Good DI box

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Bisson820

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Hey guys, Im planning on recording guitars/bass primarilythrough DI's.

The signal path for the guitar will be Pod live 6 > DI >interface

Path for bass willjust be DI to interface.

first off, is this a decent way to do things? (this is what the engineer did for the band i was in when we recorded a couple years ago. to hear the sound he got from it... www.myspace.com/secondstoseptember)

secondly, what would you recommend for a decent DI box that wont shatter my wallet either.

Thanks,
Bisson
 
Wouldn't the POD be your DI? Adding an un-needed step in the signal chain IMO.
 
well if i recall there is no XLR out from the pod, so i'd like to get a balanced signal into the interface, hence the DI.
 
I do something similar with GTR 3.5 from waves.

I use the PRO DI PASSIVE DIRECT BOX made by Radial Engineering into an XLR in and a tiny bit of gain from a pre amp

I've run my guitar straight into the instrument ins (By passing preamps), through the mic in with to go through the pre and through the DI into an XLR in with a small amount of gain from the preamps and I must say the sound is just a little "Nicer" somehow through the DI with some light color from the Pre with exactly the same settings on the amp sim and volume leveled before going to the amp sim to ensure a fair comparison.
What comes out of the amp sim sounds a little more natural some how
 
Bisson820 said:
well if i recall there is no XLR out from the pod, so i'd like to get a balanced signal into the interface, hence the DI.
Click to expand...

Are you picking up hum or noise? The only real benefit to balanced signal here would be noise reduction. The whole point of a DI box is to match impedance so you can connect your instrument into a preamp to get up to line level. The Pod acts as a preamp and the output is already at line level, so yeah, no real need for a DI box.

Personally I would only use a DI for the bass. You can get a simple unit for around ~$40 or something really nice like the Tech21 for about $200 http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tech-21-SansAmp-Bass-Driver-DI?sku=480206
 
Why do you want balanced outs? Do you want specifically XLR outs because that's all your interface will accept, or do you have a really long cable run between the pod and the interface, and you want to avoid picking up any hum and dirt?
If not, the Pod (according to the website) has the capability to send a line level signal straight to your interface, which is all you need. No need for a DI box.
Also, what interface are you using? A whole lot of them these days come with input jacks that can be set to accept Hi-Z inputs (ie guitar and bass) and that work as well as any cheap DI you'll find.
If you really want a DI box (and just a DI), Radial makes some really good products, especially the ones with the Jensen Transformers.
Another step up from there is that a lot of the standalone boutique preamps out there are meant to serve as both Mic pres and DI boxes, so if you've got the money to spend, you could probably find a really cool one that would add another tonal layer to your guitar sounds.
Good luck, have fun.
 
i've always thought just as a general rule to keep things balanced as much as possible. but if what your telling me applies on a more honest level then i appreciate the knowledge.

for me its up in the air about the interface that im getting. its between the presonus firestudio 2626 and the mackie onyx 1620i ... any light on those products aswell?
 
Take the next step, man.
Fuck general rules, find out why they're there, and you'll know whether you can break them.
As for the two interfaces you mentioned, the Onyx is gonna do more, but take longer to learn all the ins and outs of (makes sense, right? More options, more things to learn). Take a look at what you want your interface to do for you, and decide which one meets the requirements. You'll be paying significantly more for the Mackie, so pretend that the sound quality of just the preamps and AD converters is the same on both units (because, honestly, it's probably really close) and look at the extra features you're paying for on the Mackie, like the EQ section and the feel of a standalone mixer.
At these price ranges, you're mostly paying for features. You don't start paying for big, noticeable bumps in sound quality (with a couple exceptions) until you start getting into the $500-$1000 per channel price range.
 
well im really concerned about preamps and for the combined interface/preamp i wouldnt wanna spend much over 1200.

any recommendations in this avenue?

i was hoping the mackie would cover both... do you think thats the case?
 
What do you mean you are concerned about preamps? Both the units you were looking at have eight mic preamps on them, and both (I haven't A/B'd them, so I am just assuming here - anybody who has please correct me) are gonna sound about the same. Like I said, you aren't gonna get away with paying under $500 per channel (meaning per preamp) if you want a really noticeable improvement in the sound of your preamps.

In the price range you are looking at, for 8 mic preamps, all you really need to be concerned about is that you get a clean, consistent signal. Both the units you are looking at will give you this, so the price difference has to do with the other features the unit does or doesn't offer.
 
so you think getting external preamps would be pointless for me int his budget?

how bad off am i at this point?
 
In a word, yes. There are some really cool looking external preamps out there that would fit into your budget on top of your interface cost, whichever one you go with. But you would not be buying them to replace the ones in your interface. The ones in your interface, whichever you go with, are going to be pretty good and clean. You could buy one or two of the cheaper standalone micpres out there (some by ART, Studio Projects makes one that's pretty neat and goes for about $130, there are lots if you look around), but these would be so you could add color to your sounds, not get a cleaner, better sounding preamp.
You aren't bad off at all at this point. I saw your previous thread where you talked about the whole studio you were looking at getting, and I want to reiterate that, at this point, your monitors are your most neglected item. Drop the external EQs and Compressors - your DAW has plugins that will do anything they can do (once again, you don't start getting improved sound quality on either of those two items until you start spending significantly more). Pick an interface, and accept that the sound of the eight mic preamps on it is the best sound you can afford at this time. And believe me, for a beginning project studio, they will give you great sound. Make sure your listening environment is as close to ideal as you can get it. Then take all that extra money you have left over and pool it with the money you were gonna spend on monitors and get a much better set than the budget ones you were looking at. From all the things that have been cut out of your budget (based on the previous thread about your planned purchases), you can probably afford to drop a grand on your monitors. If that money is gonna get spent one way or another, then that's your best bet.
 
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