{"id":31453,"date":"2016-09-14T18:15:44","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T16:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=31453"},"modified":"2016-09-14T18:00:50","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T16:00:50","slug":"all-about-direct-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/gear\/all-about-direct-boxes\/","title":{"rendered":"All About Direct Boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Because that\u2019s the way it\u2019s done …”, is the common answer, when a musician is asked why they use a DI box<\/strong><\/a>. In fact, you can find these small boxes almost anywhere where music is made: on stage, in large studios, in home recording studios and for various reasons and in various situations.<\/p>\n

\"Radial<\/a>The main reason to use a Direct Injection (DI) box<\/strong> is its ability to transform an unbalanced signal from a musical instrument into a balanced one. For more information on balanced and unbalanced transmissions<\/strong>, take a look at our previous article<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

As the theory is rather heavy to digest, we will focus on practical examples and give you an overview of the wide range of DI boxes<\/strong><\/a> available<\/p>\n

On Stage<\/h3>\n

\"Behringer<\/a>You\u2019ll need a DI box<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> to help send the signal of musical instruments such as guitar<\/strong>, bass<\/strong> or keyboard<\/strong>\u00a0over longer distances. For instance, on stage when you need to plug your instrument into the stage box via a multicore cable to the mixer and the signal has to survive a distance of 20 or more meters with no severe injuries.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, several types of signals will be sent to the mic\/line\u00a0inputs of the console! And often\u00a0being\u00a0connected to a mic preamp, DI boxes<\/strong><\/a> are responsible in bringing the input signal in the proper impedance. In fact a direct box is also an impedance converter. Finally these magical boxes also allow galvanic isolation to the signal and thus provide a transmission with greater reliability and without error or interference.<\/p>\n

Active or passive?<\/h3>\n

\"BSS<\/a>Active DI boxes<\/a><\/strong> have a built-in amplification which requires power and are generally more expensive. With the juice supplied by a 9V battery or phantom power to microphone preamp, it is possible to not let the signal level drop, which is often the case with passive DI. They are recommended for instruments with low output<\/strong> and high-impedance<\/strong> such as guitar or passive bass. In comparison, you\u2019ll notice how thin, fragile and broken it sounds when plugged directly into a line-input. An active circuit is absolutely necessary for an electric acoustic guitar with piezo <\/strong>or contact mic<\/strong>, as the signal hardly gets fished out from the noise.<\/p>\n

\"Millenium<\/a>The BSS AR-133<\/strong><\/a> is an absolute active classic for stage purposes. It is distinguished by its stable and practical chassis. It provides real galvanic isolation and its internal transformer is fully screened while ensuring the rejection of electromagnetic interference. For alternatives at a lower price we recommend the Millenium DI-33<\/strong><\/a>, LD Systems LDI02<\/strong><\/a> or Behringer DI100 Ultra-DI<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Radial<\/a>Passive DI boxes<\/a><\/strong> are generally a better market. They are simpler in design and are most of all sufficient for electronic instruments, keyboards, drum computers, workstations, synthesizers<\/strong> and DJ mixers<\/strong> with unbalanced outputs. The Radial Pro DI<\/strong><\/a> is a prime example as are the DI-P Millenium<\/a>,\u00a0Palmer Pan 01<\/a><\/strong> or Behringer Ultra-DI DI400P<\/strong><\/a> at lower prices.<\/p>\n

\"Audiowerkzeug<\/a>Also convenient for many applications: is the Stereo DI box, such as the PROD2 <\/strong><\/a>from Canadian manufacturer Radial Engineering<\/a><\/strong> or the Audiowerkzeug Dudi<\/a><\/strong>. For a cheaper alternative there is Palmer Pan 04<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Balancing<\/strong> in passive can also operate in the reverse direction<\/strong>. This will retrieve a properly recorded signal from your sequencer with the level and impedance matched to an effect pedal or a guitar or bass amp and allow\u00a0for\u00a0Re-Amping<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"Palmer<\/a>There are special direct boxes for Re-Amping such as the Palmer DAACPO<\/strong><\/a> or Radial Pro RMP<\/strong><\/a>, but this can also be achieved with a Behringer Ultra DI DI600P<\/strong><\/a> or the popular Palmer PAN 01<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Different options<\/h3>\n

Not only is there the issue of circuitry\u00a0to be considered, but also different options depending on the model:<\/p>\n

Usually\u00a0you will find an attenuator pad for when\u00a0your incoming signal is too “hot”. The option\u00a0that allows to separate the mass and the signal and thus eliminate any background noise due to mass problems\u00a0<\/span>is generally called “<\/span>Ground Lift<\/strong>“. The “<\/span>Link<\/strong>” or “<\/span>Thru<\/strong>” jack, depending on the model is an asymmetrical output connected to the unbalanced input. This allows you to use the amp while maintaining a symmetrical connection in sending the signal to the console.<\/span><\/p>\n

Different\u00a0price ranges<\/h3>\n

DI boxes<\/strong><\/a> not only differ in their options. In fact you will generally notice in passive and often in active, significant differences<\/strong> in the sound which\u00a0depend on the components used by the manufacturer.<\/p>\n

The bass and treble often suffer from poor quality from\u00a0the components in entry-level models. Higher end models will have minimal influence on the sound and a very pronounced special character<\/strong>. The risk in using a \u201ccheap\u201d direct box usually doesn\u2019t pay off.<\/p>\n

\"Rupert<\/a>Premium DI boxes<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0are necessary in the recording studio<\/strong>, where differences are particularly pronounced. Included here from this range are\u00a0the\u00a0Rupert Neve Designs RNDI<\/strong><\/a> and the legendary Avalon U5<\/strong><\/a> distinguished by an insanely good frequency response, smooth detail and multiple functions and tone presets.<\/p>\n

Do I have to use a DI in the studio?<\/h3>\n

No ! To properly work an instrument signal it should be amplified. And many mic preamps offer an instrument input, sometimes called “Hi-Z<\/strong>” or “DI<\/strong>” (aha!). So if you have a high-end preamp<\/strong> at your disposable, first try this solution – or consider investing in one: hit two birds with one stone and leap forward in terms of quality compared to most mic \/ instrument preamps in audio interfaces.<\/p>\n

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Which DI box do I need and for what purpose? These questions and more will be answered here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":30852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tblog_post_audio_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1083],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear"],"category_colors":{"color_key":"gear","css_classes":{"text":"cat-gear","text_light":"cat-gear-light","bg":"cat-bg-gear","bg_light":"cat-bg-gear-light","border":"cat-border-gear","text_on_bg":"cat-text-on-gear"}},"reading_time":{"minutes":5,"formatted":"5 min"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}