DI boxes

[Dan30]

Do you guys think the $100+ DIs are worth it? I'm not talking Sansamps or anything with an EQ on it, but the boxes more along the lines of a Countryman that are made to be transparent.

[GirlyHandedDog]

Do you guys think the $100+ DIs are worth it? I'm not talking Sansamps or anything with an EQ on it, but the boxes more along the lines of a Countryman that are made to be transparent.

This is what I use live on my acoustic guitar: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/U5/. It's awesome.

[Bruce Weldy]

Do you guys think the $100+ DIs are worth it? I'm not talking Sansamps or anything with an EQ on it, but the boxes more along the lines of a Countryman that are made to be transparent.

For live applications, I'd say no. If you want a higher quality one for bass guitar, that's a plus - but not necessary. I use Horizon boxes branded by my buddie's music store - about $30 each and they sound just fine.

Plus, you don't want others stepping on, throwing around, or just generally abusing your high-dollar Radial Tone-Bone.....then playing through it with a crappy rig that won't sound any better anyway......just ain't worth it.

[Dan30]

LOL I don't think i'll be getting one of those any time soon GHD. A tid bit out of my price range.

Thanks for the input Bruce.

[Dave Non-Zero]

The main difference I've found between my BSS dis and behringer versions is how they sound when over driven. The behringer sounds naaaaasty if a keyboardist turns way up for example, but the BSS doesn't clip and pop, it just fuzzes a bit. Ie not something most people would notice in the audience.

[Israel]

my personal only used by me and just me DI box
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... 5000000000

others in the band or for general use DI box
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... 5000000000

i have some livewire solutions on my project studio I dunno what model but i think im in love with that livewire solutions stuff, cheap and good

[Larry Acklin]

The radial DI (green one) for about $100 kicks the snot over every other passive DI I own (I have about 15)

The Behringer DI100 (BSS copy) works pretty good. MUST use neutrik or switchcraft XLRs to connect to it- the cheap cables crackle/pop and hiss, and you can blow the HF drivers if someone kicks it on stage.

I agree with Israel about the LiveWire DIs but you have to be careful about the gnd lift and pad switches, they are easy to bump and break with hard use. And they are still near $30.

Save your beer money and buy Radials.

Larry

[Dan30]

Building cabs has already not left me any beer money. Especially enough to purchase the fine micros and imports I like so much.

[BrentEvans]

I bought a few of the DB-01 boxes from OSP recently, and I am impressed with them for the price. They're not as nice as the radials, but they're perfect to keep in a travel rig... they sound pretty good and seem durable. I'd put them on par with something like the Whirlwind IMP-2 as far as sound, with a few added features (like a pad). And... they're cheap to replace if they get beaten up.

[Jon Barnhardt]

I bought a few of the DB-01 boxes from OSP recently, and I am impressed with them for the price. They're not as nice as the radials, but they're perfect to keep in a travel rig... they sound pretty good and seem durable. I'd put them on par with something like the Whirlwind IMP-2 as far as sound, with a few added features (like a pad). And... they're cheap to replace if they get beaten up.

+1 I also have a couple from OSP

[byacey]

Passive DI's are OK for keyboards, amplifier line out, and other high level, low impedance sources ( 50K ohm and under) but when you start getting into higher impedance (100K+) pickups, like passive guitar / bass pickups, peizo transducers on violins, acoustic guitars, etc, transformer DI's will load the pickup and alter the tone considerably. The other problem is with a transformer, to get a higher input impedance, you have to increase the turns ratio which means a bigger loss through the transformer.

In cases like that, an active FET input is the best choice, something with an input impedance of at least 1 meg ohm. A DI like this is pretty much good for any kind of input, and has virtually no loss, except for what is designed in the DI circuit, typically -10 to -20 dB to prevent clipping the mic preamp.

Countryman is a very highly respected DI in the industry for performance and robust, durable construction. I have reverse engineered a number of different DI boxes, and Countryman is still my favorite.

[Grant Bunter]

I bought a few of the DB-01 boxes from OSP recently, and I am impressed with them for the price. They're not as nice as the radials, but they're perfect to keep in a travel rig... they sound pretty good and seem durable. I'd put them on par with something like the Whirlwind IMP-2 as far as sound, with a few added features (like a pad). And... they're cheap to replace if they get beaten up.

Great to know Brent, I bought a lot of 5 here off local e-bay for around $17 each...

[sounddad67]

Just my $.02. I have used a couple of different DIs. The Behringers are crap, IMO. Noisy, even with Livewire Elite XLRs plugged into them and the ground lift switch in either position. I had a Livewire that got stolen after I'd had it a couple of months. The construction was bulletproof, and it sounded way better than my Behringer. One of the bass players I routinely mix for has a Radial and it is also a rock solid unit. I am looking to add a few of the Radials to my arsenal, AFTER i build my speakers.