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What's the point of a direct box?
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:28 am
by Beatport
What's the point of a direct box? Should I be using one with my synths if i'm going into a preamp?
Re: What's the point of a direct box?
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:13 am
by solodky
Beatport wrote:What's the point of a direct box? Should I be using one with my synths if i'm going into a preamp?
is that an XLR Mic pre amp?
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:16 am
by synnack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_box
If the preamp requires XLR input then yes.
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:21 am
by longjohns
I may be talking out my ass but if you've got the cabling you need then I'd say no
With my old band we packed a 4x direct box 1U rack to shows, because most clubs we played at the time only had XLR inputs on their snakes and maybe 1 or 2 DI's at best.
sometimes it was handy to have the ground lift switch
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:23 am
by Beatport
Yes, I am going into an XLR pre.
OK, I guess I'm confused about one thing.
Is a synth output line or Hi-Z? I only need a DI if it's Hi-Z right? What happens if I go line into the mic pre?
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:43 am
by longjohns
Line level is WAY hotter than a microphone, that doesn't seem like a good idea
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 2:20 am
by Beatport
yeah, but is the output of my synth line or Hi-Z? It's an old roland juno-6 and an old vintage ARP
Do I need a direct box to go into the Hi-Z or mic pre inputs of my preamp.
I'm jst wondering, what's the best way to record this?
Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 4:10 am
by knotkranky
A di can be an adapter or a an impedance matcher. Yes, a synth is line level, but it's also ok to plug it into a mic pre, though you may have to turn down the level on the synth a bit. Line to line is the best way to go, but sometimes i'll plug synths into a pre for character. It's all good.