Behringer Ultra-G GI100 DI?

[radere]

Soooo...I know there was a thread about this on the old forum, but that's obviously not accessible anymore. Regardless, I'm in the market for a solid DI box for running my guitar into my soundcard (for both live and studio applications). I was curious if anyone had any experience with Behringer's Ultra-G GI100 unit, or, alternatively, if anyone had any solid recommendations on other units?

[billygomberg]

Behringer is probably not yr best option for a DI.  They generally build from pretty cheap components.  I guess this depends on yr price range.  Line6 does a DI/amp modeller that is probablly ok.  The SansAmp is pretty much standard but doesn't come with a lot of FX pedal bells/whistles

[taylordeupree]

yeah, what's your price range?

[radere]

@Taylor: I'm willing to spend for quality, but ideally I'd like to keep it sub-$200.

@Billy: I've heard great things about the Behringer unit, but I've also been eying up the Tech 21 Character series (specifically the "Blonde" unit: http://bit.ly/8VGtSp). I'm definitely not looking for bells and whistles, just something to help shape my guitar's tone a bit rather than just plugging my single coils straight into my card dry.

[mfischer]

the tech 21/SansAmp stuff is pretty solid and low noise.  i have used a SansAmp bass driver for live looping/recording baritone guitar and it sounds great.  the nice thing about the bass + para drivers is that they have xlr outs so they operate more like an actual DI and less like solely a preamp pedal.
if you are playing single coils having balanced outs could come in handy.

[billygomberg]

@Taylor: I'm willing to spend for quality, but ideally I'd like to keep it sub-$200.

@Billy: I've heard great things about the Behringer unit, but I've also been eying up the Tech 21 Character series (specifically the "Blonde" unit: http://bit.ly/8VGtSp). I'm definitely not looking for bells and whistles, just something to help shape my guitar's tone a bit rather than just plugging my single coils straight into my card dry.

well go check these out in person...hopefully somewhere other than Guitar Center...but a few minutes with sober of these should give you a good decision.  Guitar recorded direct w/out any amp/DI is a serious pet peeve of mine - I don't think you'll do bad by yrself but I'm pretty wary of behringer tech beyond cheap lil mixers

[taylordeupree]

yeah, the Radial stuff comes to mind that's cheap and keeps the Behringer out of the studio..

here's a good listing: http://www.sweetwater.com/c957--Direct_Boxes/popular/all

it's twice your budget, but the Summit would be an excellent choice.

[radere]

Thanks for all the feedback on this! Definitely have a lot more options than I was previously aware of to look into.

And yes, Billy, the direct sound of the guitar is terrible. I've managed to get some decent tone with a chain of PSP plugs, but it's still wonky and unbalanced. Time to upgrade, for sure. Or just give up on performing out with a laptop altogether and use an actual amp for once...

[billygomberg]

Thanks for all the feedback on this! Definitely have a lot more options than I was previously aware of to look into.

And yes, Billy, the direct sound of the guitar is terrible. I've managed to get some decent tone with a chain of PSP plugs, but it's still wonky and unbalanced. Time to upgrade, for sure. Or just give up on performing out with a laptop altogether and use an actual amp for once...

yeah let me know how this falls for you.  I've been considering getting a DI/amp model for my synth...and, as I probably wrote on 12k forum v1 - I love playing through amps, even if I'm using my computer...so maybe I can convince you to just spend a LOT more money and get a really classy amp?

[radere]

Thanks for all the feedback on this! Definitely have a lot more options than I was previously aware of to look into.

And yes, Billy, the direct sound of the guitar is terrible. I've managed to get some decent tone with a chain of PSP plugs, but it's still wonky and unbalanced. Time to upgrade, for sure. Or just give up on performing out with a laptop altogether and use an actual amp for once...

yeah let me know how this falls for you.  I've been considering getting a DI/amp model for my synth...and, as I probably wrote on 12k forum v1 - I love playing through amps, even if I'm using my computer...so maybe I can convince you to just spend a LOT more money and get a really classy amp?

Ha...yea. If I didn't rely on Ableton so much for all the non-guitar elements of my performances, I'd definitely consider just going the amp route. Although, that can make recording more difficult...and it's far less portable. Portability is a big thing with me right now. I'm probably going to be doing a lot of traveling in 2010, so I'd like to get my entire recording/performance rig in one bag (barring my guitar, of course). So nice amps are off the table at the moment!

[billygomberg]

Ha...yea. If I didn't rely on Ableton so much for all the non-guitar elements of my performances, I'd definitely consider just going the amp route. Although, that can make recording more difficult...and it's far less portable. Portability is a big thing with me right now. I'm probably going to be doing a lot of traveling in 2010, so I'd like to get my entire recording/performance rig in one bag (barring my guitar, of course). So nice amps are off the table at the moment!

my amp was "local only" and then the friend who lent it to me reclaimed it in a cross-country move so...eh.  Getting my gig into one bag was a great milestone for me so I strongly encourage you to go that direction!

[The Green Kingdom]

I've got a beat up old first-generation Line 6 Pod that has served me well.

They're on the cheapish side and the amp emulations and effects are decent...

[tiredrobots]

I've got one of the first generation pods too. They're tough for recording in terms of electrical noise, but they are really solid for getting a good amp guitar sound out of a live rig that's supposed to fit in one bag. I've got mine hooked up to a Rolls midi foot controller, so I can stomp through however many models as I need without fiddling with any knobs or buttons on the ground.

Grabbed mine cheap from a pawn shop, too.

[radere]

After watching this clip on YouTube, I think I'm pretty much sold on the Tech 21 SansAmp Para Driver DI unit. Dude can get some really nice tone out of that box...and the XLR output is a great thing to have, for sure. Plus, who can argue with analog circuitry!?

[billygomberg]

After watching this clip on YouTube, I think I'm pretty much sold on the Tech 21 SansAmp Para Driver DI unit. Dude can get some really nice tone out of that box...and the XLR output is a great thing to have, for sure. Plus, who can argue with analog circuitry!?

that looks really great. let us know how it works out for you...