DI BOX for Electro Acoustic (live)

[Jose Mrochek]

Hello.. can anyone recommend a DI box to connect my electro acoustic ? whats the best out there for this application..

and also have you guys played around with the tc electronic g-natural ? first time I see an effects unig "designed" for acoustics.. is it really what it promises ??? thank you!!!

[mmcfarlane]

For live or recording use?

How much you want to spend $100, $500?

If you want rugged & reliable look at the Radial line, or a Countryman.

Radial has plenty to choose from. Even their cheap ones ($100 range) are quite good.

[Vogon]

Originally Posted by Jose Mrochek

...and also have you guys played around with the tc electronic g-natural ? first time I see an effects unig "designed" for acoustics.. is it really what it promises ??? thank you!!!

Most effects don't really require much to "tailor" them specifically to acoustic guitar... just parameter tweaks. So really you're just taking "studio" type effects and reducing the parameter set options.
So, you get "regular" digital effects, a DI and a mic input, in stomper format. It's not revolutionary. There are *similar* boxes around by yamaha roland zoom etc.
TC stuff is generally good quality though.

Acoustic Guitar Pedals At Sam Ash

One thing that may be very cool is the piezo/pickup => "mic'd-acoustic" modelling. The aura demo's I heard were fairly impressive.
Personally, I hate piezo's. I won't use them except for tuning or weird effects.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by mmcfarlane

For live or recording use?

How much you want to spend $100, $500?

If you want rugged & reliable look at the Radial line, or a Countryman.

Radial has plenty to choose from. Even their cheap ones ($100 range) are quite good.

It's for Live use mainly or both I guess : ) I want to get hte best one possible. I read alot about DI's, but people mostly talk about Bass. I want to know which one works wonders with electro acoustic guitars. Thanks

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by Vogon

One thing that may be very cool is the piezo/pickup => "mic'd-acoustic" modelling. The aura demo's I heard were fairly impressive.
Personally, I hate piezo's. I won't use them except for tuning or weird effects.

Thanks Vogon, I was never a fan of anything that "modeled" something... but never heard of these things and they look really nice. Anyone can say a word about these from personal experience ? thanks again !

[buzzjoe]

The Radial JDV is a the best and most neutral DI I 've used so far, prefer it even over the Avolon U5 - and it fits in a gigbag :-) The variable input impedance is very handy for acoustic instruments (my K+K sounds best at 1 MOhm) - especially with passive pickups.

The BSS AR-133 is very good too (phantom powered).

[rcm]

There are a lot of cool DI options, but take a serious look at the radial stuff. It sounds great, built tough, compact and the prices are really good.

[Fman]

+1 to Radial. Especially the JDV; super clean.

[mmcfarlane]

Originally Posted by Jose Mrochek

It's for Live use mainly or both I guess : ) I want to get hte best one possible. I read alot about DI's, but people mostly talk about Bass. I want to know which one works wonders with electro acoustic guitars. Thanks

Well, the JDV looks very good, I haven't tried one. It's pretty expensive.

I have 4 J48s that I usually use for guitars and some passive ProDIs for keys

http://www.radialeng.com/pdfs/Radial...tor-w-text.pdf


Something to consider is how good the PA is that you will ttypically be playing through. The difference between a JDV and a Pro48 may only show up with a really expensive PA system Like I said I haven't tried a JDV but I'm sure it's great).

In live sound there is a 'good enough' point for a lot of gear. The entire live sound reproduction chain has to be looked at as a whole, just like in recording and mixing.

FWIW, in general for live sound I prefer to mic a guitar cabinet rather than using a DI (or do both) but a lot of sound guys prefer the DI 'cause you are more likely to get a clean, noise free signal. I try to mic the guitar amp first (if the guitar player brought one), and if that's a problem I go the DI route, but often there isn't enough time to test, especially if you have several bands changng in and out through an event.

In the studio you can spend a day on one guitar sound, in a live event you might have 30 seconds for each input (or less) to test/change gear between acts. I've done 11 acts in a 4 hour show before (only 3 backline changes) - absolutely crazy high-stress times :). You get the first song to dial in all EQ's, compresssors, gates,... while you are balancing levels.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by mmcfarlane

In live sound there is a 'good enough' point for a lot of gear. The entire live sound reproduction chain has to be looked at as a whole, just like in recording and mixing.

.

Totally true, and believe me when I say.. it's not high end what I work with. But the truth is, if I can at least have MY sound the best possible, and my monitors sounding great which I also own.. then I should be able to perform better or without worries. Whatever happens out there (foh) is not of my concern while I play.

The JDV sounds like what I should get, and those AURA pedals are looking awesome. thank you for taking the time

[Vogon]

Originally Posted by Jose Mrochek

Thanks Vogon, I was never a fan of anything that "modeled" something... but never heard of these things and they look really nice. Anyone can say a word about these from personal experience ? thanks again !

Well, IMHO modelling can be somewhat iffy sometimes.

I believe these are simple impulse responses, like those used in covolution reverbs. When people realised that sampling of acoustic spaces captured resonances and the sound of the mics, they realised the acoustic guitar/mic could be captured and reproduced too. To a degree.

The Aura specifically isn't perfect by any means, but it does seem to kill some of the clank I hear in pickups. It definitely sounds more like an "instrument" rather than something stuck to an instrument.
Here's one of the demo's I heard.
FishmanAura >> Learn about and Listen to Aura

The Aura has been out a while now, and some of the other modellers might be better.

[lowfreq33]

The Countryman is my favorite DI on acoustic guitar. I think the JDI sounds a little "boxy".

[Daedalus77]

L.R. Baggs Para D.I.

Robust build; good, clean sound; fine, usable EQ.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by Vogon

Well, IMHO modelling can be somewhat iffy sometimes.

I believe these are simple impulse responses, like those used in covolution reverbs. When people realised that sampling of acoustic spaces captured resonances and the sound of the mics, they realised the acoustic guitar/mic could be captured and reproduced too. To a degree.

The Aura specifically isn't perfect by any means, but it does seem to kill some of the clank I hear in pickups. It definitely sounds more like an "instrument" rather than something stuck to an instrument.
Here's one of the demo's I heard.
FishmanAura >> Learn about and Listen to Aura

The Aura has been out a while now, and some of the other modellers might be better.

Wow I'm definetly going to get that !! I had no idea these things even existed. Thank you so much!

[Vogon]

Originally Posted by Jose Mrochek

Wow I'm definetly going to get that !! I had no idea these things even existed. Thank you so much!

My pleasure!

Don't forget the pedal versions:

Fishman Transducers, Inc - Aura Acoustic Imaging Technology

With the "Big" Aura you match and install the nearest "sound image" that will suit your guitar, I'm sure they'll do this at the store.

These pedals may (?) be worth investigating, as you don't need to find an exact model match, just the body type.

[diamondjim]

Originally Posted by Daedalus77

L.R. Baggs Para D.I.

Robust build; good, clean sound; fine, usable EQ.

I have one of these also and it is great. But for best sound, the REDDI tube DI. I use it on my electric violin, as well as electric bass.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by Vogon

My pleasure!

Don't forget the pedal versions:

Fishman Transducers, Inc - Aura Acoustic Imaging Technology

With the "Big" Aura you match and install the nearest "sound image" that will suit your guitar, I'm sure they'll do this at the store.

These pedals may (?) be worth investigating, as you don't need to find an exact model match, just the body type.

Yes I was looking into those to, my question now is .. looking at the specs on these pedals (balanced out) , would I need a DI ? It seems to me.. this works as a DI also ? Ofcourse a dedicated DI should be better, just trying to save some cash.. I want to buy a Pre, and coverters also on my trip to the US

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by diamondjim

I have one of these also and it is great. But for best sound, the REDDI tube DI. I use it on my electric violin, as well as electric bass.

Read the best of comments about the REDDI, something that detracts me a bit.. is the size, and another thing.. theres an Avalon U5 someone locally wants to sell for 400$ ... how would you compare the avalon to the reddi ? Thank YOu!

[Jim vanBergen]

I like the Radials as well for live sound, & have JDI and JDVs. But I keep two old, '90s version BSS AR116 Di's specifically for acoustic or electro-acoustics, for great attack and a MUCH better tone than the standard Type 85. A lot depends on what tone you a trying to get. Do you want a tube sound with a solid state box? Radial would be great for that.

But not much compares to a great studio DI. I'm just sayin'.

[Remoteness]

I love the old BSS AR116s...

They sound great on many electric instruments.

[Jose Mrochek]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

But not much compares to a great studio DI. I'm just sayin'.

I pretty much decided on the radial, for size and something less to worry about. Taking tubey stuff, thats bigger.. may be dropped, could be an issue later on. That is why i'm passing on the Avalon, or the Reddi and those big guys. Thank you all on your imput, this was of great help. Thanks!

[Remoteness]

IMO, if you picked any of the tube DI flavors you stilneeded at least one other (non-tuybe) DI as a backup.

You did good with the Radial.