Question: What sits on the music recording studio floor all night long, and doesn’t even hum?
Answer: Joe’s DI box !!
Y’all (I’m just back from Texas) know the basic recording studio equipment:
- mics
- recorders
- mixers
- monitors
- compression
- effects
But there’s couple of unsung heroes tucked away (probably) that should be on top of every engineer’s essentials list:
- DI boxes
- Cables
Recording Studio Equipment – Direct Injection Boxes
No flashing LEDs, no mass of knobs. Plain-jane compared to most audio processors, the unassuming DI (Direct Injection) box just sits on the floor doing its job.
And what is it’s job? Two jobs, really…
- match impedances
- change unbalanced inputs into mixer-friendly balanced outputs
And when will you need a DI box for these tasks? One of the most common DI box applications is to record bass guitars without amps or mics.
Also useful for synths, guitars, and other unbalanced, hi-impedance sources.
DI boxes range from simple, unpowered lo-Z in/hi-Z out, to powered DIs including effects, and multiple channels. Keep a two channel DI box available to connect a stereo keyboard, for example.
For general use I have a couple of super-inexpensive Whirlwind IMPs, and an Aguilar DB 900 Tube Direct Box
for the top quality projects.
Tomorrow: Recording Studio Equipment – Cables