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  #1  
Old 06-18-2017, 06:40 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default Best basic preamp/DI?

Hi Folks,

I'm in the market for a simple (inexpensive) DI that will not attenuate the guitar's signal. I don't need any tone shaping features for this unit, as those functions are available on the guitar's built in preamp.

So far, I've found that the inexpensive Behringer transformer unit attenuates the signal 20 dB with no ability to control. I read that active pickups should use passive DIs but they seems to attenuate too much.

0 dB attenuation, or even up to 6dB gain would be preferable. This is being used in front of some (poorly designed) Mackie gear that needs to see balanced XLR before activating it's 20 dB preamps. Unfortunately, the passive DI attenuates the same 20 dB and I'm back a square one. :-)

It seems like the Fishman Platinum Stage is a great compact option. Not sure if something simpler exists.

Desired Features:

Passive or active
~0dB attenuation, or preamp gain
Clean/flat response
Small
Light
9V battery
Phantom power not required
Inexpensive ($200 max).

Thanks for the input (pun intended)!


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Last edited by martingitdave; 06-18-2017 at 10:51 PM.
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  #2  
Old 06-18-2017, 07:02 AM
Puerto Player Puerto Player is offline
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Get an RNP. 2 channel flexibility, sounds great. Let's you plug a mic in to the second channel, so you get the best of both worlds with a small compact package.
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  #3  
Old 06-18-2017, 09:32 AM
akafloyd akafloyd is offline
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If you don't need tone control I'd look at the Radial SB-1 or SB-4. Rock solid, high quality active DI boxes that you should be able to get for around $80. I have an SB-4 and it's great with active or passive pickups.
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Old 06-18-2017, 10:36 AM
erniecaster erniecaster is offline
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Hi,

every musician should own at least two passive D.I.s. You will need them one day.

I use these:

https://www.thomann.de/de/palmer_pan...lmer+di_189732

Cheap, built like a tank, not complicated. Why make it difficult?

Get a Boss GE7 in front of it (and a Boss TU3) and you are ready to go. This is not high end but it will work.

cu

erniecaster
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  #5  
Old 06-18-2017, 01:02 PM
jalbert jalbert is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
Inexpensive
How much are you willing to pay?

For around $200, the Fire-Eye Red-Eye is an excellent choice.
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Old 06-18-2017, 09:48 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jalbert View Post
How much are you willing to pay?



For around $200, the Fire-Eye Red-Eye is an excellent choice.


I think $200 would be Ok. It I'd prefer to keep it under $150.


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Old 06-18-2017, 10:05 PM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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Fishman Platinum Stage fits in the storage compartment of my guitar case.

$149 with good bang for the buck factor. I've used it live and it sounds great.

My favorite features are 17V of analog headroom and phantom powered from FOH.
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  #8  
Old 06-18-2017, 10:54 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default Best basic preamp/DI?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I checked out each one. After consulting with a forum member with a similar setup, I decided to order the Fishman Platinum Stage. However, to my surprise, the $20 Behringer passive DI seems to be doing the trick. Unfortunately, my Taylor ES2 system is not as accommodating as the Fishman Aura F1 Plus. So, an active DI will ultimately be needed for me to include the Taylor 12 string.


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  #9  
Old 06-19-2017, 05:05 AM
Puerto Player Puerto Player is offline
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I've got a Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal for $200. Should be everything you need and more.
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2004 Goodall RPC-14
2022 Emerald X20 Hyvibe
2021 Emerald X7 Select
2020 Emerald X10 Woody Select 3-way
2016 Emerald X20 Artisan
2002 Gibson J185EC JJ Cale
2009 Gibson EC-20
1974 Alvarez Dreadnought
2013 Woody Tahitian hybrid Uke
2008 Zager 3/4 Size
Some camp fire guitars, classical's,
& electric's
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  #10  
Old 06-19-2017, 07:07 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Puerto Player View Post
I've got a Fishman Aura Spectrum pedal for $200. Should be everything you need and more.


Yes, I spend a good deal of time looking at that. Excellent features in that unit. Unfortunately, the guitar has the aura built in, so I wanted to use an analog unit instead. Thanks again for the suggestion.


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