SOLD: Groove Tubes DITTO - valve DI box

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SOLD: Groove Tubes DITTO - valve DI box

Postby filjorgez » Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:23 pm

SOLD: Groove Tubes DITTO - Direct Input Tube Transformer Output
Bass, guitar, keyboard instrument direct interface.
$450
excellent condition
listed elsewhere
free personal delivery around Melbourne

"This is the ultimate DI box and instrument preamp for both stage and studio. The DITTO allows for isolated balanced low impedance output for all instruments and provides either unity gain or use the variable output level control for up to 30dB of all tube gain! Perfect tube tone and isolaton for vintage keybords, electric bass and acoustic/electric guitars with iternal transducer type pickups. The DITTO takes advantage of Neutrik connectors, a custom Nickel core output transformer, one 12AU7 plus one 12AX7 Groove Tubes. The DITTO uses same of the engineering thinking of its big brother, the Vipre. The DITTO is the "Swiss Army Knife" for recording AND live performance. A few of the uses are as follows:

Direct to console - Use the DITTO for an acoustic/electrified guitar - input directly to a recording console for warmth and proper matching.
Live to sound reinforcement console - In a live performance, long unbalanced cable runs can compromise your tone. When using with keyboards or rack systems, you can now set your equipment levels to the settings for best signal to noise ratio. Let the DITTO bring up or down the overall signal for those long cable runs with an improvement in sound.
A must for guitar players with pedal boards - You have a large investment in a pedal board. These are versitile devices, out on stage with the player. Unfortunately, the long cable run (over 25' in many cases) back to your amp, does little for sound quality. Let the DITTO handle the task of proper balancing and drive of the signal with ease. Once again, set the effects for the proper level for the best sound, rather than using the last effect in the chain to handle this task with it's own internal little op-amp that is not the best designed component for this task.
POD 2.0 and POD xt users - whether direct recording or in live performances, placing the DITTO between the POD and the amp, recorder, console, or house system will give a warmth to your signal and tube feel, sound, and playing dynamics. One more time, proper level can now be set on the POD output control so signal to noise ratio is optimized. In the high gain POD models, this can really help the background noise to the amp, console, or recorder for a cleaner and quiter signal.
Make your guitar, bass, keyboard, or less expensive dynamic microphone sound better - the transformer balanced tube circuitry are the keys for proper matching to your instrument."
Features

The ruggedly built DITTO is encased in a heavy duty, well-ventilated steel chassis with large rubber feet. At unity gain, the box has a frequency response of 6 Hz to 200 kHz (± 3 dB). To achieve the highest quality sound, the DITTO uses a custom nickel core output transformer and Neutrik connectors throughout.

Two unbalanced 1/4-inch jacks wired in parallel provide the box's high-impedance instrument input and an un-buffered loop output. The box's high impedance input level of one mega-ohm make it a perfect match for virtually any synthesizer, electric or acoustic guitar, bass or drum machine.

A male XLR connector (pin-2 hot) provides the DITTO Box's all-tube, transformer-coupled low impedance audio output. The output level is 18.5 dBm terminated at 600 ohms. The box has +30 dB of available gain and a dynamic range of 118 dB.

The DITTO is also equipped with a ground lift switch which isolates the signal ground from earth ground when activated. The switch does not unbalance the XLR transmission line or induce any noise or hum. A neon-blue power-status LED illuminates when the box is on.

The gain control pot allows the adjustment of the output gain. When the gain is set to 0 dB (unity gain), the signal's output level is identical to the input level although it is a balanced signal. Rotating the gain knob clockwise adds up to +30 dB of all tube preamp gain. This is enough gain to record direct to most tape or computer based recording devices.

On the panel opposite the audio input/output panel is a power switch, fuse holder, and IEC connector for the detachable AC cord. The box's input voltage is internally selectable between 100, 120, and 230 volts, 50-60 cycles.

The DITTO's tube character is derived from two triode tubes in the audio path. In the gain control circuit, a 12AX7 buffers the input signal and provides the gain. The box's gain control determines the amount of negative feedback returning to this input stage that varies the amount of gain output by the 12AX7. Then a 12AU7 tube drives the unit's custom-wound output transformer. The DITTO's high output makes it the only tube DI that I've encountered that doesn't require the use of a microphone preamp to attain adequate record levels. The DITTO's powerful tube driver makes cable runs of 500 feet or more are possible without any loss of signal strength or character.

In Use

I had exceptional results using the DITTO Box to record electric bass guitar on several tunes. The sound was round and tight, with exceptional bass frequency definition. The box worked equally well recording a Nord Lead synth bass patch. While tracking a Nichole Nordaman concert for a live album, I had nice results combining the signal of the DITTO on the pickup of an upright bass with that of a Neumann KM 84.

I found that while recording electric guitar through a Line 6 POD, the DITTO works particularly well between the POD's output and the input of my ProTools rig, adding a nice tube texture before entering the digital world.

I fortunately had a pair of DITTO boxes for my review so I was able to put them to use on a variety of stereo sources, the first being a handful of synthesizer tracks. The DITTO is perfectly suited for both analog and digital synths. The box has a smooth top end that did a wonderful job rounding the edge off the high frequencies of an unusually harsh synth patch. In this situation, I found the DITTO's audio quality to be reminiscent of analog tape saturation.

While recording an electric guitar with the musician in the control room and his amp about 50 feet away in an isolated room, I found the DITTO to work very well as a unity gain DI box. The DITTO was able to drive the signal this distance without any loss of audio performance or dynamic range.

Summary

The DITTO Box provides exceptional audio quality and accurate unity gain with the added clarity, dimension and dynamic response of tubes. Whether you are on a budget or not, the DITTO Box is a phenomenal tube direct box.
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filjorgez
 

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