Recommendations for a DI box?

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Hi guys,

I'm in the market for a cheapish DI box, to use to bring a guitar and bass up to line level to get a signal into my laptop. I'll then play about with it in Amplitude or Trash, or whatever i decide to get to do the processing.

So, recommendations? Will the Behringer DI100 do the job? Better alternatives? I'm not clear whether there's a big difference between manufacturers or if this is a fairly simple matter.

Cheers
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"

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I've used those Behringer DIs for many live gigs.. they seem to do the job perfectly well. :shrug:

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I'm using a Mackie-Tapco Blend 6 mixer. Great little thing with two great preamps and two DI inputs. May be overkill for just DI use, but it's not very expensive.

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I use the Sans Amp Bass Driver DI for bass (duh). Dead quiet and very flexible. I've heard of people using it for acoustic guitar too but I haven't tried it. The SABDDI runs about US$190 new but I've seen them used for around US$100.

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most DI's will bring stuff up to mic level, not line. But i guess youll have to check. Maybe im mistaken.

Sidhu

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I would highly recommend the Line 6 Guitar Port, it has the ability to give you a line level signal and amp modeling, effects for guitar, bass and you can even run a mic through it. All for $99.00.

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This will do the job, cheaper than anyone else, often going cheaper still on ebay:
http://www.behringer.com/GI100/index.cfm?lang=ENG
Coffee please, black, no sugar.

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I wish i could get my hands on the sans amp bass driver. We dont get sans amp around here. Any kind soul who could arrange to ship it personally ????

:D

Sidhu

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not cheap but the best bass DI I ever heard:
http://www.aguilaramp.com/html/products/db900.html

for a decent DI-box I´d recommend BSS

:)
peace, Image

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Behringer are releasing a cheap rip-off of the SansAmp boxes this quarter. I don't imagine their issues with Roland affect this line, but perhaps they will.

Grr... just noticed that they're out, but that the price has jumped from their initial price list, from 39.99 to 65.00 $CDN.

Still hella cheaper than the Tech21 items, but not quite the amazing price point I was counting on.

Greg
Image

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I also have the Sansamp Bass driver DI. It was worth every penny.

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Moritz Morpheus MkIII wrote:not cheap but the best bass DI I ever heard:
http://www.aguilaramp.com/html/products/db900.html

for a decent DI-box I´d recommend BSS

:)
If we are looking at primarily bass DI you would struggle to go past the Valvotronics Tube DI. I have one and it is awesome. It makes my Boss DI very ordinary indeed.

Cheers
Graham
www.lakesiderecordingstudio.co.nz

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You don't need a DI, you need a preamp. A DI will not bring your signal up to line level. It will only match the high impedence output of the instrument to a low impedence balanced mic input. Some of the units mentioned like the BassDriver are really a preamp with a DI output. Those units still don't do you any good unless they also have a line level output.

DI= high impedence unbalanced to low impedence balanced

Preamp = low level signal (instrument or mic) to line level.

Like I pointed out above many units that call themselves a DI are actually a preamp and DI. You don't need the DI part so make sure whatever you get has a line level output as well. Many microphone preamps also have a 1/4" instrument input as well. What I use is either the direct outs from the preamps on my mixer, an RNP(stand alone stereo mic preamp), or a L.R.Baggs Paracoustic DI(a preamp/DI designed for acoustic guitars). There are other cheaper preamps that may work well for instruments. The Guitar Port takes a different approach. It is a preamp with it's own converters that will bypass your sound card completely on the way in through the USB port.

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I'm not even sure you can still find them but I have a di box that will convert speaker out from your amplifier to line. Great for getting some calories for your track or at least the flavor of your amplifier. It was made by Peavey (at least it wasn't scorpio speaker quality-remember those). Just a thought as like someone said a post up or two really what you are needing is a preamp.

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