Just Bought a Grace Designs Alix...Give me Advice!

[Alex Orr]

I've been itching to try one for a while, so it was kind've inevitable, and my band just had a nice run of particularly well paying gigs (at least by our standards), so I had gig money to blow on gear Mmmmmmmm...new gear...

I play a Brentrup M23 with a K&K Twin. I've been running through a Red Eye for years. I had a ToneDexter for about six months back in 2022, but despite dozens of maps through about a half dozen mics, I never loved the sound. In particular it often sounded brittle and harsh. The Red Eye just always had more warmth and a fuller sound. Obvious caveat...every instrument responds differently to different DIs. I know guys who swear by ToneDexters and get great sound from them, but I never could. We've been lucky enough to open for some really good touring bluegrass bands over the last couple of years and the number of them that are playing Grace Design DIs is pretty high.

We run our own sound and once a set is started you're kind've stuck with the sound we landed at during our very, very short sound checks. (We're basically a bar band...long sound checks are NOT a luxury we usually have) If the board is on my side of wherever we're playing, I might be able to tweak it during the set, but otherwise, I'm stuck. I REALLY like the idea of having an EQ at my feet. I also just want something with more power and a stronger boost. I don't know if that's going to come with the Alix, but it seems like it might?

At any rate, any advice on using this thing? Any lessons learned from folks who play through these things? Worst case scenario, I relist it for what I paid for it. It's not like these things lose their value.

[Dave Hanson]

Define ' Alix ' I'm unfamiliar with this.

Dave H

[musicofanatic]

Define ' Alix ' I'm unfamiliar with this.

Dave H

I have this thing called google. Most times when I encounter a thing I have no previous experience with or knowledge of, I go to this google thing (available for free, unless there's some hidden charge I have been unknowingly racking up), and let the google do finding out for me. Recommended...

[slaminsam]

Define ' Alix ' I'm unfamiliar with this.

Dave H

It’s a preamp pedal made by “Grace Designs”

[pops1]

It says it has a 3 input impedance selection, but doesn't say what they are so ??? I wish someone would build a preamp for a mandolin, with tone controls more suited to a mandolin. The bass control on most everything has a shelf of 80 hertz. The mandolin would be better served with a shelf of 250 hertz. I tried to talk Orchid into offering one years ago, but guess they didn't think the market was there. Most of these are designed for a guitar and can get a good mandolin sound. Wish I could help more. I am staying with my RedEye, it sounds good and is simple and small.

[Dave Hanson]

Thanks Sam, musico fanatic was a bit snotty, telling me to look it up on google.

Dave H

[Mark Seale]

I've been itching to try one for a while, so it was kind've inevitable, and my band just had a nice run of particularly well paying gigs (at least by our standards), so I had gig money to blow on gear Mmmmmmmm...new gear...

I play a Brentrup M23 with a K&K Twin. I've been running through a Red Eye for years. I had a ToneDexter for about six months back in 2022, but despite dozens of maps through about a half dozen mics, I never loved the sound. In particular it often sounded brittle and harsh. The Red Eye just always had more warmth and a fuller sound. Obvious caveat...every instrument responds differently to different DIs. I know guys who swear by ToneDexters and get great sound from them, but I never could. We've been lucky enough to open for some really good touring bluegrass bands over the last couple of years and the number of them that are playing Grace Design DIs is pretty high.

We run our own sound and once a set is started you're kind've stuck with the sound we landed at during our very, very short sound checks. (We're basically a bar band...long sound checks are NOT a luxury we usually have) If the board is on my side of wherever we're playing, I might be able to tweak it during the set, but otherwise, I'm stuck. I REALLY like the idea of having an EQ at my feet. I also just want something with more power and a stronger boost. I don't know if that's going to come with the Alix, but it seems like it might?

At any rate, any advice on using this thing? Any lessons learned from folks who play through these things? Worst case scenario, I relist it for what I paid for it. It's not like these things lose their value.

Alex -

I've been using the Felix for several years now and I do think the Grace preamps are some of the best on the market. What you've described as need is exactly what I was trying to solve as well for both mandolin and fiddle, which is why I went with the Felix (two channels.) The features that really sold me were the mute (silent activation even when running phantom power), boost for soloing, and the high quality EQ. I choose to set the EQ and send a post-EQ signal to the board. I spent a lot of time getting the EQ to my ear based on my fairly transparent amp (Acoustic Image,) I shape the EQ differently through my tube amp if we're not running through the board. One of the features to be aware of is the adjustable boost. Be nice to the sound people and sound check with the boost on and off. But all in all, it's been well worth the investment.

[Berto Boy]

I've never used one so I can't advise you on settings for a K&K. A search on YouTube might give you some starting points. Grace Designs is certainly top-notch gear. When I saw Molly Tuttle, the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar were all on Felixes. Of course most of them are using dual sources for pickups.

The Alix is definitely well equipped for a mandolin. The parametric sweepable mid should be perfect for dialing in your tone. If you didn't get a manual with it, download one and do your homework, then experiment. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

[Alex Orr]

Alex -

I've been using the Felix for several years now and I do think the Grace preamps are some of the best on the market. What you've described as need is exactly what I was trying to solve as well for both mandolin and fiddle, which is why I went with the Felix (two channels.) The features that really sold me were the mute (silent activation even when running phantom power), boost for soloing, and the high quality EQ. I choose to set the EQ and send a post-EQ signal to the board. I spent a lot of time getting the EQ to my ear based on my fairly transparent amp (Acoustic Image,) I shape the EQ differently through my tube amp if we're not running through the board. One of the features to be aware of is the adjustable boost. Be nice to the sound people and sound check with the boost on and off. But all in all, it's been well worth the investment.

Thanks Mark. That's encouraging to hear. It should arrive this Friday and my plan was to just fool around with it over the weekend. Our next gig isn't until next weekend and it's just an hour or so set as part of a street festival, so we'll likely just set up the Louise and Edwina and eschew the DIs for efficiency's sake. That gives me a few weeks to try and figure out the Alix. I've got a board here and was thinking about just running the Alix into it and then using some headphones plugged into the board to work on my sound. There are a bunch of things I don't understand on the thing, so while I hope the learning curve to just getting a sound I like out of it is not too much, I feel like the learning curve to understanding the range of features will be higher.

[Perry]

Not to discourage you Alex but I had a Bix but went back to my Red Eye. Realize not the exact same unit but the same overall vibe. My mandolin just sounded better through the Red Eye with a lot less tweaking. I will say my guitar sounded great through the Bix but I tend to play mandolin “out” more so that won. I would also get a weird clipping thing with the Bix on mandolin that never happened with Red Eye. I also hated the fact that the Bix required an adapter to match the K&K impedance. The Alix perhaps addresses this? For me the less “ knobs” the better.

As you state above the Red Eye had more “warmth and a fuller sound” The BiX was more hi-fi sounding if that makes sense.
I guess what I am suggesting is maybe A/B the Alix and the Red Eye and perhaps save yourself some money with a return.

I am a sucker for trying to fix things when they ain’t broke. Always looking for better but I came to the realization the Red Eye did the trick for me.

Please follow up with your experiences with the AliX.


P.S. Seems like we been here before:

Quote Originally Posted by Alex Orr View Post
Just curious about people's thoughts who have used both. I guess I'm happy with my Red Eye...but GAS and "the grass is always greener" mentality have got me thinking about "upgrading" my DI, though I'm not even sure it's that much of an upgrade. FWIW, I play in a band where we all plug in...generally play loud environments (bars, breweries)...play around 40 shows a year...and, like I said, just wondering if it really makes much sense. Curious to hear any opinions from folks who are well acquainted with both DI boxes. Thanks!

Perry:
I used a Red-Eye for a 200 + gigs then went for the shiny new Alix. After a bunch of gigs I decided I likes the sound of my mandolin through the Red Eye better so sold the Alix and bought another Red Eye (twin). I also noticed at times a strange type of clipping with the Alix. I dd like the sound of my guitar through the Alix though.

We can get pretty loud at times too. I have a K&K in my KimblE A5.

The Red Eye twin has been updated with some new features.

[Alex Orr]

Not to discourage you Alex but I had a Bix but went back to my Red Eye. Realize not the exact same unit but the same overall vibe. My mandolin just sounded better through the Red Eye with a lot less tweaking. I will say my guitar sounded great through the Bix but I tend to play mandolin “out” more so that won. I would also get a weird clipping thing with the Bix on mandolin that never happened with Red Eye. I also hated the fact that the Bix required an adapter to match the K&K impedance. The Alix perhaps addresses this? For me the less “ knobs” the better.

As you state above the Red Eye had more “warmth and a fuller sound” The BiX was more hi-fi sounding if that makes sense.
I guess what I am suggesting is maybe A/B the Alix and the Red Eye and perhaps save yourself some money with a return.

I am a sucker for trying to fix things when they ain’t broke. Always looking for better but I came to the realization the Red Eye did the trick for me.

Please follow up with your experiences with the AliX.


P.S. Seems like we been here before:

Quote Originally Posted by Alex Orr View Post
Just curious about people's thoughts who have used both. I guess I'm happy with my Red Eye...but GAS and "the grass is always greener" mentality have got me thinking about "upgrading" my DI, though I'm not even sure it's that much of an upgrade. FWIW, I play in a band where we all plug in...generally play loud environments (bars, breweries)...play around 40 shows a year...and, like I said, just wondering if it really makes much sense. Curious to hear any opinions from folks who are well acquainted with both DI boxes. Thanks!

Perry:
I used a Red-Eye for a 200 + gigs then went for the shiny new Alix. After a bunch of gigs I decided I likes the sound of my mandolin through the Red Eye better so sold the Alix and bought another Red Eye (twin). I also noticed at times a strange type of clipping with the Alix. I dd like the sound of my guitar through the Alix though.

We can get pretty loud at times too. I have a K&K in my KimblE A5.

The Red Eye twin has been updated with some new features.

Yeah, like I said, I'm not exactly unhappy with the Red Eye and may just end up sticking with it. I got the Alix used for a pretty good price and figure if I don't like it I'll resell it for the same or little higher and be able to break even, or even make a small profit, while also gaining some experience on a new DI. Something I've come to accept about DI'ing a mando is that they are extremely idiosyncratic. The unit one person swears by may not work for someone else, though I really can't think of too many cases where a mando player tried a Red Eye and it flat out disappointed them.

I do wish the Red Eye had a stronger boost and some better tone shaping options. I find the treble knob useless. At least with my mando, the moment it's moved from zero the thing sounds screechy, shrill, and metallic. I find it a useless feature. However, as far as the basic sound goes, it's the best I've found so far.

Could the clipping thing you were getting just be an issue with setting the gain on the unit improperly? I talked to the tech support guy at Grace Design and he said the Alix comes with a 3 position impedance switch to better match whatever pick-up is being used. That feature is not included on the Bix.

[Mark Seale]

Thanks Mark. That's encouraging to hear. It should arrive this Friday and my plan was to just fool around with it over the weekend. Our next gig isn't until next weekend and it's just an hour or so set as part of a street festival, so we'll likely just set up the Louise and Edwina and eschew the DIs for efficiency's sake. That gives me a few weeks to try and figure out the Alix. I've got a board here and was thinking about just running the Alix into it and then using some headphones plugged into the board to work on my sound. There are a bunch of things I don't understand on the thing, so while I hope the learning curve to just getting a sound I like out of it is not too much, I feel like the learning curve to understanding the range of features will be higher.

The important thing is the big settings (dip switches, etc) are set once and don't touch. Your shakedown at home will take care of those and your initial EQ. After that, it's likely that your only changes will be minor EQ tweaks based on venue and what you're sending the signal to.

[wbcohen]

Call them Really good people In Lyons CO just down the road from Planet Bluegrass They know their stuff and will help dial it for you

[Beanzy]

As far as I can see the Felix shouldn't have any impedance matching issues as it offers so many options. (10MΩ, 1MΩ or 10kΩ for channel 1, and 20MΩ, 1MΩ or 332kΩ for channel 2) not sure what you get with the Alix? (possibly more limited as smaller & single ch unit)
pretty comprehensive review with lots of tips here...
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/grace-design-felix

Some really good features offered on both of those units, I can see why they cost a bit more than others.
If I was into pickup use rather than mics I'd be sorely tempted for the fiddle & mandolin.

edit; found a video on the features;



found the info for the Alix input impedence so sticking on here for posterity:

[Perry]

Something I've come to accept about DI'ing a mando is that they are extremely idiosyncratic.

I do wish the Red Eye had a stronger boost and some better tone shaping options. I find the treble knob useless. At least with my mando, the moment it's moved from zero the thing sounds screechy, shrill, and metallic. I find it a useless feature. However, as far as the basic sound goes, it's the best I've found so far.

Could the clipping thing you were getting just be an issue with setting the gain on the unit improperly? I talked to the tech support guy at Grace Design and he said the Alix comes with a 3 position impedance switch to better match whatever pick-up is being used. That feature is not included on the Bix.

For my Kimble A5 I turn the treble all the way off. For my guitar I turn it ll the way up. Yes I agree extremely idiosyncratic. I am lucky my Kimble A5, K&k and Red Eye are a good match…on most nights.

Yes the clipping could have been my issue but I had trouble getting loud enough with the BiX Never have this issue with the Red Eye.

At the end of the day, the BiX it sounded a little too hi-fi, and not as organic as the Red Eye

[Tailwater Instruments]

Grace Design makes some amazing preamp/DIs. They are local to our shop and we have brought several instruments to their location to try them out with the Grace hardware. Very welcoming folks. I suggest you get in touch with them directly if you have any issues or questions. https://gracedesign.com Enjoy!

[dang]

I have an Alix, it's quite a complicated little piece of equipment...

If you don't know what you are doing, it's not an easy road ahead to good sound.
I never use the EQ to boost, almost always to cut frequencies
There are a few little side switches that matter
I try to keep all other pedals in my effects loop from the Alix, it seems to match the piezo pickup the best if you are using the xlr out of alix
I have my gain set relatively low and rarely adjust much, it seems to give enough signal but occasionally go up or down a little at the sound guy's request
At a gig I do make sure to set my boost level during sound check

<<<FWIW I mainly use the tonedexter over the alix. It took me forever to record some mappings that worked, I borrowed an Edwina mic and had it positioned over my right shoulder facing down towards the mando and played some very specific stuff that I don't recall now. A small diaphragm condenser was much better then large in all my experiments. I go back and forth every once and a while and I always seem to prefer the tonedexter, it seems to have the edge in natural sound once I got my preferred tone map.>>>

Get a little wedge monitor, plug in and play around with the Alix a lot and get familiar with it and all those settings become highly useful. There is a learning curve but I can get great sound and make any tweaks I need on the fly in no time. Trust your ears, build your confidence, and learn to recognize when a sound guy has never run an acoustic band

[JFMando]

Everyone's opinion is different, but for what it's worth, I feel like the Alix is one of the easier DI's I've used.

For a K&K pickup, set the impedance switch to "Med" (toggled up, 1Meg), for most active pickups, it won't make much of a difference, but the "Medium" setting works fine for those too. Then set the EQ to flat (all in the middle), and start playing. For me with several different instruments, that will sound "ok". I dial in the EQ from there to suit what I feel is best, and I love the EQ on the Alix. I think it's the best EQ section I've ever used. It's super quick, easy, and intuitive.

To me the only drawback to the Alix is the price.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this comment because I don't feel like anyone should be "intimidated" by the Alix. With a little practice you should be right at home making quick changes on the Alix in no time flat. If you're not sure about how to EQ properly, just set it to flat, and you'll send FOH a pristine, strong signal to work with. They'll take it from there! Maybe! Haha. Your mileage may vary a LOT on that one :D

[musicofanatic]

Thanks Sam, musico fanatic was a bit snotty, telling me to look it up on google.

Dave H

Currently experiencing a bout with seasonal allergies, so your assignation of "snotty" has a literal accuracy. Sorry to impose my own inclinations on you, but I keep a google search window open and anytime I encounter an unknown, I go right to it for enlightenment. Pardon me for presuming everyone is just exactly like me!

...and...maybe conduct a search of your history of responses on this forum and see how often you dismiss out of hand anything you deem foolish and otherwise somewhat curmudgeonly respond here...unless you do not object to the pot calling the kettle black...? :^)

[Ethan Setiawan]

I think your instincts for getting one are spot on - I use my Felix very much based on the room of the day, and tweak stuff all the time for my own benefit. If I need to hear less high end, or more high end, in my wedge, I'm not shy about that.

Someone else's comment about cutting rather than boosting is also a great paradigm to work from. However I break my own rule all the time by boosting the bass control on my own mandolin. Exceptions to every rule....

Read the manual, there are all kinds of hidden features on these Grace boxes. The key one for me is moving an internal jumper to move the corner frequency of the low shelf band. Most mandolinists would want to move that, unless there's a compelling reason to leave it to the factory setting...

Grace makes great pieces of gear. Enjoy!

[Alex Orr]

Thanks y'all! I'm going to play around with it this week and possibly take it on its maiden run at a couple of gigs this weekend.

[Alex Orr]

Just wanted to say I've now played a few gigs with it and done very little with it other than adjust the EQ a bit to my preference and it still sounds terrific. I'll keep the Red Eye as a back-up, but this is now my go-to DI. The boost, in particular, seems far more powerful. I keep my Red Eye maxed out and am often told it's not loud enough. I'm keeping the Alix at about 1:00, essentially halfway up, and it's louder than the Red Eye. I love having a responsive DI at my feet. Our last gig I was feeling the mando was a bit too shrill and by the middle of the first set it was so nice to just reach down and fix the issue in a matter of seconds. And of course, the sound is excellent. Maybe it's just my ears, but it seems fuller and punchier than the Red Eye. Is it worth the extra cost? Eh...I think it really depends on how often you gig and in what environments. My band has played over fifty gigs a year for the last three years, almost always in loud bars and breweries, so I feel justified in paying for it. If nothing else, a handful of gigs covers the cost, but if I played only a limited number of gigs in quieter rooms, the Red Eye would probably make mores sense as a DI option.

[Mark Seale]

That's great to hear. I've been using the Felix for a while and love the sound I get.

[Leester]

Alex, you've gotten some good input here. You might also try a search on the Acoustic Guitar Forum where you'll find numerous threads of gig application of this particular preamp.

[Charlie Bernstein]

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