TheWinterSnow
Den Mørke Natt
From M-Audio
Considering that, any changes in tone (weather good or bad) from using the instrument in vs a DI into the line in are from the coloration of the DI, since they are made from transformers. All transformers will color the sound which is why you only use a DI when you need it, mostly because you want the most transparent sound as possible. The problem is everyone talks about the lack of quality that an interface's instrument in would have. Unfortunately, using a DI into the line in won't make a difference because the line in won't be any better in quality than the instrument in and adding a DI if not needed would only make the coloration worse. Like I said before a DI is only needed when the input impedance of whatever you are plugging your guitar into is too low and loading down the pickups but as far as I can tell instrument in on most interfaces are 1M voltage followers which do the job of providing enough current and preventing the pickup from being loaded down, which is the only real purpose of a DI. The rule of thumb is to never add a transformer to a circuit that is not needed as they do all sorts of nasty things.
