Amp DI box - with no speaker emulation

sgosden

Want to put something between my amp and speaker, that'll feed a line signal into Helix to be used with IR/Cabs.

I know there is a behringer, and an old H&K redbox that you can switch off the cab emulation. but what else is out there that's worth a look? As always I'm looking to do it for a reasonable price (£100 ish?).

Attenuation/ reactive load isn't a must, as I'll be running an output to a cab.

Thoughts?

mike257

The RedBox is a bit of a go-to, to be honest. If you can get your hands on one I'd grab it. I'm fairly certain Radial do something in a similar vein too, which is bound to be decent. Can't remember a model number off the top of my head but I'm sure a quick Google will reveal it to you. Another option would be talking to Orchid Electronics. I'm not sure they have one off the shelf, but they do custom work and their kit and prices are good. Hand built in the UK and they'll make it do whatever you need it to.

ICBM

I don't think you can switch off the cab emulation on the Red Box, unless there's an older version than mine.

Any passive DI box with a pad switch will work, although if you're going to connect it *between* the amp and the speaker then it's worth checking inside that the linkage between the input and the parallel output jacks is heavy-gauge enough for speaker current. But it's always safer to connect to a separate speaker jack if the amp has one, assuming it doesn't automatically switch impedance or something else complicated.

sgosden

mike257 said:

The RedBox is a bit of a go-to, to be honest. If you can get your hands on one I'd grab it. I'm fairly certain Radial do something in a similar vein too, which is bound to be decent. Can't remember a model number off the top of my head but I'm sure a quick Google will reveal it to you. Another option would be talking to Orchid Electronics. I'm not sure they have one off the shelf, but they do custom work and their kit and prices are good. Hand built in the UK and they'll make it do whatever you need it to.

most tend to have built in speaker emulation from what I have seen. have dropped orchid a message though, good shout

ICBM said:

I don't think you can switch off the cab emulation on the Red Box, unless there's an older version than mine.

But it's always safer to connect to a separate speaker jack if the amp has one, assuming it doesn't automatically switch impedance or something else complicated.

this one apparently does - https://reverb.com/item/2380763-hughes-kettner-red-box-pro

Not sure I understand what you mean using a separate jack?

dependant on if I've got space for two cabs on stage, I'd be using it as either

Amp- 16ohm output > DI> 16ohm cab

Amp - 8ohm output > DI > 16ohm cab
         - 8ohm output > 16ohm cab

ICBM

sgosden said:

this one apparently does - https://reverb.com/item/2380763-hughes-kettner-red-box-pro

Yes, it does - different from mine… Pro vs Classic.

sgosden said:

Not sure I understand what you mean using a separate jack?

dependant on if I've got space for two cabs on stage, I'd be using it as either

Amp- 16ohm output > DI> 16ohm cab

Amp - 8ohm output > DI > 16ohm cab

         - 8ohm output > 16ohm cab

You should always connect the amp directly to the cab if possible. Then connect the DI box to any other speaker jack, the impedance doesn't matter. The reason for doing this is safety - by going *through* the DI box, you're doubling the number of cables and contact points between the amp and the speaker, and adding some solder joints… any of which could fail and cause the amp to be without a load.

So in your first case, connect the 16-ohm output on the amp to the cab, and connect one of the 8-ohm outputs to the DI box.

The second case is OK because one speaker is still connected directly to the amp, which will keep a load on even if it's the wrong impedance - always better than no load. But you could make it better still by simply connecting both cabs to the 8-ohm outputs and the DI box to the 16.

Also - you don't need to use a speaker cable to connect the amp to the DI box, even from a speaker jack, *provided* it's not then going on to a speaker cab or other load. Instrument cable is fine as long as the speaker current isn't present.

timmysoft

I use the Palmer junction, it's pretty decent

Sporky

The speaker emulation on the Behringer GI400 can be turned off, and it works between amp and speaker.

ecc83

See what/talk to, Orchid Electronics.

Dave.