I know... probably a tall order but I I've been looking for input solutions for my little home studio. Anyone who knows me knows I do NOT have much money to toss around but I'm hoping to have a VERY small chunk of change to throw at something like this in a few months so I'd like to do some research now.
 
Also I get COMPLETELY lost went looking at all the various DI/preamp boxes out there. A little earlier I was looking at the A Designs REDDI box and damn if that didn't look cool but it's almost a thousand bucks so way out of my price range. But there seemed to be lots of "related" type items on the retailer sites.
 
What I need it for...
 
Doing clean DI guitar tracks which can then be mainipulated with sims. This is really the most important aspect. I want the most responsive/dynamic/braod freq range signal possible. Does not matter if it colors the sound. I just want it to make that clean signal as full, textured and useable as possible.
 
DI bass. Same deal as guitar. I need a good input signal from my single coil P-Bass.
 
Vocals. Something to warm up my semi crummy mics. I have a decent mixer with nice pres but certainly not as nice as a tube pre or well built solid state pre (if that is even a thing).
 
What I need from the unit...
 
Reasonably quiet with a ground lift or something to keep hum noise at bay.
 
Multi ins or XLR for vox and preferably 1000 ohm instrument input for direct guitar bass connections (or at least a decent input for attaching such instruments).
 
Thru-put to send out to an amp or whatever preferred.
 
Being able to take and condition the line outs of my amps or other effects pedals/units might be cool but I don't even know if that is appropriate for a preamp. I guess if it takes line level stuff though then that would work.
 
I know to expect something like that in that price range is probably ridiculous but poking around there seem to be a lot of devices that kind of sort of maybe can do SOME of these types of things. So being the epic brain trust this forum is I'm guessing I can get a much better idea of what is out there. Even if the suggestions are out of that price range but do what I'm talking about I'd still like to check them out because it helps me understand the devices/companies and who knows... I may actually be able to buy REAL equipment again some day.
 
Point is... my set up is decent as is but it is kind of hodge podge and a bit of a PITA (as well as kind of noisy). I'd like a unit I can plug into and send either into my moxer to my interface or straight into the interface and get nice, full spectrum signals that aren't all noisy.
 
Sorry if that is vague or dumb but everything I just need some ideas to research. This crap confuses me.
 
Thanks.

I use the Focusrite Scarlett Solo on my laptop. It's under $100. There are other Scarletts with more ins and outs that cost a bit more.
 
On my Desktop I use the Saffire Pro 14.
 
I like the Focusrite products a lot.
 

Radial Power pre
http://www.radialeng.com/powerpre.php

not in your price range.
 
in fact, i cannot think of a single product in that price range,
that i would suggest for doing everything you need for it to do.
 
i don't think the focusrite would work very well as a DI
 
maybe, 
the ART AV Direct

 
or maybe the Project Series w/ USB

 

Hi, arachnaut. Thanks... I am however covered as far as an interface. I actually run an FR 18i6 (and have an old Layla Echo too). The inputs are nice for sure but I'm looking more for something to REALLY juice up my tone before it hits the interface.
 
I'm assuming the type of devices I'm thinking of probably can't be had for less than $500 but I was looking at DIs again based on another thread here and wandered off into looking at tube pres and all sorts of dedicate DI boxes. I had been looking at simpler things like the MOTU Z-Box but that only does guitar and really I just want something more flexible and "tubey".
 
I'm probably delusional but with all the budget gear out there these days who knows... maybe there is something. If anyone would know it's you guys.

Check out Radial. They make both passive and active DI boxes that work really well.
 
Regards,
Dan
 
 

Thanks, bats. That's looking a little more like what I'm talking about. Will take a look. Over the next couple years I intend to be opening up more and more for session work so I just really need to get some clean, solid input stuff going on. What I've got already works well but I have to wrestle with it more than I like. It's a time waster.
 
Cheers.
 

dcumpian
Check out Radial. They make both passive and active DI boxes that work really well.
 
Regards,
Dan
 

Been eyeballing their units. Good to hear some (more) positive feedback. I've noticed much of it is task specific like I might have to buy a couple different models to get the best signal for specific tracks but maybe they have more flexible boxes.
 
Thanks.

Okay... so after poking around at the ART stuff (thanks bats)I think I found a good example of what I need.
 
ART Tube MP/C
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubeMPC
 
Not sure how good it actually is but it seems to have some fans and it has the high-z input as well as XLR in (and both balanced XLR and unblanced 1/4" outs). It even has a compressor on it which might be nice. $100 so in the price range I'm looking for. Doesn't look like it has throughput though but I guess there are other ways around that.
 
Anyone own this thing? Any suggestions on similar devices?
 
Thanks... this has been very helpful so far.
 
PS: I know this technically should be in the Hardware forum but it does kind of fall under tracking techniques... and there are more eyeballs down here. Eyeballs who have been watching me wrestle with my input issues for quite a while now too and have consistently pointed me in the right direction.

I didn't know what a DI was, but I see upon a little googling that it is a high impedance output, so it won't work on mic inputs which want to see low impedances, like 150 ohms or so.
 
Back in the turntable days I used to use a high-end transformer for the moving coil stylus.
 
Maybe there are such things for the guitar? I seem to recall the transformer was pretty expensive, though. And it could saturate on a high signal making for a tube-like tonal color that a lot of people like.
 
In the electronic world, most of the gain stages that see a high impedance are FET-input based (or vacuum tube if you like that sound). I think the FET input might be lower-noise and wider range, but I'm no expert.
 
 
 
 

@arachnaut... If you want an educational read on DI boxes check this article out...
 
http://thehub.musiciansfriend.com/live-sound-buying-guides/how-to-choose-the-right-direct-box
 
Sooooo many different types for different applications which is why I again got all confuzzled and thought I'd post this thread to see what kind of devices might get recommended. I've posted similar threads before because I'm always trying to sort this out but there are so many variables and I'm kind of a dum dum when it comes to electronics that I have to revisit the subject every now and then. I've mostly stuck to working with what I already have and kept some units on my radar but if I'm actually going to bite the bullet I figure I better take another stab at understanding it all and seeing what's out there. Also my needs/wants have changed a little after doing a lot of tracking over the past year.
 
To me up until a few years ago a DI box was just the little dealymabob sound guys would make my various bass players plug into to tap off into the board. Who knew there was a whole universe of the buggers out there that do different things? lol
 
Cheers.
 
Edit: And this thread has taught me what 500 series modules are all about. I'd of course seen them but now I know it's a specific form factor. Due to my gimpiness and dislike for bulky gear if I ever get a decent business going I think the "Lunchbox" method would be much better for my needs than rack stuff. So that's cool.