Ultrasound DI Plus

UltraSound Amplifiers is proud to be a Dean Markley owned company.

Early in 1998, UltraSound produced its first acoustic amplifier. UltraSound saw a need in the acoustic amplification market—for an acoustic amplifier that would replicate the exact tone of the guitar and other acoustic instruments. Through thousands of hours of fine tuning circuitry and testing and designing hundreds of different speaker configurations and sizes, the marvelous transparent acoustic tone that UltraSound Amplifiers are known for was achieved.

 

As of November 1st, 2007, Dean Markley, a pioneer in the music industry, acquired UltraSound Amplifiers. With Dean’s vision and innovative drive, UltraSound will be focused not only on making the truest sounding amp in the acoustic amplification market—we will also be unveiling some new lead and bass guitar amplifiers in the near future. 

 

UltraSound doesn't just buy an "off the shelf" product from a large overseas manufacturer and slap our name on it. (Anyone can do that, and unfortunately it happens alot). All of our amplifiers are designed in the US in our West Des Moines, Iowa plant. They are manufactured to exacting specifications with custom components.

 

Each amp is run through our quality control process in our West Des Moines, IA factory, bench tested and play tested before it ever leaves our factory. You can have confidence that our equipment will perform to your satisfaction. With our quality standards and the quality parts we use to build each Ultrasound amp we are able to offer a 3-year limited warranty on our products without hesitation. When true acoustic tone makes a difference, be sure you choose Ultrasound acoustic amps. If it’s lead or bass tones you’re looking for, keep your eyes on Ultrasound. 

 

 

 

 

 

Ultrasound DI Plus 

"The ULTRASOUND DI Plus is a very powerful tool for any musician. This is not only a DI but a full featured preamp designed after our famous AG-series amps. Whether at a local open mic night or at a major concert venue, you will be able to dial in the clear natural acoustic sound that our amplifiers are known for, and route it to the stage PA through a balanced XLR output. Sound engineers will appreciate the versatile controls and the optional 48-volt phantom power operation. Therefore, no more wall warts or batteries if your mixer has phantom power. (Originally called ULTRA PDI.)

INSTRUMENT INPUT: This input is designed for all passive and active type pickup signals. When a plug is inserted, the 9V battery is switched on.

INSTRUMENT OUTPUT: This is a "parallel" jack which can be used to send the "guitar/instrument signal" to an external tuner, guitar amp or other device which can use an instrument level signal.

EFX LOOP: This is a real world "EFX LOOP". In an effort to save room, most of our competition uses a TRS jack (tip, ring, sleeve) and Y cable type system. The DI+ is provided with two 1/4" jacks, one for "SEND" and one for "RETURN". Since the EFX LOOP interrupts the signal path it can be used as an insert point for a volume pedal, compressor, or tuner, if the tuner is equipped with a bypass switch. (Try that with one of our competitors units)

SEND: The signal on the SEND jack is post-input gain and pre EQ. This means that you can use the SEND signal as an auxiliary unbalanced direct output. This signal is not affected by any of the panel controls with exception of the "INPUT GAIN" control. 

RETURN: A plug inserted into the RETURN jack will interrupt the signal path. The signal on the tip of the plug inserted into the RETURN jack will be the signal that the DI Plus will process. 

INPUT GAIN: The "INPUT GAIN" is not a volume control, rather this control sets the level of amplification applied to the input signal to boost it to a useable level. The reason this is adjustable is to accommodate a wide range of pickup devices.

BASS: This is an "Active" control. The BASS control adjusts the amount of cut or boost in the low frequency (150HZ) range. 

TREBLE: This is an "Active" control. The TREBLE control adjusts the amount of cut or boost in the high frequency (5kHZ) range. 

NOTCH FILTER: ON/OFF - Enables or disables the NOTCH FILTER control. 

FREQ. HZ - Sets the frequency (100-350HZ) of the 18db cut NOTCH FILTER that is used to control resonant feedback. 

SHAPE: ON/OFF - This toggle switch enables or disables the SHAPE control. This control is a mid dip control. In the ON position, the mid frequencies will be cut and the high and low frequencies will be boosted. 

PHASE: IN/OUT - Changes the polarity of the signal. Phase affects the way the guitar top is pressurized by the loudspeakers. When the signals are out of phase with each other, low-end feedback is minimized. If you experience “positive acoustic” feedback on stage, flip the phase switch from its current setting to see if this will kill the feedback. If inverting phase alone does not eliminate feedback, the notch filter can be used. Phase will also affect the way the guitar signal mixes live and when recording. 

XLR LEVEL: This control adjusts the amount of signal sent to the XLR OUT jack. 

LINE LEVEL: This control adjusts the amount of signal sent to the LINE OUT jack.

48V : (Phantom Power) This LED lights when there is 48V Phantom Power present on the XLR OUT jack. No battery drain will occur when Phantom Power is present. 

POWER: This LED indicates the DI PLUS is ready to operate. The POWER LED will illuminate when:

A. A plug is inserted into the INPUT jack and there is a fresh battery installed in the DI PLUS.

B. A 9VDC adapter (Wall Wart) is plugged into the power jack. (9VDC Regulated Power Supply - 500mA) (2.1MM DC Power Plug, Center +) 

C. There is 48V phantom power on the XLR cable plugged into the XLR OUT jack. (The 48V LED and the POWER LED will both be illuminated.) 

XLR OUT: Plug a standard XLR cable from your PA or recording console into this low impedance balanced output. Use the "XLR LEVEL" control to set the output level which matches up best with your PA or recording gear and gives you the least amount of noise. If your board provides 48V phantom power on the XLR cables, the DI Plus will run from this and save the battery. It is suggested that you keep a battery in the unit as a backup when using the phantom power. If the phantom power drops, the DI Plus will automatically switch to battery power. 

LINE OUT: This is a standard unbalanced line level output signal. Use the "LINE LEVEL" control to adjust the signal level on this jack. This output can be used simultaneously with the XLR OUT jack for some creative signal routing. Plug a standard instrument cable from this output to a stage monitor amp or unbalanced Mic input on a mixer.