Best Guitar Di Box (2024 Update)

Well you know how some people are when it comes to amplifiers on stage for church worship services. They don't want them because they think everyone will start cranking up and jockeying for sound. So I bought this direct box. Its amazing! You will like it a lot. I plug my acoustic guitar straight in and then send it to the house speakers. We have a Presonus 32.4.1 AI mixer in the new building. My favorite thing about this is the eq settings. I can dial in a sweet tone, my settings are bass at 2oclock, mids at 2 o'clock and presence and highs at 1 o'clock. Gain at 12 and volume at 3. This box is really all you need. I don't like tinny trebly sounding acoustic guitars. The bass and mids are wonderful for balancing out some highs and giving the guitar a "fullness". This box sounds very realistic. It is a very good representation of how the guitar sounds unplugged. I have a B Band pickup under the saddle so i have never had any frequency issues. I don't use the notch. I also use a TC electronic arena reverb pedal. Make sure you send the acoustic into the Para DI first and then to the reverb pedal or else it don't sound good. You can do this by getting an effects send return 1/4" cable and using the FX jack on the DI. Nice feature!! I will say i think this box sounded better on the old analog mixing board at our church, but I'm sure we can tweak it to the Presonus. Our church just moved from a 14,000 sq ft building into a 30,000 sq. ft. new building and new sound system so the room is playing into effect also. You need to keep this in mind. The old room had 12 ft. tile ceilings. The new building has 40 ft. ceilings. I think it sounds good coming out the house but it still sounds a bit digital in my headphones. Especially the b and e strings. That has more to do with the digital mixer though i think.guitarguy1981

If you've ever faced the problems of booming (or too thin) bass, acoustic feedback, "quacking," nasal sounding treble, or clicking picks, you will welcome this marvelous box. On my very first gig with the Baggs, I told the sound man to set the board flat and let me handle the EQ. With just a little experimentation and adjustment, I was able to boost the bass to the point where it was full but not booming, eliminate quacking and feedback, and balance the sound on my Taylor GS7 across the musical spectrum from low to high. When the sound man called down from the booth that he could hear my picks clicking on the strings, a few tweaks of the mid-high and presence knobs dialed that right out, without sacrificing volume or clarity on the treble strings. Admittedly, it's a bit tricky to master the somewhat complex settings on this sophisticated device, and the minimal instructions provided by Baggs don't help as much as one would wish. But there are some helpful videos on YouTube, and with a little experimentation you can get this box under control. I love the sound that it lets me get out of my guitar, and can't imagine that your experience would be any different. It's also extremely rugged — built like a tank, in fact — and should stand up to a lot of on-stage use. I can't imagine ever plugging in without it.marconelli

The best DI for acoustic guitar I've ever used. I bought one of these little gems at a local music store for almost ten years ago and it's like brand new. Quiet. Clean. I have a Tascam DP24 and there is ZERO hum or hiss in the signal. Onstage, I darned well won't use anything else for my Guild J series. The control over feedback in a live setting is incredible. I can notch out any hint of feedback with just a tiny alteration of the sweep knob. If my strings are a little old, I can dial in some crispness. The control in the lower mid to low high end is most sensitive–and very impressive. Most DI's give you a flat signal all across the spectrum which is okay for bass guitar or keys, but somehow this little guy gives me a certain springiness in the mid's, about 800 Hz to around 1.5 KHz. I frickin' love it. It turn my acoustic into a lead instrument that doesn't get lost in the mix.Michelle

I decided to opt for the Warm Audio DI Pro to use to boost my Rhodes. Has made a huge difference in the overall audio quality. Reccomended.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This unit suited my requirements for what I needed it to do. Height size was important to where I needed to use the box and the boss unit fitted this to a tee. I needed two units and I just finished connecting both up and this has worked well. Time will tell when I use the set-up for a longer period. Yes I would recommend this DI box.Dennis W.

As a live sound engineer, I have to deal with several musical instruments and their attendant equipment. DI (direct injection) boxes are like swiss army knives – they solve so many problems. The Boss DI-1 uses active circuitry for superior sound at the price of a premium passive box. In addition, the engineers listened to users during the design phase. Useful graphics explain how to use the box. Also, the switches have the right shape and resistance to movement that prevent accidental changes during perfomance. I tape over mine and they stay in place (rocker switches found on competing products can change state even under tape!).Darth

I have used dozens of di boxes in my 20 years and I would put this one in my top 2 favorites. Build quality, sound and lack of issues put it straight to the top. You can spend another $500 and not get any superior sound. Stick with this unit. It is rock solid. I have over 5000 hours with this box and it still has no issues.Paul-KSa5_

I have complex effect chain loops feeding into a patcher where then I end up sinking to the mixer, patchers are known to introduce the ground loops hum. This piece of engineering completely lifted my earth and separated the two circuits hence entirely eliminating my hum. As usual Behringer amazes by its engineering value offering at this price range.Walid A.

The DI boxes were purchased for our church. They are working very well and the prices were affordable. Very satisfied. Thank you.Viv F.

I am the worship leader at a local church. I needed a direct box to plug my acoustic guitar into the sound board. I looked at various different models and decided that this one would do everything I needed it too. It has lived up to my expectations. I have never had a problem with this direct box. The only reason I gave it a 2.5 on features is because some of the more expensive models have equalization controls, multiple inputs, effects loop, et cetera. If you take care of all that with other equipment all you really need is this box. And at a price below most of the other models it definitely gets my recommendation.Guitar Guy-DT71n

You have several options when not using a standard guitar amp. My particular use-case was that I wanted to plug into a computer interface, not have a shrill and weak sound while using distortion, and be able to record without having to crank my amp to maximum settings to get a good tone. If you try to use a distortion or other boost directly into the computer, you will probably get a shrill, high-frequency saturated sound; essentially you need a real guitar speaker to attenuate certain frequencies and give you that "balls," thick sound. This DI box was the solution for me. You can achieve a similar result with several "pod" like devices on the market, but I prefer using discrete pedals of my choosing, which isn't always easy or possible with multi effects units. With this, I can just run my typical setup to the unit instead of a regular amp, and still have a great sound. My main need was the cab sim and not the general DI functionality, but I can tell a major difference now when using a distortion pedal directly into the computer. It still isn't the same as miking an amp, but I feel it gives me a lot more versatility in my home studio, and I'm quite happy recording guitar tracks with this. Prior to using this device, I would scrap any guitar track I recorded that was not a miked amp. I now feel that I can get an album quality recording (yet still indy, not necessarily polished) with no amp. It can also be used to just plug into your band's PA system, but I haven't experimented with that so I can't comment. I am confident, however, that it would work just fine in that application. This would also be a great item for a keyboard player needing to plug into a house PA. The build quality on the outside seems excellent. The four rubber legs also help setting the unit down without slamming it. I'm very happy with the purchase, and with this price, you can't go wrong.Mirakus

Pro: + Easy to use: put a 9V battery in, plug your signal chain into it, output to audio interface. + Cabinet emulation is pretty good. Nothing to write home about but it definitely reduced the harshness of my overdriven black metal tone, making it much easier to work with in a mix. + Small and rigged. Metal case with rubberised feet mean it is most definitely usable for gigging. + Ground lift button got rid of humming that I had, BIG bonus! + Pad buttons help if your signal is excessively loud by reducing the level to prevent clipping (small LED to show if any clipping is occuring). Generally useful for active guitars among other uses. – Cabinet emulation is okay, nothing special and most certainly isn't as good as mic'ing up a speaker cabinet (though it's practically silent, so late night recordings can be done with ease). However, for the price and practicality this unit provides I don't see this as significant enough a negative to remove even a single star.desolator121

I am pleasantly surprised with this DI box. The only fault I have with it is the fact that you have to keep 9 volt batteries handy. Batteries do seem to have a long life in this thing, but it would be much nicer if you could just plug this thing in with a standard 9 volt barrel plug (like effects pedals). Most importantly it really does sound pretty good. I'm using mine with a Fender champion 600. Out of the amplifier's output to the Behringer DI, out of the DI to internal speaker (speaker level through the DI) and out of the XLR on the DI straight to the board. The only thing that is keeping the little Fender Champion 600's from creating massive tone is the small speaker and this solves that issue in a very big way. The sound I get is huge, warm, glassy, and very clear note definition. And my stage rig is unbelievably small now. It all fits very easily in the trunk of my car, and that's including 2 guitars. I recommend this DI for every guitar player.YadaYadaYada

The Behringer DI600P does a simple task and does it well – turning an unbalanced signal into a balanced signal for use by a mixer. Not having to use phantom power to run it is a bonus for small mixers without this facility, and the ability to completely isolate the signal to avoid ground loops is a must. Its clean, transparent sound makes an honest representation through a modern PA system. Amp speaker input levels as well as instrument levels make this such a useful device to have in your gig bag, and the low price tag is the cherry on the icing. Wouldn't be without it!Graham M.

Everybody should have at least one, i have three, for mandolin, bass guitar and acoustic guitar. Excellent and great it can be fantom poweredReviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This is a 5/5 all day everyday for me. I've used one for regular live gigs over the last couple of years and have had no issues whatsoever. Used mainly for keyboards it has been hard wearing and built for purpose. I'm expanding a bit more in live performance and had no hesitation in buying 2 more. Great unit for the price.Mary M.

Not much to report on, it is just a two channel DI Box. But it is built like you would expect from Mackie, works fine. Not too expensive.LMSavannah

Like all Mackie products I've used, this is another piece of workhorse gear. Purchase for a stereo feed of my keyboards to FOH for our worship team. Was originally going to get a Radial, but at half the price, I took the chance. I was not disappointed. Nice, clean and quiet. Very happy with this purchase.Kevin

Whenever I turn on this pedal, distortion or not it sounds like someone just woke up a beehive, The actual clean sound is pretty good but when you really dig into the pups it starts to make that pop sound louder which is a big issue for me at least, (shouldn't be due to volume increase) when the distortion is on, there's even more buzz AND it's a very bad distortion. The distortion also doesn't have a wide range of sounds and is only really usable at minimum gain and the blend knob almost all the way back, just get an OD , and an EQ pedal, trust me.Undisclosed

I typically run a clean bass signal with no effects (except for a compressor pedal). I purchased this pedal because of the DI, Equalizer control, Distortion (as needed) and 9v operation. (1) The DI sounds pretty good and records clean. (2) The Equalizer control is a little too sensitive for my taste, but it does shape the sound as expected. I feel that a +/- 12db 4-band Equalizer would have been better with frequency bands of 80Hz, 360Hz, 800Hz and 5kHz. (3) The Distortion is pretty good and fits the bill when needed. Like most distortion pedals, it is slightly thin when "on". But this pedal can balance a clean (low) and distorted tone for a good balance. (4) The pedal operates on the same 9v supply/polarity that virtually all other pedals operate on (center negative). I find this convenient when operating all pedals on my Big Joe Lithium Power Supply. In summary I'm happy with my purchase and it resides in my set-up all of the time.SLoveland

I bought this used through Guitar Center to boost the output of my Eastman 815 acoustic-electric mandolin, which has an internal microphone but was too quiet. I'm a hobbyist but play in worship settings. I was able to EQ the output to sound like the natural mandolin tone and to boost the volume which was important to me, since, on occasion, I play outdoors or in a large church sanctuary. The tuner is a great asset, making clip-on tuners unnecessary. The tone boost gives the mandolin even more volume for those times when you want to play a solo. The unit runs on a 9V battery or a 9v DC adapter. I happened to own already own a 9v DC adapter, and it gave the unit much more power than the battery, which was great. I definitely recommend getting a 9v DC adapter. This was a good buy!Jamie

This is a basic no frills DI box. Nothing fancy here, but gets the job done well. I have bought many Pyle products and never had any issues. I know sometimes they get a bad rep because quality control will let a dud through every once in awhile. As for me, I have been lucky, I own several of these DI boxes and never once had an issue. Since they are so cheap I have extra just in case one was to malfunction. You can't build one of these for less than 10 dollars so what do you have to lose.Greg

The Pyle parent company, SoundAround USA (http://www.soundaroundusa.com/) knows that thousands, if not tens of thousands, of the recent version of this direct box are totally unusable out of the box. I recently ordered four of them… and all four were defective. I sought four replacements from the retailer… and all four replacements they sent me had the same defect. I appealed to the SoundAround company itself, clearly explaining the 100% defect, and they sent me four more replacements… and all four of them had the SAME DEFECT. If you look through some of the dissatisfied reviews here, you'll see exactly what the problem is: units manufactured in China (says "Made in China" in big print across the side) have loose/sloppy attenuator switches. There is no way to tighten them up, and solid contact inside is impossible to achieve. So there is either a noisy signal or no signal at all. Let this be your warning – this direct box is bad news. I have two older ones that work fine, but the newer ones are absolute junk! It's a shame the company chooses to pretend they aren't fully aware of what is going on, (and possibly illegal).thirty3na3rd3

This product, Pyle-Pro PDC21 Instrument To Balanced and Unbalanced audio lines, is the third one that I use as an interface between my Behringer MX-1604A mixer output to a Ham Radio transceiver Yaesu, Kenwood, or Icom microphone input, via a Heil CC-1 XLR Y-BAL Cable or generic cable. In this type of configuration, the Pyle-Pro PDC21, as an interface box, ensures impedance matching and hum reduction, with it's Ground Loop Lift circuitry. It's a cheap way to achieve excellent audio transfer.thundergod4u2

Small package, big sound. Sounds great with all my basses when recording straight into an interface. Looking forward to trying out live!Ross

I love the verstile tones this preamp provides. Using the guidelines in the manual I can recreate the acoustic sound of all my guitars, which, formerly all were predominatly quacky from the piezo pickup sounds. The only negative for me is the tuner sensitivity. You have to pluck the string pretty hard to get it to register. This is a big negative if you need to check tuning on a quiet stage or when you're waiting to walk on at the Bluebird! I use the D'Addario sound hole tuner in place of this one. The D can hear a gnat blink. Overall, still recommend this to make your acoustic sound right through FOH.Thom R. (Raleigh, NC)

I agree with all the positive comments. As for the negative, the specifics are missing, so I can't judge. As for myself I use a 1999 D-28 and a 1979 Yairi DY-50 cedar top. My original DY-50 had a rich, wide-range piano-like tone during the 14 years I owned it. I picked up another from the same limited edition recently that had a thin, brassy tone from a total lack of humidification over 37 years (which I'm slowly trying to reverse), but the Spectrum made it possible to attain the same tone as when new. That makes it well worth having. I also own a D-28, which I use mainly for downtuned finger-picking and has a different tone with stonger lower-mids. Thanks to the bank of 16 user-selected IRs, I can switch instruments and turn the selector by one click and I have two great-sounding guitars. What's missing (rather, what more I'd wish) would be MIDI-control of all the settings, but that would be too much for most acoustic guitarists. The only funtional down-side is that the machined aluminum knobs (some of which are small) have smooth sides, which requires a firmer grip than on any of my other devices and stomp boxes. Not a big deal, as the sound is what really matters.JFairweather

The Fishaman Aura Spectrum is very solidly built. The instructions are very clearly written and easy to follow. The unit comes with eight image banks. Each bank has 16 acoustic guitar images. Additional acoustic guitar images can be downloaded from Fishman's Aura Image Gallery. The gallery has a search function which allows the user to easily match the appropriate images to their specific guitar. The sound quality is excellent.jobutte-0

I use this in the studio to re-amp my guitar tracks to beef up the guitar sound with the ability to select various amp tones that works best for the song once all the other tracks are added. Very cool!GBG

Muy fcil de usar, solo con ver el aparato uno entiende, no es necesario leer el manual. No not diferencia en audio entre una guitarra conectada al amplificador y audio reampeado, la calidad es increble. Uno puede reampear y enviar la seal a dos amplificadores, para procesar y capturar diferente. As debera de ser todo el equipo, a buen precio, interface clara, y calidad perfecta. Totalemente recomendadomanuelkowalski

I hsd s guitar track thzt didn't sound so great before going to mix, so I bought this to run my DI signal out of my bosrd to my guitar amp, and I was able to take the time to dial up and record a guitar tone that now works for the song! I also did the same with a bass track, also ending up with a better tone. I couldn't be happier with the results. Check your newly recorded audio waveforms against the original DI track to compensate for latency (not caused by the RDB). I haven't used it as a passive DI, but will eventually find a use with my active bass!Rick

its easy to use the product, has a lot of ways to improve your sound. But it doesnt work for everybody in my opinion. i have a taylor 414ce and a gs mini koa (undersaddle pickup). Always looking for the perfect acoustic sound i bought this pedal. I´ve try it alone, with different pa systems and also with a fishman aura spectrum, fishman tone deq and on live performances a tc hellicon voicelive. in short, my gs mini sounds amazing with this, cant imagine a live performance without it. not such a perceptible upgrade using it with the 414ce. This pedal adds a more round, natural sound, it reduces that synthetic "plastic" sound that comes from undersaddle pickups and is evident when strumming, but when fingerpicking you get the most from this pedal. This adds colour and naturality, youll still need a pedal tuner, an eq, and effects etc. This makes a huge but sutil improvement on your acoustics that everybody will notice. Lr baggs has an amazing quality and perfect taste for acoustics so you wont get wrong with this, thou you may have other pedals first to buy before spending 250 for an amazing sound polisher.Rudy C.

This is a great little pedal. At first I thought it was a bit expensive for a pedal with very few knobs and no eq shaping ability. But what it was designed for it does very well. For me the compression adjustment alone is worht it. Takes the sound of all my guitars up a notch. I have a Taylor GS Mini with the EST whichsounded okay with passive DI but plugged into the session has vastly improved the live sound. I am a less is more kinda guy so i don't use alot of the compression or the saturation. But a little goes a long way. The other features i really like are the mute switch and phantom power. I love having everything in one case and just plug in, adjust and go.xxsierraxx

First let me commend Musicians Friend costumer service; Thanks. After playing this Session DI, It does sound good, but quality sound depends on your system. The gain and saturation knobs raise the noise level, but this is what makes the pedal sound good. If you lower the gain and saturation you get no noise and lack of fullness, so I needed a noise reduction pedal to cure it, however this is why I couldn't record with this. Kind of an oxymoron since its suppose to have come from studio techniques. My unit had a bad input jack and with that I returned it and bought the LR Baggs Venue instead..Rockerduck

Overall: I use this with electric guitar right at the front of the chain and I had become invaluable to my clean tone. The compressor, tuner, and low cut filter would be enough to satisfy most, but the EQ is well calibrated, the parametric mid knob is incredibly useful, and the boost gives plenty of extra clean volume. For me it provides the perfect foundation to my effects rig, but as a solo acoustic performer I could leave the other effects behind, I’m totally covered.Jacob

After doing much research on what would work best for my eclectic needs, I decided the Platinum Pro EQ/DI was going to be my best bet. I use mine with acoustic lap steels with L.R. Baggs M1A pickups and a Strat with a passive Graphtech Ghost system. I have a Vox passive volume pedal, a Boss TR-2 Tremolo, and a Line 6 Verbzilla in the effects loop. The main selling points for me were 1) the super high 10M ohm input impedance as I use a passive piezo with it, 2) the on board compressor, 3) the variable high pass filter (as opposed to just a fixed setting), and 4) the on board tuner. With minor tweaks to the input trim, pretty much any pickup system is going to work with this pre-amp. The on-board compressor sounds much better for acoustic than a typical electric guitar compressor (to my ears) as it doesn't clip or "squish" as much; it sounds very natural and improves string balance and sustain. The footswitchable boost is useful for balancing between different guitars on the fly, but I like to leave it on at the lowest setting (+3db) because 1) I get a indicator that the unit has power as there is no power LED and 2) the boost is before the effects loop so it drives the pedal chain better, like an amp's effects loop would. The tuner is accurate and flexible as it has several modes, but it will forever stay set to A=440 and chromatic for my uses, anyway. The LCD backlight could be a little brighter for outdoor use, but I'm used to using Boss TU-3's on my other pedal boards with their brightness cranked up. My only other gripe is that the master volume does not control the XLR output, but I understand that they do that so if you were running the amp output to a stage amp it wouldn't affect the DI signal. That said, I plug mine into a QSC K10 via the XLR out, but that's why I have the volume pedal in the effects loop as none of my guitars have an easily accessible volume control, anyway. The tuner still mutes the DI signal, however, which is useful. Great pre-amp!Platinum Pro User

I've quickly incorporated the Platinum Pro EQ into my acoustic guitar signal chain. It took a few gigs to dial in the settings that I want, but it's super easy to use and sounds great! Haven't played a show with a proper FOH engineer, but I look forward to sending him or her the DI signal from the unit. Only drawback is that the tuner is pretty difficult to see when playing an outdoor gig in any kind of direct sunlight. This is true for most electronics, so no surprise there.Jesse D.

I purchased this unit because its a great way to hook up laptop audio to convention center sound systems that have ground loop problems. Guess what?? It worked! As well its a great box for cleanly separating a single stereo audio signal into two separate monitor setups in a studio environment. Bottom line for passive DI solutions, Radial it king!454deluxe

Shipped on time. New, working. Researched pricing for Radial JDI on internet. Pro audio Star pricing the but with package you got a new Mogami xlr cable. Great deal. Ordered on Christmas night. No shipping delay. Would recommend.HealthyButterfly-57193

Overall: Recently purchased another keyboard, and was going to purchase another Radial Pro-D2 which I had been using for over a year, love that box! But, I decided to purchase the JDI Stereo. I did a test with the two and yes the JDI Stereo had a slightly better sound, it was subtle, but it was noticeable in the lower and upper registers of the keyboard (88 keys). Radial products are not cheap, but there is no doubting the quality of these units.Reginald

I decided on buying the JDI Radial over other high quality direct boxes. I made my choice on other reviews and demo's that I could find. Sweetwater's direct comparison of high end direct boxes is what convinced me that this is the box to get. The sound you get is crazy scary. I use the JDI passive direct box for my active Sting Ray Sterling by Music Man. Amazing quality and sound!Flash With No Cash

Bought this for use with my bass based on the great experience I have had with the Venue DI for my acoustic. Easy to set up and very intuitive. Able to achieve all the tone shaping I need. You can do straight DI OR hit the foot switch and get extra shaping including a moderate OD. Highly recommend for any bassist who can or needs to go straight to the board. I would say it can even be used in recoding situations as well.spotmarker

I recently had a Two Notes CAB M, and was having difficulty finding a good sound – there we simply too many parameters for me, so i started searching and eventually found this, one of the only more straight forward Cab AND Power amp sim duo (besides possibly the Nux Solid Studio). I took the plunge, and despite the hefty price tag, this is SIGNIFICANTLY easier to dial in a great sound. Not only that, you can save two presets to switch between. The options are practical and realistic and the controls are simple but effective. I ended up selling the CAB M/ The only downside is the limited ability to tweak, and possibly the limitations of features such as a Graphic EQ that other items like the Radar or CAB M offer, but for the sound quality, ease of use and practicality, it checks all the boxes for me. I haven't had the chance to use it live yet, but there may be a learning curve to balance my tone for FOH and also to a cabinet onstage for a monitor. I felt compelled to write this, because I could find so few review online. But it really is a great product.Dagget007