I am really confused about which DI Box to buy for my Schecter with EMG 707s. Do I get the Radial ProDI (passive) or the Radial Pro48 (active). I want to go Guitar to DI Box to XLR input of audio interface. I kind of understand why passive pickups are not to be used with passive DI boxes. But I do not understand at all the electronics of whether active EMG guitar pickups are to be used with active or passive DI boxes.
DI Box for EMG 707s?
- Thread starter TheSkyAfire
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- active pickups di box emg guitar radial
Machinated
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Both will affect the tone in one way or another (albeit in a more pleasing way than cheaper DI boxes). It's hard to say what will work better in your context, but I honestly don't think it's worth going cheap on DI boxes as they can really kill/mangle your tone before you start.
I'm assuming you can try one before you buy but if you have the chance to compare, do that and see what you like best. Otherwise just go for the most expensive you can afford and eventually get some alternatives down the line if you're not feeling it.
I'm assuming you can try one before you buy but if you have the chance to compare, do that and see what you like best. Otherwise just go for the most expensive you can afford and eventually get some alternatives down the line if you're not feeling it.
I asked GC if I can try their DI boxes and they said no. They said all DI boxes sound the same, but cheaper DI boxes introduce more noise. I don't believe this based on my reading. I went with the Countryman DT85 for a few reasons.
Standard input impedance for passive pickups is 1MOhm. The Radial JDI and Radial J48 respectively have input impedances of 140kOhm and 220kOhm. Both impedances are low and can diminish your DI tone when recording with passive pickups. The Countryman is 10MOhm. I use EMG 707 active pickups. But if I ever buy a guitar with passive pickups, I do not want to have to buy another DI box. I can use the Countryman with both pickup types. Although I did hear there are sometimes clipping problems with active EMGs and the Countryman. I'll update.
Standard input impedance for passive pickups is 1MOhm. The Radial JDI and Radial J48 respectively have input impedances of 140kOhm and 220kOhm. Both impedances are low and can diminish your DI tone when recording with passive pickups. The Countryman is 10MOhm. I use EMG 707 active pickups. But if I ever buy a guitar with passive pickups, I do not want to have to buy another DI box. I can use the Countryman with both pickup types. Although I did hear there are sometimes clipping problems with active EMGs and the Countryman. I'll update.
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Trevoire520
Member
I have no clue where this idea that you have to use active with passive and vice versa has come from but it seems to be everywhere!? Basically as long as your input impedance is above 1Mohm the DI will work fine with either active or passive pickups as long as it doesn't clip. Clipping an active DI can be equally troublesome with either active or passive pickups (there's plenty of passive's that have much higher output than actives!)
Machinated
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echoing all this - the 1Mohm impedance the kemper input sounds darker to me than the 2.2Mohm input of the UAD Apollo. its nice to have the option of different DI's as pickups will react differently and it really depends on what you're working with.
