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Topic: DIs for Recording? |
Andrew Waegel
From:
Berkeley CA USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2021 8:10 am |
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Hi all,
So I'm doing recording for a friend's album and got some advice that makes sense to me - mic up your amp with the sound you like and put that on one track, and also put a DI right after the volume pedal and record a dry track so the producer/engineer has some options.
The basic workhorse DIs seem to be the Radial Pro DI (passive) and the Countryman (active). From experience I know that boxes like this designed for guitar sometimes don't work so well for steel, so I'm looking for recommendations - have you used either of these boxes for recording directly, and how did it work out?
FWIW I also use a Sarno Freeloader as the first thing in my signal path, which I may skip for the recording. That may change the equation but I'm not sure how.
Don't need anything super audiophile, I'd like a unit that I can use for going to the board at live shows too.
Thanks!
- Andy |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 23 Apr 2021 10:16 am
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While not a DI per se, I recently got a Focusrite Scarlett Solo to use with Garage Band for recording. I've been putting a mike in one channel and a magnetic pickup direct in the other. I've been very pleased with the way it works. The Scarlett has a USB output as well as a pair of line level 1/4" outputs.
The downside for potential live use is the lack of individual volume controls for the two channels--all of that happens on the computer. It could just as easily happen at the board though.
Dave |
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Andrew Waegel
From:
Berkeley CA USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2021 11:37 am
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Hey Dave, are you recording pedal steel or something else?
I've got a focusrite scarlett too but would need to split up the signal since I'm playing pedal steel. |
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Greg Lambert
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2021 5:31 pm
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| I have done both and got great results on both and have got bad results on both. Guess it depends on the song and how its mixed. |
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David Ball
From:
North Carolina High Country
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Posted 24 Apr 2021 3:57 am
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| Andrew Waegel wrote: |
Hey Dave, are you recording pedal steel or something else?
I've got a focusrite scarlett too but would need to split up the signal since I'm playing pedal steel. |
I'm recording pedal steel, lap steel and acoustic steel. All with the same basic configuration--condenser mike into the XLR side, magnetic pickup into the other channel, with the signal split at my volume pedal.
Dave |
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David Spires
From:
Millersport, OH
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 24 Apr 2021 5:11 am
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I've recorded two different steels direct with a Radial Pro D2 and didn't change the sound at all (a Franklin with Lawrence 710 pickups and a GFI with the GFI II (George L's) pickup).
The Radial's were my main passive D.I. boxes when I had my recording studio.
How to record is very subjective and there are as many ways as there are recording engineers. Wet or dry. Where to place mic's and how many and what mic's. Direct vs mic'd, etc. |
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Andrew Waegel
From:
Berkeley CA USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2021 5:10 pm
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| Thanks for the feedback - I'm going with that Telefunken passive DI. |
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