Manley MONO & DUAL MONO TUBE DIRECT INTERFACE MODELS - Manual (Page 9)

3) Return the signal to a mic pre. Manley Tube mic pre is prefered of course.
4) EQ - Roll off the top end somewhere between 6kHz and 10kHz, boost 40 - 80 Hz and maybe
some mid frequencies. This is to simulate the speaker and cabinet.
5) Effects. mix in some delay or short reverb to get the "room" sound.
This big patch would be Tape into (optional EQ into) Compressor (just for gain) into DI into
mic pre into good EQ and then mix in some effects. The optional EQ could be replaced with yet
another compressor for more gain - sometimes one compressor with the gain cranked will push the
next compressor into a cool distortion. Tube / Transformer compressors will work best. You will
want gain far more than gain reduction. It may not sound like a Marshall but it might be rough
enough. While its set up - try it on other tracks - record it.
The purpose of a DI is not simulation but to get a good clean sound to tape. The MANLEY
DI is designed to be clear like DI's should yet be capable of approaching a clean guitar amp sound
minus the room. The 5 position EQ switch, the tube input stage and the transformer output, all help.
EQ and compression are pretty standard for DI tracks. Here is one track that a little effects may be
recorded to tape because otherwise it will be very dry when you push that fader up.
Another interesting and not often considered place for a tube DI is drum machines. The best
sounds that can benefit from a little distortion will be kick and snare. The output level of the drum
machine will be one variable and the mic pre gain will be another variable. Play with both. The
BASS settings on the DI will be good usually.
Some acoustic guitars have piezo pickups meant for live stage playing. These need a very
high impedance input to work as designed. The MANLEY DI will work with its 1 meg input
impedance. A little top boost may be required. Good mics on a good guitar is still a better option.
The combination may work especially if the DI signal is delayed by about a milli-second. Another
use for the DI signal is a KEY input for a gate on the mic where the guitar is in a louder enviroment.
The same tricks hold true for contact mics on other instruments like drums. Sometimes the signal
from the contact mic makes a better effects send than the mic signal. The advantage comes into play
because once there is no leakage, EQ and compression can be more freely experimented with and the
signal tailored to feed the effect desired without butchering the mic signals.
PASSIVE, FET and TUBE DI's DI's are the simple solution to getting the clean sound of the
instrument on tape. There are several variations of DI's - Passive Transformer, FET, OPAMP and
TUBE. The advantage of the transformer type is that it is passive, needs no batteries or phantom
power and is bi-directional. The disadvantage is that the best way to make a bad transformer is to
have a high turns ratio and to drive it with a high impedance source. This is the condition of a DI box
but there are one or two good transformers. One of them we use in this DI but drive it with a
controlled low impedance tube circuit. FET and OPAMP DI's have been around for many years and
they are cheap, sturdy and cheap. All you have to do is compare the sound of the MANLEY DI to
one of these to hear the advantages. However if hardness and harshness is what you need then they
may be the right choice. TUBE DI's are tougher to generalize because each sounds different
depending on the designer. A tube input stage is a great match for a pick-up. Because most amps are
tube based, the approach of using a tube input in a DI tends to give a more "authentic" tone. If any
clipping or distortion occurs then it will be in the direction of a typical amp. DI's are meant to be
clean and flat by tradition but not necessarily sterile.