NDIBD: Fire-Eye Red-Eye DI box

[good_hillbilly]

I recently picked up one of those Fire-Eye Red-Eye DI boxes, having been told that it's a very good match for a K&K passive pickup because it expects to see 1 megohm of impedance on the instrument side, which is exactly what the K&K dishes out. The Baggs and others are an order of magnitude higher, and possibly for that reason I've found the Baggs Venue sound to be just okay. No matter how you set it up, it just doesn't sound quite right -- too plasticky.

The sound quality of the Red-Eye is absolutely _superb_. It's even woodier and more guitar-like than with an actual K&K preamp. No detectable noise at all. And the build quality seems bombproof (heavy as a brick!).

But it is a very, very strange little device and could be markedly improved feature-wise.

First of all, unlike any other preamp I've ever seen, there's no gain control. None. (There is an adjustable boost control, but you want to stay out of the boost for the most part because in addition to volume it messes with your equalization when it's on so as to make things brighter.)

Second of all, there's no phase switch.

Third, there's no battery indicator (although to be fair it's using phantom power when available), and changing the battery entails removing the bottom with a screwdriver, just like your '70s-era fuzz box.

I really don't know about having no control over my gain. I guess trust the sound guy, but still, it's all too easy to feed some PAs way too much gain when using K&K pickups, which have a pretty hefty output to begin with, and I find it hard to believe that wasn't a design consideration here.

Definitely charmed but also confused by this little device. Not sure it fits the bill even though the tone is sublime.

[akafloyd]

Yeah, they work well unless you need all the controls at your feet.

[Pnewsom]

You don't need all the controls because it sounds so good right off the bat.

However, once you consider the effects loop you will realize that you can add anything you want and send it to the board and an amp at the same time. How good is that?

The bright/bite control on the side will dial in most instruments with out further Eq. Don't worry about the gain, it has a fixed output that most pa boards can handle just fine.

You will also find that the adjustable boost comes in very handy for solos, or fattening up a solid body electric guitar direct into the board.

I've had my RedEye for a couple years now and I love it. Good for almost anything you care to plug into it.

[good_hillbilly]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

You don't need all the controls because it sounds good right off the bat.

However, once you consider the effects loop you will realize that you can add anything you want and send it to the board and an amp at the same time. How good is that?

You will also learn that the adjustable boost comes in very handy for solos, or fattening up a solid body electric guitar direct into the board.

I've had my RedEye for a couple years now and I love it. Good for almost anything you care to plug into it.

Now that you mention it, I guess I could add a volume pedal into the effects loop (which will otherwise go unused). My understanding (which is, btw, almost totally ignorant here!) is that wouldn't change the gain though, just the final volume, right?

[Br1ck]

When you plug into the RedEye, there is an LED that lights up to indicate a good battery. When it doesn't, there is another eight hours use left in it. I think it is a great device. Not for the chronic knob twidler.

[dcopper]

I agree with everyone that it sounds great right out of the box. I have been using it with my Sunrise pickup and often skipping the Sunrise SB1 preamp. There is something inherently "Smooth" in the RedEye. I like the treble control and having no gain removes that whole problem of adjusting gains along your signal chain and creating gain staging problems with headroom at your input stage.
It is a preamp/DI not an eq box and the effects loop would allow you to fiddle all you like with an outboard eq. I just like the way it smoothes out the signal. Once I set my gains on the guitar and input source (amp or board) I don't change them so that is no issue for me. The treble control is really all I need to bring out either a brighter tone or pull back the treble for a more "woody" sound/

It sounds good with just about any pickup I have thrown into it and there is a far more noticeable effect with a board/PA setup rather than an acoustic amp.

Since lack of eq control and gain control is the only criticism I have seen from any of our forum members, maybe FireEye will come up with a box with additional features. They are a pretty cool company and I emailed the owner who called me to talk about my intended use of the RedEye.

A great little box to keep in your bag.
davidc