What is the best low cost direct box?

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:24 am

i'm talking under 70$.

thanks.

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:25 am

oh, and i would like an active di.

i'm wondering if any company nailed the high quality, low cost end of the market...

awolski · Post by **awolski** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:28 am

At that price, I like the ART tube MP and you could even plug mics into it if you wanted. If you find one used on Ebay for around $30-$40 you'll have some $$ left over. You could buy a couple different tubes to swap out with the stock tube to get different sounds, which is fun.

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:36 am

awolski wrote:At that price, I like the ART tube MP and you could even plug mics into it if you wanted. If you find one used on Ebay for around $30-$40 you'll have some $$ left over. You could buy a couple different tubes to swap out with the stock tube to get different sounds, which is fun.

is it good for analog recording?

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:37 am

awolski wrote:At that price, I like the ART tube MP and you could even plug mics into it if you wanted. If you find one used on Ebay for around $30-$40 you'll have some $$ left over. You could buy a couple different tubes to swap out with the stock tube to get different sounds, which is fun.

also, it says that model is a preamp, not a direct box.

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:40 am

there is an active DI box that is 25 bucks but it is a Behringer and you can get it at like musiciansfriend.com

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:48 am

CFlood wrote:there is an active DI box that is 25 bucks but it is a Behringer and you can get it at like musiciansfriend.com

yeah but is it good? i'm looking for low cost, high quality...if it exists.

Lavahead · Post by **Lavahead** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 11:31 am

magritte wrote:
CFlood wrote:there is an active DI box that is 25 bucks but it is a Behringer and you can get it at like musiciansfriend.com
yeah but is it good? i'm looking for low cost, high quality...if it exists.

Hmmm...I'd say you tend to get what you pay for. Most things that sound "good" are sought after, and therefore, expensive. I'd say if you want a solid DI Box be willing to pay for it, if not, you may have to settle with a lower end product to fit your price range.

I like the Boss DI, I'm not sure of the model number, but it sounds good and I'm sure it's fairly "cheap". It's probably a little over your price range, but like I said, I think if you put out the extra cash you will be happier. If you don't have the money now, if I were you, I would wait until I did.

The difference between a $25 dollar Behringer shit box and a $100 Boss will probably be huge. I havent A/B'd the two, so I can't say for sure.

awolski · Post by **awolski** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 11:49 am

[quote="magritte]also, it says that model is a preamp, not a direct box.[/quote]

Yes, it's marketed as a preamp but I mostly use mine as a keyboard/bass DI box these days. It matches the impedence like a DI box is supposed to. The fact that it's a preamp gives you a little more flexibility - you can add gain for quiet instruments or crank it even more for distortion (although to be honest the clipping of the solid state stage of this preamp sounds pretty shitty). The sound of this ART isn't very "open" but I found you can use that to your advantage - it will smooth out a harsh or sharp sounding keyboard or piezo pickup because it attenuates the high frequencies. It is one of those "starved tube" things though, so if you're tracking to analog tape you might end up with a smearier sound than you are going for,esp. on bass. But it's versatile.

Right at the price point you quoted you could get a Johnson J-Station, one of those digital amp modeler doohickeys. I think they're $80 at GC or SA because they're discontinued. The cartoon guitar sounds are cheesy but you can get a clean bass sound out of them.

I know I'm not answering the question straight but I have never heard a bargain Direct box that I thought sounded anything other than "meh".

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 1:26 pm

magritte wrote:
CFlood wrote:there is an active DI box that is 25 bucks but it is a Behringer and you can get it at like musiciansfriend.com
yeah but is it good? i'm looking for low cost, high quality...if it exists.

I dont think it would be that good, I am about to pick one up for my church though. I have not tried it out. So i would have no idea

hiwatt33 · Post by **hiwatt33** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 2:13 pm

CFlood wrote:
magritte wrote:
CFlood wrote:there is an active DI box that is 25 bucks but it is a Behringer and you can get it at like musiciansfriend.com
yeah but is it good? i'm looking for low cost, high quality...if it exists.
I dont think it would be that good, I am about to pick one up for my church though. I have not tried it out. So i would have no idea

The Behringer DI is pretty damn good. I have a few of these and I like them.

jebjerome · Post by **jebjerome** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 2:16 pm

I was able to find a BSS AR-133 active direct box for around $120, which is obviously more than you want to spend, but sounds good and worth it. Seems clean to me.

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 2:17 pm

hiwatt33 wrote:The Behringer DI is pretty damn good. I have a few of these and I like them.

I think i will pick one up for myself then

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 2:33 pm

what about the countryman 85s? i've heard they are pretty much the standard. a little pricey but is it worth it?

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 2:44 pm

The countryman is cool. I would rather use a nice passive DI than a shitty active one. A big old transformer, with a decent mic pre will beat a poopy buffer circuit every time in my opinion.

If you cant afford something super snazzy, just get a good quality passive, and save the pennies towards better gear....

-just my 2 cents.

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