From Oakley Sound via analogue Sent Wed, Jun 13th 2018, 14:34
From Oakley Sound via analogue Sent Wed, Jun 13th 2018, 14:34
All DI boxes distort the signal. Indeed, all electronics will distort the signal. Generally speaking, the less you have between your synth your recording medium the truer the sound. However, the transformer in a DI box may impart a nice distortion to some signals. You may like the way it reduces certain frequencies, or naturally compresses the peaks. It is unlikely one would be able to find a transformer that works for all input sources and at all input levels though. A bass synth sound may well be improved by the use of an overdriven DI box, but a drum stem or main mix out may not. Generally, the more expensive the transformer, vintage clones notwithstanding, the cleaner it will be. That is, the 'better' ones will have less distortion and less frequency colouration. In other words closer to the actions of a short length of cable. A DI box can help with isolation issues. But in the studio you may be able to defeat hums and buzzes with some thought to your signal wiring. Sometimes breaking a ground loop with a cheap DI is not the best idea although it can be life saver on stage. In your studio reinforcing the ground may be better. I'm not talking about the sticking steel rods into the ground or rewiring your house here, but reinforcing the 0V connections between gear. The hum and buzz problems are exacerbated by poor design choices by the instruments' designers. Why we don't have balanced outputs on high end synths these days is just crazy. They don't have to be transformers either. Just a well placed resistor or two. Tony www.oakleysound.com