[GentleHands McCoy]

I'm not knowledgable about DI boxes so I figured I would ask around here to see if any of you could fill me in. Lately (past 9 months or so) I've been getting into amp sims/vsts a fair bit. I have a nice interface, Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, nothing pro but it sounds great for the prosumer level and there is certainly a noticeable difference from the m-boxes and fast tracks that I've had in the past (for the better). Anyways when I am playing/recording with amp sims I usually go straight into the hi-z input on the interface it sounds pretty good. But lately I've been deciding to go into the strobostomp first (mainly so I don't have to unplug stuff retuning between takes :lol and then using the DI function of the strobostomp with an XLR cable to go into my interface. For some reason this makes everything sound cleaner and better overall. Could anyone stipulate as to why this is?

Also, is the Strobostomp considered a "Professional level" DI? I haven't done research, but how does it compare to the DIs that producers use to save DIs before reamping? I'm assuming that being a reasonably expensive unit it preserves the tone at least moderately well? I'm not looking for the best quality, but if there is something signifigantly better at a prosumer price I would be interested in getting something like that.

 

[105]

It'll work fine as a DI.

I have an Avalon U5, and Matt J has a Radial JDI, and when reamping, we couldn't hear any difference between tracks recorded with one or the other. We didn't try a punch in with them (we'd probably hear a slight difference there), but for leads cut on one or the other we couldn't hear a difference.

I think any quality DI will fine, you don't need the $500 Avalon, or $1,000 Manley. I can't say for certain the quality of the DI in the Strobo, but it's quite believable that it's better than what's in the Focusrite.

 

[GentleHands McCoy]

Thanks Crooks!

The radial JDI is what a lot of guys (gearslutz/sneap forum) advise for a modest price point (can't say I'm in the market for a $500 DI :lol, I would definitely be interested in getting something like that if the quality is markedly better than the Peterson. I think Mike thinks pretty highly of his Strobostomp, think he mentioned using it for a DI live (for acoustics? IIRC) in another thread and finding the quality satisfactory. I'll just stick with the strobostomp for now since I can conveniently use one unit to tune/DI to my interface/output to my amp for monitoring at the same time.

I've heard that a lot of interfaces have great sounding XLR ins and less well designed Hi Z ins but I'm not a recording guy, so I don't know how true that is.

 

[Soopahmahn]

I've got the lower-end Radial, the $100 Pro series. I've got nothing to compare it to, but it's a very well-made box. I actually got the "ProAV1" model which includes hookups for RCA plugs and a minijack for iPod and shit. Just thought it was the most versatile thing I could snag at that price point.

 

[105]

Bottom line, I think, the Strobo DI is not the weak link in your signal chain. That's how I try to make all my upgrade decisions... upgrade what ever is the weakest link in the chain.

 

[79]

I've got the lower-end Radial, the $100 Pro series. I've got nothing to compare it to, but it's a very well-made box. I actually got the "ProAV1" model which includes hookups for RCA plugs and a minijack for iPod and shit. Just thought it was the most versatile thing I could snag at that price point.

That ProAV1 or 2 looks like it'd be good for Youtube videos. Plug a mixer with the amp source and the vocal/talking mic, then into an 1/8" input that many video cameras are including these days. Even a lot of the dSLR's and higher end point and shoot digital cameras have them for making HD videos.