Hi Louis,
May I suggest that the "features" that you want in a good DI unit is not "effects" of any kind, but clean,
transparent signal that offers useful tone shaping such that it enhances what goes in so that it what comes out sounds better. Thus, a good DI processor
does not color tone; it takes what you give it (from your pickup system) and gives
you the ability to shape it
without adding its own flavor.
Therefore, the best acoustic DI units will:
-
not color your tone whatsoever when all knobs are set flat.
- be
dead quiet; as in not add one iota of anything audible
- offer useful fixed tone frequencies, as well as sweep EQs where you set the parameter
Anything beyond these are, IMHO, a
different discussion since a good DI should shape its incoming tone, not remake its tone altogether. Thus, as in the computing world, garbage in-garbage out. A good DI can help a sucky pickup sound more tolerable, but it ain't gonna offer miracles. And this same good DI will take a decent-to-good pickup and help it sound stellar in a house mix. I can offer my opinions about what "effects" I use in my chain, but those are mere salt and pepper to the DI, the most critical piece in assuring you send
good tone to the console.
I can tell you that without doubt or equivocation, in my modest experience, the Baggs Venue as well as the Radial (can't remember which model) are stellar units that fulfill the three criteria I had mentioned. They can't polish a turd (though can delete some of its stank
), but do serious wonders in offering the user the ability to shape an already decent incoming acoustic-guitar signal into a better tone that sounds like the bona-fide acoustic guitar that really shines is a house mix. BTW, the Baggs PADI is a likewise excellent DI that simply offers slightly narrower tonal parameters than the Venue, but still at its core sounds brilliant.
The real test of a good DI is:
- set it flat, put
your guitar through it, and turn it up (good PA,
not an amp since most amps except the best pricey ones will add their own tone). A-B the tone with and w/o the DI unit, and check for
dead quiet and
zero change in what you hear.
- now dial in some knobs and see if they offer you usable tone-shaping ability. You either like what you hear, or turning the knobs fail to make you smile.
- any discussion of what pickup system really just confuses the issue: some sound good, others less so. So those that feel theirs sound best, well that may be true only for their pickups, and most of all their ears. And IMHO the ES1.2 and 1.3 are superb units that sound natural from the get go, and genuinely excellent through a well-EQ'd DI. I have very limited experience with the ES2 so cannot comment in confidence, except to say that given its core tone I heard, I have no doubt that the three aforementioned DIs can shape its tone w/o issue.
And for clarity, I have used the Baggs PADI for
many years with great success. And in the last maybe 6-ish years had gone to the Venue (not so much for sonic reasons that were lacking in the PADI but more for other features), and the Venue is drop-dead indispensable. And of course, it is still on my board today. Further, I used to know a player that used the Radial and, likewise, it always sounded superb, as well as passed my scrutiny, for whatever that's worth
Message me if you like. Hope that gives you a bit to chew on, friend!
Edward
