One can easily get too carried away with all the technicalities of how things work. I say rather than spend your time reading up about power supplies (you need to be acquainted with electronics to fully get the most out of that sort of info and if you are not the you wont really benefit so much) spend your time making recordings instead with DI's and learn how to get the best out of them in terms of where they are used in the signal chain. Much more important. Yes there are some issues for sure with DI's but they are not major in the end. I have used them live and in recording situations for years without any issue and always been happy with the signal that has arrived through a DI box. 

The advantages of an active DI are firstly they are quick and easy to setup. Mostly they are pretty transparent in terms of what they do and because they don't have any controls and level settings and things on them it makes them easier and less prone to mis adjust. A preamp set wrongly is going to be a much worse scenario.

Also remember too (and I don't think Mike is factoring this in so much) is that the clean DI signal that comes directly out of a guitar will most likely be processed pretty hard later on with an array of virtual amp and cabinet simulators so the sound of the original DI signal is going to be well and truly lost by the time it finds its way into your final stereo mix buss.

Is the listener going to say Oooh I don't like that guitar sound because it was recorded through a DI with an inferior power supply? If the guitar part is killer then the listener is going to really enjoy it don't you think. That is where it's at. (Frank Gambale still sounds good through a DI. ANY DI!)

I have got a box too that generates 48V DC from a 12V DC input (1 amp) so there are circuits that can step DC voltages up too. But I agree with Mike in that I am not sure they are doing that inside many DI's though. It is quite a large and heavy unit and is designed for phantom powered devices that are connected to mixers that do not offer phantom power. Use phantom power where ever you can with any DI. It will perform better for sure and also it will never go flat either!

.

Like I said , most DI boxes will automatically use Phantom power if supplied,,, but make sure the one you are using say's this is OK somewhere first. I think that's a piece of vintage gear right? I mean the company doesn't have a web site. You may not be able to find a user manual. Mine say's it right on the box below the XLR output jack. This would be standard. 

Jeff Evans


Be wary of using the effects send of any guitar amp. Not good advice. Some amps that have a distortion channels like Marshalls might be sending the distorted signal from there.

The ultimate place to get a total clean sound is direct out of the guitar into a DI. Then you know you have a perfect clean and unaltered sound.

I don't see the reason why not. It is either a standard or line level send and any rack effect accepts that and isn't that what an AI accepts as well. Though it is advisable to mind your levels.

I don't really know the history of the Minicube, A friend gave it to back in the days when we were touring with DAC, early 90's, and it sure does show signs of wear.

MINICUBE

audio envelope systems, Inc.

MC-220 D.I. Box

it has a Norm Input   Amp in  Lo Imp out   all 1/4 inch

and XLR Balanced out    a ground lift push button switch  and push button filter switch  _____
                                                                                                                                                    \

It worked perfectly for me with a new fresh battery, I'll see if I can find out more before I try the phantom

.

I use several of these both in the studio and live.

Both work well for me......

Behringer DI 100
 
Samson Stereo DI

Mike McCue, You have just taken a direct-box off my list indefinitely. I have never owned one. Now, I don't think I will. Thanks for that.

Also, I will say when I'm having a lot of fun, I run my guitar into my interface, then back out to my FX, then back in - through an amp sim -- and out to my looper, and my roland GR-20 in direct, then out to my looper, then the looper back in... I tend to record the midi for the guitar part to a silent track just to save it. It's raucous fun and I can run the guitar through Amp Sims before sending it to the looper. Look! I'm using all of my inputs for me and my guitar! Aren't I special!!

It is quite possible that the Mini Cube DI may not work with phantom power and even if it does it may not perform that well.

Not using a DI simply because Mike is suggesting that some may not work so well over phantom power is not a good enough reason. The newer units such as from Radial Engineering (as Mike also points out) offer very high quality performance and use much less current drain from the phantom voltage as well to maximise their performance specs.

I would be using a much more modern DI these days. They are not all created equal and have been improved over the years from various companies. Mike is correct in saying that earlier units may not get the best results from phantom power as they may be drawing too much current. If you suspect that, go for the battery for the duration of the session. Even on a 9V battery the headroom is plenty and still greater than the headroom you will be using with your DAW especially if the input signal is low eg -20 dBu or lower which is often the case coming direct out of an electric guitar.

gswitz in fact here are a couple of good reasons why you should invest and carry a DI. Just buy a quality new recent one! 

1     You are in a recording session and they have run out of DI's, they decide they need your dry signal coming out of the guitar. You can just use yours, patch it between guitar and amp and provide them with that signal.

2     You are on a live gig and they have run out of mics (for micing your amp) and DI's (It happens!) and they need your guitar sound. You could whip out your DI and patch between say your effects system and your amp and send them a pretty decent representation of your sound.

Guitarpima if you examine a circuit you will often see the effects send is quite a way down in the chain and may contain active gain stages, saturation, tone control. You don't really know what the sound is going to be. If you want a pure representation of the dry guitar sound (as per the OP) then the DI between guitar and amp/effects is the ultimate place to do that free of any influences that follow thereafter.