Outboard Gear Direct Boxes

[NUSound]

For an acoustic-eclectric, the way it is most often done is to take the 1/4" OUT of the Guitar into the input of an active DI. The through OUT goes to the amp, and the XLR goes to the console.

For most people just the DI is preferred. In larger shows where you have more control over things you can get into more advanced stuff like DI+Cab Mic. (Or DI+CleanCabMic L/R and DI+Distortion Cab L/R... 5 guitar inputs.. ugh)

 

[bishopthomas]

Typically an acoustic guitar is just into the DI, out to the PA. The talent should have their own monitor/mix so there is no need for an amp for the acoustic guitar. Most sound like crap anyway, so best to keep the amplified sound to a minimum. And a monitor will be facing AWAY from the audience as opposed to an amp adding to the FOH muck. Mostly electric guitars are mic'd through an amp/cabinet as DI'ing them usually sounds terrible. Even a POD or something similar does not sound very natural. If it's the only option, fine, but most people (audio engineers and guitar players) prefer having an amp on stage (or off stage in some cases, to control stage volume). The amp is part of the sound, so using it and mic'ing it is the way to go. I am actually a fan of mic'ing bass cabinets as well, as, again, that is part of the sound. When I played bass (in another life) I went through great pain (and money) to find the right combination of bass/amp head/cabinet to give my "my" sound. Why should I deprive a bass player 2/3 of the sound they are going for by sticking a DI in front of the entire signal chain? Of course, this only works with decent players with good tone; if the sound coming out of the cabinet sucks then DI it is.

 

[Spectre7]

We have always been a fan of the Whirlwind Director. They are well built and very durable. They also offer decent features and are simple to operate and understand.They also have a pretty decent price to quality ratio.

 

[WooferHound]

Where I work we have a pile of direct boxes that we really like
Rapco 101 sl
Amazon.com: Rapco DB-101SL High to Low Impedance Converter: Musical Instruments
They are not expensive, sound good, Speaker or instrument switch, ground lift switch.
Great little direct boxes

 

[Spectre7]

At the theatre I work for, we have always used the Whirlwind Director. I have never had any complaints or problems with them. They are simple and exceptionally durable. If at anytime we need a large number of direct boxes in a certain area (such as a performer using multiple keyboards), we use the Whirlwind Direct4. All of their products are very well designed and last long, they are almost impossible to damage or break from dropping or being kicked around by performers on accident.

 

[bishopthomas]

One of my projects for the winter is to build an 8 channel snake with 4 channels of XLR inputs and 4 channels of Combo jacks. The combos will have Jensen transformers (or Whirlwind depending on how much money I have in the bank at the time) and ground lift switches on the 1/4" side, or be able to accept regular mic signal from the XLR side. This was a project I started a couple of years ago and shelved, but now it's time to wrap it up and put it to use. This all came about because I wanted a 4 channel DI for keyboards and such, but also want the clean cabling of it being built into the snake. I have a couple of wiring projects this winter and I'll post some work in progress pictures when I get started.

 

[chausman]

One of my projects for the winter is to build an 8 channel snake with 4 channels of XLR inputs and 4 channels of Combo jacks. The combos will have Jensen transformers (or Whirlwind depending on how much money I have in the bank at the time) and ground lift switches on the 1/4" side, or be able to accept regular mic signal from the XLR side. This was a project I started a couple of years ago and shelved, but now it's time to wrap it up and put it to use. This all came about because I wanted a 4 channel DI for keyboards and such, but also want the clean cabling of it being built into the snake. I have a couple of wiring projects this winter and I'll post some work in progress pictures when I get started.

Sounds like an Interesting project.

WooferHound, what do you mean by "has a speaker or instrument switch"?

 

[bishopthomas]

Sounds like an Interesting project.

Thanks, I can't wait to get started. I have a few things to figure out, mainly the physical box. Right now I have no way of making holes or labeling the box. So I'll need to get a drill press and decide if I want to do laser engraving or another alternative. I also need a source for a blank box. Man.... I enjoy wiring projects but am not the best when it comes to metal work and fabrication.

WooferHound, what do you mean by "has a speaker of instrument switch"?

....speaker OR instrument switch. It means that the DI will accept either speaker or instrument signal level. I've never used this feature myself, but in theory it would allow you to come out of a power amplifier (or daisy chain off a speaker) into your mixer (or what have you).

 

[Spectre7]

One of my projects for the winter is to build an 8 channel snake with 4 channels of XLR inputs and 4 channels of Combo jacks. The combos will have Jensen transformers (or Whirlwind depending on how much money I have in the bank at the time) and ground lift switches on the 1/4" side, or be able to accept regular mic signal from the XLR side. This was a project I started a couple of years ago and shelved, but now it's time to wrap it up and put it to use. This all came about because I wanted a 4 channel DI for keyboards and such, but also want the clean cabling of it being built into the snake. I have a couple of wiring projects this winter and I'll post some work in progress pictures when I get started.

I'm sure you've seen these, but if not I just thought I'd atleast point them out. Whirlwind Makes snakes that have direct boxes built in.

MEDUSA® MultiSnake Audio snake w/ built-in DI boxes - Catalog - Whirlwind

 

[bishopthomas]

Yeah, I've seen those. That particular model has 4 DI's and 4 XLR's. It can only serve one purpose. Only 4 XLR's is useless in most circumstances. I want an 8 channel snake that CAN BE a 4XLR/4DI snake only when I want it to serve that function. There is a Whirlwind version of that (that I saw after I came up with the same idea) but it is over $600. Plus, I just like doing this kind of project.

 

[WooferHound]

WooferHound, what do you mean by "has a speaker or instrument switch"?

Yes bishipthomas is correct, it selects an instrument level or speaker level for the input.
I was using one of these Rapco DI boxes to get the sound from a DVD player that was playing to a couple of 10x14 screens at an event last week. The guy running the DVD player was using the Speaker/Instrument switch as a Mute switch. I thought that was a cool idea.

 

[TheGuruat12]

Speaker[/autolink]/Instrument switch as a Mute switch. I thought that was a cool idea.

That's genius!