right now so have to try it when I get home.
I also have been reading up on the new mbox3pro. And am impressed. Did not know the preamps and clock were upgraded over The 003R.

the mbox3pro line ins bypass the preamps, in/switch/ softlimit,a/d. So it seems would be good unit to later add a nice preamp but like I said I don't use pre's.much, a cajun triangle or something once in a blue moon, but great to have that option.
Also the clock in the mbox3pro is looking good jetpll to reduce jitter. But I must say I have read about many having issues with this mbox, I am sure it will all be sorted out soon. So may wait awhile to purchase.
Also the Mic pre's have a 2 db better s/n ratio over the line ins so the countryman Di may have to give that a shot as well.
I am pretty much stuck with firewire with the imac, or usb, so cards are not an option.

[HD2]

If you're looking for a low cost solutio that will give you both a nice warm tube mic pre and DI then check out the bellari rp220. I have had one for 10 years and it was the best few hundred bucks I ever spent. You can find them used pretty cheap and then just stick some good tubes in it.

[chipss36]

Wow that's nice gear, high plate voltageas well , and I do have a collection of vintage 7025, 12ax7s, in my tube stash.

[OddsAre]

Studio Projects VTB1 with an upgraded tube is my go-to Bass DI. With the Tube blend all the way up and through a ProVLA and compressed on the heavy side tends to really create a great sound. You can also drive the input on it to get a bit of bite.