EP 09 | What Does A Direct (DI) Box Do And When Do You Need One?

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You see DI boxes everywhere, but do you really know how and when they're supposed to be used?
Today we unpack the two main jobs of a DI box which unlocks the key uses behind where we need to use them. We'll cover:
Why are some DI boxes more expensive than others?
What's a good "middle of the road" product?
What exactly does happens to my audio when it goes through a DI box?
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[@danielugochukwu6011]

Thank you Michael always a pleasure learning from you

[@gergely-both]

Flipping polarity on one of two signals cancels out their common content, not their difference, hence the noise cancellation effect as the external noise source hits both wires practically the same way.

[@tekvax01]

A balanced audio signal is a differential pair of signals that will reject EMI by using common mode rejection.

[@tekvax01]

Michael, excellent series sir!

[@kevinwydler7305]

Susch a good explanation! Thank you

[@MichaelNatrin]

Great info!

[@gridironhomeimprovement5964]

What’s your opinion on tuning a system with the dbx Driverack pa2?

[@XxMicroNinjaxX]

For things like playback machines in corporate gigs, when would you choose a DI over a sound card in the case of only audio out. Seems like the more economical thing to do is to use a umc202 in that instance

[@AlecSpence]

@@XxMicroNinjaxX Nothing wrong with using any balances output for playback (or even unbalanced for a local source). But a transformer isolated DI will always give ultimate protection to kit on both sides.

[@FeJotaTakinOva]

Really nice idea for a video, but I think it would help everyone watching this if you could go a bit more in depth explaining impedance through Ohm's Law, what components of the DI box are used to do the impedance adaptation as well as how a signal is balanced. I'm just pointing this out because I recently found out that a lot of the passive DIs we use are often just a couple of 1:1 transformers (isolators to separate grounds and balance the signal) and a bunch of resistors (current limiting components),so they're not really hard to understand or explain, but it really helps to understand what every component in there is doing to understand what it can be used for. Great content Michael, keep it up!

[@c.s.5177]

Question about guitars. Currently have guitar going thru in mono. My guitar player would like it in stereo. Is it as simple as duplicating channel and linking them, pan hard L and R? What else should I do as far as dynamics?

[@chriselliott5122]

No it’s not. In order to effectively get true stereo, your sources have to be two different sources from the guitar, I.e. micing a guitar amp with two mics placed differently, or two separate guitar amps miced , or using a stereo guitar rig that comes off the pedal board with a left and right output. Once you have that, now you can hard pan those channels hard left and right.

[@theroman1009]

#30

[@soundman1402]

I did a shootout at home of a few different DIs for bass: A Designs REDDI, Countryman Type 85 (Active), Radial JDI (Passive) and Radial J48 (Active). The A Designs REDDI slayed, as you'd expect for an $800 tube DI. The Countryman Type 85, at $180, was a very close second place; it has a very high impedance input (5 Mohms), and produces the most deep bass fundamental outside of the REDDI. The JDI... Can't say anything bad about its sound. Not quite as "crisp" in the super highs and super lows as the Countryman, but what comes in is what comes out. The J48, I have to say, was disappointing; it seemed to actually roll off the low bass. No HPF that I could find on it, but low bass had some harmonic distortion going on. That said, though, above maybe 60Hz, it sounds great; it's works great for anything not requiring low bass, such as an acoustic guitar. Michael, I'd suggest taking a look at the Radial JDI for your bass pedal board instead of the J48. I do know a lot of bassists don't want that low fundamental, but if you do, you're not getting it from the J48. You will get it from the JDI, though! The Countryman Type 85 is hard to find these days; I called Countryman to ask if it'd been discontinued. They said it isn't, but they're not currently making any because they don't have the staff to operate that manufacturing line. Once they're able to staff up, they'll make them again. You can find one occasionally on the used marketplaces.

[@JoshuaRotimi]

Visualizations required to make content easier to follow

[@abbyExperience]

Ok video guy

[@bikeenjoyer977]

Why don't you record his audio and make your own visualizations if they're "required"

[@JoshuaRotimi]

@@bikeenjoyer977 Ignorant take

[@FreeKeenan]

JDI RADIAL ARE THE BIG BOY TOYS! WORTH EVERY PENNY. J48 WITH THAT PAD IN GIVES YOUR BASS AUDIBLE GROWL, WITH COMPRESSION, ALONG WITH A MIC ON THE CAB, SLIGHTLY PANNED FOR TIME SCHIFTS. WHICH HELPS PREVENT COMB FILTERING. NOW THE GREEN BOX has Jensen transformer equipped passive DI Eliminates hum and buzz from ground loops Virtually zero phase & harmonic distortion Exceptional signal handling and noise rejection Compact stereo format for twice the performance. The Radial JDI Stereo is a passive two-channel direct box designed to handle extreme signal levels without distortion of any kind. It employs two world-class Jensen JT-DB-EPC audio transformers to deliver a smooth, warm sounding Bessel curve, reminiscent of the finest vintage gear. Ruler flat from 10Hz to 40kHz and with virtually zero phase deviation, the JDI Stereo delivers the natural, pure sound of the instrument without artifact. By its no-power passive design, the JDI Stereo performs both high-to-low impedance conversion and signal balancing over a magnetic bridge that passes signal while rejecting stray DC voltage. This makes it particularly adept at eliminating hum and buzz caused by ground loops. Listen to the difference playing your playback, break wav loss files thru that nad boy. There's also the PZDI gor orchestra instruments with piezo pickups, eliminating that squack. and magnetic. Input Impedance Inputs Outputs EQ HPF LPF Effects Loop  PZ-DI Pezio DI 10 Meg, 1 Meg, 220k 1/4" XLR Variable

[@AlecSpence]

If it really gives you audible growl (I don't think you'll actually find that's a function of the DI box) then it's distorting the signal. Which, obviously, is not an objective of a general purpose DI.

[@bikeenjoyer977]

There is no compression elements in those DI boxes mentioned

[@FreeKeenan]

I know there's no compression. I meant by adding compression along using them.

[@AlecSpence]

@@FreeKeenan What about the "audible growl" (distortion), then...?

[@FreeKeenan]

The J48 seems to add a slight growl to the bass. With the filter, engage it's right at a nice sweet spot.