Recording a DI with a shitty interface

[reaper1984]

I've bought a Countryman 58, and at first i got surprised, i thought it would "convert" to a none clipped signal, so it wouldn't clip my audio interface, but it does indeed clip, just as if i put the guitar into the instrumentinput (M-audio D-mp3 preamp). Pushing the hi/lo gain range button tho, the signal is under control. I might hear a subtle difference, like some more highs in the guitar tone..
Question is.........Do i need a better audio interface to get better tone?
I mean the dmp3's preamp gain is like say 65% turned up in volume so it must color the sound, i suppose.
Is there any tests somewhere here on the forum maybe for this kind of stuff, di into cheap preamp/audio interface, same di guitarsetup etc into more expensive?
Thanks!

 

[bryan_kilco]

This is the reason I haven't bought a dedicated DI box; because I'm limited to my Profire 2626's pres and converters, so it probably wouldn't make much difference.

 

[deLuther]

Don`t forget that, according to Type 85 specifications, maximum input level is 5 Vpp (at 1% THD, in instrument mode) which is OK for active pickups at 9 V, but can be insufficient for passives (not weak, of course), so you can have some saturation and even clipping at Type 85 side alone. Most DI boxes can not handle large input levels in Hi-Z (instrument) mode.