I’m interested in signal chain placement, general use…is used as sound enhancement for your amp or tone in general? Recording applications, front of house signal? Do some “play” better with effects? Bang for your buck? Overall, which one checks the boxes for you? Why do you need a DI?
Very general questions, I know but with the amount of DIs being covered, I was trying to think of simple questions/topics.
This is a bit of a left-field comment, but I hope it makes sense: for over 2 decades I've been watching and listening to you just...DO wild shit, with confidence and tenacity. This is another wonderful example of you diving into yet another interesting, insanely challenging and labor intensive project...that also ends up also helping others. Thank you.
Also, to anyone who might read these comments: get Janek's last album if you haven't yet! I was one of those folks who pre-ordered it for 25 bucks; it was a crazy good deal that included WAV's and MP3's and charts AND playalongs!
The TDI sounds lovely, some of them have way more colour than others (Nobel and Simone), and or Eq, it sounds like the caveman has a scoop in the mids somewhere, which is fine but very different use case than say the TDI.
I’d like to know the EQ settings got each of the preamp/DI’s used in the recording and possibly recordings of multiple EQ settings. This could be very clinical ie bass setting full counter 0%/50%/100% or based on more musical decisions ie EQ off vs a setting you feel highlights it best.
In love what you’re doing here and am already surprised with some of what I’ve heard. Thanks Janek
Some things to I’d love to hear about for each DI:
How it responds to your playing at various registers and velocities, DI’s Noise floor, Visual representation for the EQ response, and how each sits in the same mix.
Id also love to see you compare a Little Labs Redeye 3DI. Another Cant find the name but theres also a guy who builds DI’s with various tubes into a literal lunch box.
They all felt very similar until the SVT and that just popped with clarity. Second fav was the Jule (I have a Monique and LUV that vibe) but on this track it was the SVT for me.
Wow! I love the sound of the Jule Simone! It sounds thick but not muddy and has a very pronounced midrange (if that makes sense haha).
I definitely would like to see what your eq settings were on this clip and it would be cool to hear your thoughts on/experiences with tube di’s vs solid state di’s. Did one style of di tend to do/sound better in live situations? Do engineers (in studios or in venues) even notice a difference or make comments about the bass’ sound when you use a certain preamp. Do you think a tube preamp is worth the investment (a great tool to have vs following the crowd/hype)?
Sorry if I sound out of touch on this subject. Around the time I started playing the bass, non-tube preamps and amps where “the way to go”, so I went that direction haha. I have used a number of preamps but I have never invested into a tubed preamp. I’ve read many forums and comments on how awesome certain tubed preamps sound but I honestly feared it was more hype than fact. I am more interested in your experiences (good and bad) and am definitely not asking which is “best”.
While I’ve been intently listening to jazz fusion bassists as well as a few other genres since the seventies, I’m a total novice when it comes to the technological/gear side of the equation. That said, I own several Warwick Custom Shop and Masterbuilt basses. The great thing about this post from Janek is being able to compare these effects side by side. I can hear with my novice ears how the Aguilar and Ampeg DI’s make the bass pop in the mix. They bring the bass to life in the mix in my opinion. Can’t wait to learn more about these pedals!! Thanks again, Janek, and I’ll be flying in from Florida to see you play at the Baked Potato soon. I’ll introduce myself as the anesthesiologist wanna be a bassist!!
This is going to be such a stupendously useful resource, and I’m very grateful that you’re prepared to undertake such a massive project for our benefit (and no doubt for yours, too, but you’re not obliged to share it!).
For what it’s worth, examples like those you’ve already provided, with a similar line played on each pre-DI, in and out of a mix, is really helpful for getting an idea of the basic tonal differences between them. But, it’s just a start, and anyone with access to the boxes (a significant hurdle in itself, to be sure) could do that, in principle at least. What would be of most interest to me, would be to have an artist such as yourself, with all the versatility and creative musicianship that you have at your disposal, take each of these preamps in the direction that it suggests to you as you explore the unique sounds each can provide. Which is to say, I’d like to hear you play each of these preamps to its own strengths as you perceive them, whether that’s in terms of genre/style, particular bass, additional effects that you think best accompany it … it’s a rabbit hole, I know, and you probably couldn’t do that with all of them, but I suspect you’ll be able to group the preamps by “flavour” and pick your favourite from each to explore more deeply.
I don’t recommend being a loser like me and even attempt listening on your phone !! Got to say though, even on a phone those mids sound different ! (Seriously I’ll be good and promise to have a proper listen in my studio Janek!)
Hi Janek,
I’m interested in signal chain placement, general use…is used as sound enhancement for your amp or tone in general? Recording applications, front of house signal? Do some “play” better with effects? Bang for your buck? Overall, which one checks the boxes for you? Why do you need a DI?
Very general questions, I know but with the amount of DIs being covered, I was trying to think of simple questions/topics.
Love the channel, cheers
John
This is a bit of a left-field comment, but I hope it makes sense: for over 2 decades I've been watching and listening to you just...DO wild shit, with confidence and tenacity. This is another wonderful example of you diving into yet another interesting, insanely challenging and labor intensive project...that also ends up also helping others. Thank you.
Also, to anyone who might read these comments: get Janek's last album if you haven't yet! I was one of those folks who pre-ordered it for 25 bucks; it was a crazy good deal that included WAV's and MP3's and charts AND playalongs!
Janek: please do the same for the next album! 🤗
This is very cool to hear. To make it more useful to us more casual bassists, consider adding reference tracks for the common things most of us do:
(1) no DI, just bass -> audio interface
(2) radial JDI
(3) DI from our amp (e.g., an Aguilar Tonehammer head rather than the pedal)
Would love to hear thoughts on...
- hype / reputation and if it is warranted based on your opinion
- the most important thing about any piece of gear is resale value (present / future)
- availability / unobtainability
Absolutely love this Janek!
The TDI sounds lovely, some of them have way more colour than others (Nobel and Simone), and or Eq, it sounds like the caveman has a scoop in the mids somewhere, which is fine but very different use case than say the TDI.
In case it’s useful, I sent some pink noise through my colourbox to work out what it was doing and made some frequency response pics- I find it can be a wee bit finicky to set up with bass and it sounded like however you were using it was cutting the lows a bit. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/466947-npd-jhs-colour-box-v2-feat-%F0%9F%93%88%F0%9F%93%89/#comment-4777565
I’d like to know the EQ settings got each of the preamp/DI’s used in the recording and possibly recordings of multiple EQ settings. This could be very clinical ie bass setting full counter 0%/50%/100% or based on more musical decisions ie EQ off vs a setting you feel highlights it best.
In love what you’re doing here and am already surprised with some of what I’ve heard. Thanks Janek
Love that you are doing this.
Some things to I’d love to hear about for each DI:
How it responds to your playing at various registers and velocities, DI’s Noise floor, Visual representation for the EQ response, and how each sits in the same mix.
Id also love to see you compare a Little Labs Redeye 3DI. Another Cant find the name but theres also a guy who builds DI’s with various tubes into a literal lunch box.
Thanks for all you do!! I greatly appreciate you.
A few ideas to consider:
1) I would enjoy hearing how the DIs shape an upright’s sound.
2) with the world of IEMs becoming more accessible, is it worth investing in a better DI and going sans amp?
3) it would be interesting to hear how someone else perceives your tone through the different DIs.
They all felt very similar until the SVT and that just popped with clarity. Second fav was the Jule (I have a Monique and LUV that vibe) but on this track it was the SVT for me.
Wow! I love the sound of the Jule Simone! It sounds thick but not muddy and has a very pronounced midrange (if that makes sense haha).
I definitely would like to see what your eq settings were on this clip and it would be cool to hear your thoughts on/experiences with tube di’s vs solid state di’s. Did one style of di tend to do/sound better in live situations? Do engineers (in studios or in venues) even notice a difference or make comments about the bass’ sound when you use a certain preamp. Do you think a tube preamp is worth the investment (a great tool to have vs following the crowd/hype)?
Sorry if I sound out of touch on this subject. Around the time I started playing the bass, non-tube preamps and amps where “the way to go”, so I went that direction haha. I have used a number of preamps but I have never invested into a tubed preamp. I’ve read many forums and comments on how awesome certain tubed preamps sound but I honestly feared it was more hype than fact. I am more interested in your experiences (good and bad) and am definitely not asking which is “best”.
While I’ve been intently listening to jazz fusion bassists as well as a few other genres since the seventies, I’m a total novice when it comes to the technological/gear side of the equation. That said, I own several Warwick Custom Shop and Masterbuilt basses. The great thing about this post from Janek is being able to compare these effects side by side. I can hear with my novice ears how the Aguilar and Ampeg DI’s make the bass pop in the mix. They bring the bass to life in the mix in my opinion. Can’t wait to learn more about these pedals!! Thanks again, Janek, and I’ll be flying in from Florida to see you play at the Baked Potato soon. I’ll introduce myself as the anesthesiologist wanna be a bassist!!
Dwain
Any chance to include the Source Audio Zio preamp/DI?
This is going to be such a stupendously useful resource, and I’m very grateful that you’re prepared to undertake such a massive project for our benefit (and no doubt for yours, too, but you’re not obliged to share it!).
For what it’s worth, examples like those you’ve already provided, with a similar line played on each pre-DI, in and out of a mix, is really helpful for getting an idea of the basic tonal differences between them. But, it’s just a start, and anyone with access to the boxes (a significant hurdle in itself, to be sure) could do that, in principle at least. What would be of most interest to me, would be to have an artist such as yourself, with all the versatility and creative musicianship that you have at your disposal, take each of these preamps in the direction that it suggests to you as you explore the unique sounds each can provide. Which is to say, I’d like to hear you play each of these preamps to its own strengths as you perceive them, whether that’s in terms of genre/style, particular bass, additional effects that you think best accompany it … it’s a rabbit hole, I know, and you probably couldn’t do that with all of them, but I suspect you’ll be able to group the preamps by “flavour” and pick your favourite from each to explore more deeply.
Just a thought …
Add the “Bergantino Super Pre”..! I would want my bass to have an internal preamp bypass using those. Taking the pedal to a studio session, cool..!
I don’t recommend being a loser like me and even attempt listening on your phone !! Got to say though, even on a phone those mids sound different ! (Seriously I’ll be good and promise to have a proper listen in my studio Janek!)