advantage of using a DI?

[climber]

I have a FF800 that has 4 mic pres and 4 line in's. I have been playing my bass into a line in directly & it sounds pretty good. example here:

http://www.cambersoft.com/clients/chick.mp3

is there any real advantage to getting/using a DI instead of what I am doing now OTHER than being able to split the signal to get both a line in and a cabinet?

inquiring minds want to know...

[wakestyle]

Ya. But make sure your going into the instrument in, but not the line-in. THere's a big difference.

I havn't tried the ff800, but if you find you run out of head room or clipp to easily try a DI.

MOst pro's use a good DI to get ALOT better level and tone for bass. Try looking at a Reddi DI, The Brick, or a P-solo. All very nice ones.

[Steffu]

Does using a DI and reamping alter the sound in any way? Of course it might have a little effect but is it very audible?

[Weasel9992]

Originally Posted by Steffu

Does using a DI and reamping alter the sound in any way? Of course it might have a little effect but is it very audible?

It can, sure. Like the above poster said, it's all about the transformer in the DI and whether it's active or not. The REDDI is a whole different animal than my Radial JDI, for example.

Frank

[Stitch333]

and don't forget the sonics/flavor/textures you can add after a DI in the record chain.
ie: micpre, eqs, limiter, compressor, etc, etc...

[donsolo]

Originally Posted by Steffu

Does using a DI and reamping alter the sound in any way? Of course it might have a little effect but is it very audible?

Using a DI and reamping are two different boxes (typically) and serve two purposes:

On bass, you use the DI in to really catch that sound of fingers touching the string. It's also good for high end clarity.

If you reamp, you pump the audio out of the computer, into an amp and record the amp. Of COURSE that will change the sound.

On bass, just because you DI, doesn't mean you can't keep it that way. Most bass players DI these days...

[climber]

Originally Posted by donsolo

On bass, you use the DI in to really catch that sound of fingers touching the string. It's also good for high end clarity.

not sure I agree at all. check the clip in my earlier post. you can hear all the string & finger noise plus it's really clear. that's my Ristola 5 string bass directly into my FF800 #1 input. compression & reverb added in the box via UAD-1.

Originally Posted by donsolo

Most bass players DI these days...

really????? not from where I sit up here in the NH hinterlands , unless they are splitting the signal between the amp & bass.

[allencollins]

Originally Posted by Steffu

Does using a DI and reamping alter the sound in any way? Of course it might have a little effect but is it very audible?

pretty much any DI with a transformer is going to alter the sound. A passive DI is the way to go for uncolored but I bet even some of those can add something. supposedly some of the radial passive stuff is really clean and transparent. I have a JDI that works for great for reamping. It actually does both reamping and DI all in one. But it is passive and kinda whimpy compared to an active unit like the j48.

[spinedoc]

I use a line 6 DI box that came with gearbox vst to my M-Audio soundcard. Would there be much advantage to adding a low end preamp in after the DI box soundwise?