DI boxes part 2: Active vs. Passive

[@dd66tv]

This is without doubt the clearest and most practical explanation of this topic I have trawlers through. Thanks

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome!

[@danielcruzmusika]

Indeed. Knowledge in 2021

[@janus2059]

Yes this is gold right here. I know it's basic stuff for people who know what they're doing, but sometimes that's why it's hard to learn about thing; you're embarrassed to ask and/or people can't explain things well. THIS video(and the last one) is an extremely clear explanation.

[@emmanueldaniel3375]

BEST EXPLANATION I EVER HAD ABOUT APPLICATION OF DI BOX, HOW TO MANAGE ACITVE AND PASSIVE DI BOXES. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

[@eugeizquierdo]

Thank you so much for this absolutely clear explanation. Now I know what kind odf DI box I need. Greetings from Spain!

[@willnottsubmitt3514]

Wow! Have I learned a lot! Thank you for taking the time to do this. You are really talented at imparting thorough helpful information. 😎👍

[@perrypelican9476]

Great video. Very good and thorough explanations. There is never any confusion on concepts. Often I stop watching videos because I lose the guy because he does not explain things properly. This guy takes care of every detail. Bravo!!!!

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching, Perry!

[@djfingersflores]

Bruno has the best videos on youtube about audio gear and he really knows how to explain everything in a very simple way.. Great job Bruno ! keep it up.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for your support!

[@MrLuckyLegs]

That was very helpful, I'd never heard about DI boxes til today now I understand them, thank you.

[@Bigfoot-px9gj]

Just a quick funny about an experience my band had many years ago because we did not know about DI Boxes at the time... We were playing at a Casino on I-80 in Nevada. Because we had never heard of DI Boxes, we obviously did not have any. As a result, we were getting a lot of Trucker's CB Radio chatter on the PA. Throughout our entire gig, we heard CB's (and the excessively loud hum too), specially whenever ever the band was stopped playing. But as we were just a bunch of kids from a small town in a clearing of a cornfield, we had no idea about how to stop the hum or radio signals, we just did our best to get through the night. Our last song was called Home In My Hand by a band named Foghat. It was about hitchhiking across country. We played the song, and when we got to the end, we did a typical rock song ending, paused for about two seconds and hit the last note. Just as we paused before that last note, "Break 1-9 for a West Bound" comes booming out of the PA. After all the annoying radio chatter we kept hearing all night, that fit the song like a glove... :)

[@GLBProductions]

Quite an experience - you just can't plan that sort of thing 😄

[@linrogers8602]

"now that we have a rule lets see what happens when we break it" THANK YOU when i read guides bc im so new to all of this, im never sure how seriously/strictly to take everything they say lol

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome Lin - glad the video was helpful! Be sure to watch my follow up video on this topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6i5lHypncSLhJY

[@JoelGarcia-rh5kx]

Amazing lessons on audio technology! Please continue making these videos! Coming from a graduate on audio technology, these videos have given me a great brushing up on DI's, I do mostly in-the-box work and I hardly work with external instruments. Thanks for helping me brush up on these concepts! 10/10!

[@GLBProductions]

Joel Garcia Thanks for watching, I really appreciate your response. More videos coming this month, as I have a break from my teaching schedule.

[@watchman316ly]

As a sound equipment junkie- I just love your videos and thorough explanations on this video. Great job and well done on the world of DI boxes!

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching my friend, very glad the video was helpful!

[@xxXthekevXxx]

Active guitar + active DI is so hot it's actually picking up his voice like a microphone 😂

[@TheMovieslingers]

None of the other KZbinrs recommended a passive DI for active instruments and that you shouldn't plug in an active instrument into an active DI. Thank you for that vital piece of info

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome - it's important to have a nuanced understanding of this point as it is only a general rule. I suggest you watch my follow up video on this topic here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6i5lHypncSLhJY

[@TheMovieslingers]

GLB Productions yes I already checked it out thanks 😁

[@apg_skywalker_2014]

This is by far the most crystal clear explanation of DIs. . . Please post videos related to actual demonstration of in ear monitoring. . . Thank you. You're genius.

[@GLBProductions]

Glad the video was helpful! In ear monitoring is a very specialised subject - perhaps one day I'll do a collaboration with somebody who gives courses on it.

[@radwanshakhshir5444]

You have an amazing ability to teach. Your voice tone and your proper pronunciation is extremely calming to the ear of the listener. Thank you very much taking us through your clever mind and planned thoughts. Much appreciated and best of wishes.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for your kind words and for supporting the channel! Feel free to get in touch any time with further questions or about anything at all :)

[@BadlyBentPub]

VERY helpful! Thank you so much. I was going to buy an active DI just because logically I assumed they would be more powerful, therefore better. You saved me from that mistake. Then I thought I was going to have to buy TWO separate boxes - I have an active bass and acoustic, plus a Tele and a Strat.....so now as long as I run my electric guitars through my Boss Compressor/Sustainer first I'll be fine. Thanks again!

[@GLBProductions]

You're most welcome, thanks for watching!

[@leaustin_music7155]

I will have to agree with what Peter D said. It is a fantastic tutorial. I use both active and passive DI's and now realize that i used them often incorrectly. Thank you.

[@GLBProductions]

- You're most welcome, thanks for watching and commenting :)

[@Basspost]

As many have said, excellent teaching! I play upright bass and the pickups are usually very low level requiring an active DI. My DI has a set screw to control the output level and now, thanks to your explanation, I'll turn the set screw to match most microphones output. That will put me in an acceptable operating position, (12 o'clock) for the mixer gain setting and make the sound man happy. Thank you very much...

[@GLBProductions]

- Hi James, glad the video was helpful. In the case of active DIs with level controls it's actually worth doing some experimentation: your DI is effectively a pre-amplifier, and in many cases may give a better quality signal than some mixer preamps. If you know the sound engineer and he's willing to work with you, try comparing your 'mic level' setting against setting the DI level at max and then reducing the gain at the mixer - one combination may sound noticeably cleaner! Having said that, if you are playing a one-off with a sound guy you've not worked with before, setting your DI to output a mic level signal is the safest option. All the best with your music!

[@darrenpatrick2609]

Fantastic tutorial. I actually sold a new Takmine cool tube because of this very problem. It was a 50% chance that the guitar sounded distorted. We had to have the guitar volume control right down and it still sounded bad. We attended many performances where performers would take turns performing such as a song writing circle and everyone else's guitar sounded great but ours was distorted. Sometimes it was good, sometimes it was bad when plugged into a DI but plugged into an amp it sounded perfect. I got fed up and bought a Martin guitar with an active pickup and haven't had an issue since. I now understand why this was happening. Thanks!

[@GLBProductions]

Darren Patrick Yes, Takamine guitars are notorious for having very high output levels, even higher than certain keyboards. Using a passive DI will at least give you a fighting chance of getting the gain set correctly. In your gigs did you ever make it to the mixer and see what the gain setting was?

[@jaisonstanley]

DI Boxes - Clear explanation ! after digging at many videos i finally found this. Makes absolute sense as to what to use and which one appropriately.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching, glad the video was helpful :)

[@jaisonstanley]

Very Much helpful. Its because of continued support of people like you even the most common errors which have been ignored for so long is realized. You cover the topic from all dimensions perfectly. Thank you sir.

[@chrishalstead4405]

Excellent, really improved my understanding of the pros and cons of active/passive DIs. Thank you!

[@GLBProductions]

Be sure to watch the follow up to this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6i5lHypncSLhJY

[@erikflesher8728]

What a great video. Thank you so much for both of the videos covering the DI Box and it's applications.

[@GLBProductions]

Erik Flesher You're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@Travacaster]

Brilliant, concise and well thought out videos saves so much time on trial and error thank you .

[@GLBProductions]

Yes you definitely don't want trial and error when it comes to noise in your system!

[@JulieJackson1]

Thank you for this. After decades of being pampered and looked after by some amazing sound engineers, I find myself in a situation where my new regular church has all the equipment,PA system: Allen & heath WD3 16:2 desk, lexicon effects processor, amp & 6 foh speakers, wireless mics, video system, DVD & CD player, PC, monitor cables etc. but no one around anymore who knows how to work it. The person who operates it on a Sunday, knows about faders but that's about it! He doesn't do internet either. Hope you get the picture. Shame on me for not taking time to learn about the sound in the past. Your vids are helping tremendously but I have such a long way to go before I can manage to set myself up using in ear monitors and understand how to set the best sound levels for myself. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

[@charrodisco]

Excellent, clear, deep explanation. It's been very useful. Thank you.

[@GLBProductions]

charrodisco You're most welcome, thanks for watching. Let me know if you have any questions that the video didn't answer :)

[@rhodigian]

I appreciate a lot the label on the battery lid at 3:52 . It looks (and is) very professional.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for noticing :) Those labels are gone now - I've removed the batteries from all my active DIs and just run them on phantom power - don't want to take the risk of leaks.

[@markwillride]

Ah! Explains something I ran into today. Thank you for all of the time you put into your clear videos. Great well organized teacher.

[@GLBProductions]

You're most welcome Mark.

[@getjohnjk007]

Great tutorial...learned from the scratch...Your explanations are in very simple terms that anyone could easily understand..Thank you very much :)

[@GLBProductions]

- You're most welcome, thanks for watching and for the positive feedback :)

[@ultramarine2513]

Thanks for such a clear presentation.

[@GLBProductions]

Ultramarine You're welcome, thanks for watching.

[@rodrigovazquezoficial]

Thank you very much Bruno! Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷 🙂

[@GLBProductions]

You're most welcome :)

[@arturovera8279]

great video learn alot of DI boxes, very thank full, just two coments that are healp full for all. 1) you can still use the active DI box and pres the pad button to -10db lower the hot signal. 2) the industry started with Impedance matching but now we use Voltage Matching ( by having low impidance output comonly 10 times lower comparaed to the input inpedance of the next conector) this DI boxes do this with the signal balancing you mentioned.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for the comment 😄 1) Correct - Active DI boxes can be used for both active and passive sources. 2) There are still some high impedance sources even in modern sound systems - most notably passive bass guitars and some acoustic pickup systems. For these you still need a relatively high input impedance or high frequency loss will result.

[@xaviduch]

No words...The best explanation, the best way to understand clearly the meaning of these boxes...Bravo! and subscribed!

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching Xavier!

[@PrimaryInt]

Bruno thanks very much - superb description with enough science to explain but not too much to scare people away . I think your training videos are the best out there - keep it up !

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching - I've just posted an update to this video, you might be interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6i5lHypncSLhJY

[@mybluemars]

Great explanation about how DI boxes work. Loved it. Thank you!

[@GLBProductions]

Matt Bruce You're welcome, thanks for watching! All the best with your channel.

[@djfingersflores]

Bruno is the man ! most knowledgeable sound guy on the web... thanks

[@moonlitknight5393]

One of the best instructional videos I’ve ever seen, thank you.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome Duckman, thanks for watching!

[@RudyZaragozaMusic]

Thank you so much, I was confused on what DI box to get but now I know what I need to get the best sound. Subscribed!

[@GLBProductions]

Great to hear that!

[@samlevy9593]

Thank you very much for making these tutorials, helped me out a huge amount and I learned a lot.

[@GLBProductions]

- You're most welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@dumdumbrown4225]

...this is the second video of yours I’ve watched - great videos with clear and succinct explanations 🙏🏽 cheers from Oz.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for your support! Be sure to watch the 2018 update to this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6i5lHypncSLhJY

[@HansKrMusic]

whoa, thank you so much for these tutorials on DI boxes! best explanation out there! :)

[@GLBProductions]

- You're welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@philmcglauflin]

Thank you so much. Your tutorials have helped more than you can imagine.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome Philip :)

[@drplastic007]

Excellent video, detailed and super informative - thank you !

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, thanks for watching! If you would like to support the channel please consider signing up to become a patron at www.patreon.com/glbproductions?ty=h Every little bit helps!

[@justinmcclintic2348]

Very much appriciate the in depth breakdown, enjoying the breakdown and explanations!

[@GLBProductions]

Justin McClintic That's great, glad the videos have been helpful. Let me know if you have any specific questions that are not addressed.

[@randommann6240]

Excellent! Thank you for all your work and knowledge, putting it into a great presentation.

[@GLBProductions]

Random Mann You're welcome, thanks for watching.

[@utubehound69]

This is golden chn of audio must know information very well taught.

[@CarlosCastilla]

You sir, are a wonderful educator. What an amazing video my goodness!!!! It's worth gold. Thank you, thank you!!!

[@GLBProductions]

You're most welcome Carlos, thanks for watching!

[@plusgo1501]

One of the best learning experiences I've ever had!

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching 😊

[@Basspost]

Thanks for your response Bruno. I seem to remember it's frowned on to have two preamps in tandem so your advice is logical. I'll try hi - low, then lo - hi, to see if I can tell the difference. I think I can rule out mid - mid. I'll comment with results. James...

[@GLBProductions]

- Look forward to hearing how it works out!

[@Synthwave89]

Very thorough and comprehensive video, well done and thanks.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful.

[@Pure4music]

Extremely well said! You have a lot of talent explaining things very clearly... (coming from a certified teacher!) I do have one question: would the active BSSAR - 133 not be a good choice for even active sources by just using the switch on it to lower the decibels (0, 20, 40)?

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks - I have a diploma in education as well and find it very helpful in my sound reinforcement pedagogy :) Yes you can use the AR133 for active sources as well, no problem at all - see my separate review of this DI here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aom7l6FslL15gpo

[@GaryLBaileyJr]

Thank you. You are a very good teacher. You answered my questions shortly after I thought of them.

[@GLBProductions]

+Gary Bailey That's great feedback, many thanks!

[@sixstringsandamike]

You, sir, are the absolute best!!!! Thank you so much! 13:42 to 14:00 is worth gold!! Exactly why I came to this video :-)

[@GLBProductions]

Oh yes that can be a tricky topic. Glad the video was helpful!

[@TheKevinNewsom]

Wonderful, flawless instruction. Thank you for recording this!

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@mrgscales]

Very informative video. It answered everything I needed to know.

[@GLBProductions]

Great to hear that, thanks for watching!

[@blackberryway]

Great video, well explained, distinct and pleasant voice, reminds me of my dad explaining stuff :)

[@GLBProductions]

Many thanks, very glad the video was helpful :) My father was a teacher, hope some of that rubbed off on me 😊

[@ocadusouza]

Wonderfull video. I was about to buy an audio interface and I saw in another video that a DI box was required in some cases. Thanks to your explantion now I know that I have to buy not only an DI box, it have to be active. Keep up the good work.

[@GLBProductions]

Cadu Souza Thanks for watching! Bear in mind that some recording interfaces are able to fulfil the functions of a DI box. Specifically, look for those with high impedance inputs designed to handle things like electric guitars and passive basses. If you are working right next to your computer or recorder a DI box is generally not needed - plug into your interface and then go USB/firewire from there into your computer. This is something of a grey area so let me know if you have any questions.

[@GLBProductions]

Cadu Souza Yes, that is a known issue with the Focusrite units - their 'instrument' setting only gives you an input impedance of 10 kOhms which is not enough to accommodate passive instruments. Another unit to consider which I use personally is the Steinberg UR22 - this has a similar feature set, but crucially has a true hi-Z setting for its 2nd front panel input. Hope you find something that works for you!

[@ocadusouza]

Thank you very much for weighting in. I just got a Steinberg UR22 because of all you said and it also comes with a free copy of Cubase AI, which I might use to record eventually. My Guitar (I only have the one, a 1989 Yamaha Pacifica 712) comes back from my luthier tomorrow then I'll be able to test the interface fully. Thanks again for all the info.

[@crispa1861]

Thx Bruno. As always, God bless. Will try the behringer DI100 as it has attentuation pads for amplified instruments.

[@GLBProductions]

The DI-100 is actually a copy of the BSS AR-133 in the video. I recommend using the original, if you can afford it. It has significantly better build quality and identical functionality.

[@jamtree9746]

Thanks so much for making this video, it has helped me a lot.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, thanks for watching! All the best with your music.

[@dvamateur]

Well, I think another consideration for an active DI box would be bringing up -10dB level gear to +4dB. For instance, a Roland R-8 drum machine produces -10dB level signal on its output. So even though the R-8 is a powered "active" type of device, when connected to a "high-headroom" mixer such as Mackie VLZ4 series, it is quite difficult to "fill out" all that headroom with -10dB signal. One can turn up the pre-amps on the mixer, of course, but even on claimed VLZ4 "low-noise" pre-amps, the noise level can become unacceptable past 11AM setting. Consequently, when connecting the drum machine to the mixer, an active DI box (or entire set of them, since the R-8 has 10 channels/outputs) such as ART DUALXDirect becomes a life saver, at least for me. Anyway, that's my 3 cents to the DI conversational piece.

[@GLBProductions]

- A good point! Essentially what you are doing is using the active DI box as a preamplifier, replacing the preamp in the mixer. However in a case like this it would be best to connect to the mixer's line inputs to get a good level match.

[@dvamateur]

Well, I've been using the line level inputs on the VLZ4 with mixed results. Basically, each piece of audio gear that I have seems to be outputing different levels. Some equipment has switchable -10dB/+4dB, but most of it outputs at -10dB and I need a boost from active DI box. For some reason, the DI boxes that I have (inexpensive ART) don't introduce noise. Now, it could be embarrassing on two fronts. On one hand, the "boutique"-like advertized Onyx preamps on VLZ4 seem to be outperformed by simple active DI boxes. On the other hand, of course, maybe I should be embarrassed for not using all these things right, in the first place. Well, I feel like I could write a book on the topic, which probably wouldn't be that interesting anyway. To make long story short, the line level 1/4 inch jack inputs on the VLZ4 have quite different characteristics than the XLR inputs on the same channel, and I so far I've had more consisent results when connecting audio gear to the XLR inputs, either directly, like Yamaha TX816 or Integra-7, which connect beautifully out of the box with ballanced outs, or using ART DI boxes when the gear only has standard 1/4 inch jacks outputing -10dB.

[@GLBProductions]

Andrew Piatek The Onyx mix preamps are not a favourite of mine - I find that they do not have enough gain for real world situations, and that often results in gain settings of 3 or 4 o'clock with dynamic mics. I also found that they coloured the sound too much for my liking, so have gone back to the VLZ3 mixers. Thanks for sharing your experience, at the end of the day it's all about what sounds good!

[@dvamateur]

GLB Productions He he yes, sound, as well as look and feel. I had plunged all the way into 3204 VLZ4, althought I could've probably been better off with VLZ3 as well. But I have to say that for my applications (hopeless '80s MIDI rackmount modules enthusiast, no mics...) I am very happy with the mixer. Thanks for replying. Your videos rival the likes of sonicstate videos. I very much enjoy watching.

[@NathanClearyMusic]

Incredibly knowledgable, well presented and concise! Thanks so much for sharing, subscribed! :)

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, thanks for watching and subscribing!

[@soundcanal]

You have the best tutorials. Thanks a lot!

[@GLBProductions]

+soundcanal You're welcome, thanks for watching! If you would like to support the channel please consider signing up to become a patron at www.patreon.com/glbproductions?ty=h Every little bit helps!

[@vg8332]

That was the best logical explanation that I've ever heard,,, thank you genius

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome!

[@vg8332]

@@GLBProductions 💞💞💞

[@KB-ur3hf]

you're a good teacher Bruno, thanks

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome KB, glad the video was helpful.

[@MrAntoniov30]

WAAOOOOOOOOO AMAZING EXPLICATION WITH REAL AND GREAT EXAMPLES. CONGRATULATIONS...... REALLY HEPFUL

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching!

[@WebbChannel1]

Great video Bruno - very informative and to the point. Excellent. Thank you.

[@al1843]

This was a great video. I did not really get why you can't just use a passive DI with a passive instrument, and just compensate by upping the gain on the preamp. I didn't realize there would be high end frequency loss. The downside is...now I have to buy another DI box.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks Andrew.

[@bresgear7960]

Thank you, your videos are incredible and answer all of my questions, really excellent tutorial.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching!

[@rhmm96]

Awesome video! Thank you so much for the explanation!

[@TaistoUuslail]

Thanks for the Radial PROD2 review. I heard the music in the end of clip coming from your phone and I looked for the artist by typing in the lines of lyrics. Wow - I have never been aware of Jennifer Warren before! Amazing singer! ;)

[@GLBProductions]

Oh yes she is quite a wonderful singer, and her recordings are all very well done. 'The Hunter' is a standard reference track for me when tuning and testing PA systems.

[@TaistoUuslail]

Sorry, the review was about PROAV2... ;)

[@GLBProductions]

Taisto Uuslail No problem. The PROAV2 and PRODI2 actually use the same transformers so they are basically the same DI box, with the former having additional RCA and minijack connectors.

[@JohnRBooth]

First sir I must say you are my new hero. The time you took to explain these differences between passive and active, along with your real-world demonstration was very very helpful. Thank you very much. Question: I believe you are recommending I use a passive box as I use a telecaster through several stomp boxes. I must use the parallel (or link) output to my amplifier, and the XLR out (on the DI Box) to the sound board. Does that sound correct to you? Again, thank you sincerely. John - Ohio USA

[@GLBProductions]

That's right John! Also remember that when you put the DI between your pedalboard and your amp any effects on the amp will not be captured by the DI, so it's important to have all of your key effects on your pedalboard - the amp in this case becomes just a monitor for you on stage.

[@JohnRBooth]

Got it. Thanks for the reply friend !

[@Rockhomestudio]

Very good teaching. Detailed! 😎👍

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching!

[@00Ivanov]

Thanks for this video, you answered everything I wanted to know. Cheers!

[@GLBProductions]

00Ivanov Glad to hear that, thanks for watching!

[@spacep0d]

Thanks! If I hook up my passive electric bass to a tuner pedal with a battery even though it's bypassed, is that now an active source? The tuner is a Kliq tuner. Specially the bass is a Stingray by Music Man (passive) and I have a passive Radial Pro DI box. Okay to use that?

[@GLBProductions]

This is an interesting one! Technically it depends on whether the tuner has a true bypass or buffered output. A true bypass pedal acts like a straight piece of wire when it is turned off, a buffered pedal has a small signal amplifier inside which 'tops up' the signal as it passes through. If your tuner is the former, the signal remains passive, if the latter, it becomes active. Now, I had a look at the Kliq website and they don't say anything about this aspect of the tuner 😄 So... just use your ears: if the sound is ok using this signal chain, you're cool. If you hear some loss of high frequencies with the tuner connected, then you may need to connect it after the DI box.

[@spacep0d]

@@GLBProductions Thank you! :)

[@juliocosta5818]

Extremely well explained, thank you.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome Julio!

[@sumiLAT13]

SUPER helpful, thank you for making this video!

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome John!

[@MLElf]

Many thanks for getting back to me, I will have to check my mixer as it's an old 80s Yamaha and not sure if it does have the balanced outs - both DI videos where so good, I have spent weeks trying to work out the benefits and your video told me what I needed to know in 5 mins! :) - just got to get my head around pre-amps now :)

[@GLBProductions]

No problem, glad to see you're keeping the old gear alive and working :) There are several more DI box videos in the works, so stay tuned.

[@Mtaalas]

I've done live audio for years and it's very rare to use passive DI's, the pads are usually enough to limit the signal so it won't clip and rarely I've had issues with input impedance when pad is enabled since high level, high impedance sources are a rarity. BSS AR-133 and Klark Teknik models are very common in Finland in live-use. Passive DI is great in that they're more reliable, they have no active parts so they rarely break. But that's about it on their usefulness in my experience :/ Rarely I've had to use them since the artist requests their signal to be ran through their passive Radial "because it's my sound", but yeah... even issues with long cables are getting rare these days when guitars and basses are using wireless transmitters and after that it's CAT5/6 to the digital mixing console... so yeah :D I almost exclusively use them to separate ground loops and when ever the source is unbalanced and it has to be plugged in to a balanced mic-preamp..

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for the comment - as always, we use the right tool for the right job 😊

[@PapaJupOfficial]

Very informative. Thank you from Malaysia

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome!

[@peterdvideos]

What a fantastic tutorial. Thanks.

[@GLBProductions]

- You're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@paulnoonan1666]

Thank you for such a clear explanation and useful examples.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome Paul.

[@simondevine1657]

Well explained 👍

[@guantanamera5614]

That was a brilliant presentation, many thanks.

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, thanks for watching!

[@lightful_]

thank you for posting the video

[@dorcasowens8521]

Thank you do much for your great explanation of DI boxes. I have a new Roland Go: Piano. I need to get the correct box.

[@jonatascamargo2931]

Thank you so much for sharing you knowledge on such a generous way. God bless you mate!

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome Jonatas, God Bless you too!

[@jerdesab]

You're awesome and very knowledgeable. Thanks for the info.

[@GLBProductions]

Jeric Ns You're welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@gravitygust]

Learned something today! Thanks Bruno....

[@GLBProductions]

- You're welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@jmlouie]

Very informative. Now I know what to do.

[@GLBProductions]

- Glad the video was helpful, thanks for watching!

[@Flute_Chandan]

Excellent presentation 👌👌👌 Thanks for this education.

[@joshworld90]

Very Educational and enlightening! Thank you very much! God Bless! What do you think about the Art Passive DI Box?

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome, thanks for watching! The ART passive DI (I assume you're referring to the Z-direct model) is ok-sounding but the build quality leaves much to be desired in my opinion: the switches and connectors are not protected in any way and the input/thru sockets are not secured to the case which makes it easy to damage the internals of the DI.

[@joshworld90]

Well noted! Thanks! :)

[@sharmaarbin]

thanks u hv explained very well,

[@juans.guitarra]

Man! You are a genius. You are a genius! I love you! Thank you so much!

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching Juan!

[@hanisiblini]

YOU ARE SIMPLY BRILLIANT SIR

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks for watching Hani!

[@life_with_yolanda]

Love your videos sir they are very clear.

[@GLBProductions]

Thanks Yolanda!

[@samediarts]

thank you! that was an easy and understandable demonstration...

[@GLBProductions]

You're welcome!

[@SoundSeeker2024]

If all you have available is the active BSS DI box, and you are plugging in an active acoustic guitar, would putting the switch into the -20db position or -40 db position solve the signal overload problem? If yes, will it sound good?

[@GLBProductions]

Different acoustic guitars can have greatly differing output levels, so start with the switch in the 0dB position and see if there is any overloading - if so switch it to the -20 position, or switch in the pad on the mixer, if available.

[@micchycute]

Sounds like Bruce Lee and its good and calm. Very helpfull even if you listen in an hour. Relaxing

[@GLBProductions]

Bruce Lee :D

[@brandrookesalva467]

A very good Electronics Engineering Prof

[@GLBProductions]

Haha I'm no professor, just a live sound engineer.

[@ropodope]

a very impressive video presentation indeed. thank you so much!

[@GLBProductions]

You're most welcome Chris!

[@SpoonerUK]

What excellent videos, thanks very much Bruno. I've learnt something today. :)

[@GLBProductions]

+Zac Tommy You're most welcome, glad the video has increased your knowledge :)