Stupid question alert!

mark_jwedge

Sorry in advance for the stupid question.

I am going to be doing some acoustic gigs soon and will be using my Taylor 214 electro. 

My questions are: What is a DI box for and do I need one??

ICBM

It's a box which converts the high-impedance unbalanced signal from the guitar - which is also what you need to go into an acoustic amp - into a low-impedance balanced signal which is what you need to go into a PA.

Some basic PA amps - the sort which are a mixer and a power amp in a box which sits on stage and just drives a couple of cabs - have high-impedance inputs as well, so you don't need a DI box, but anything else will have XLR (mic type) inputs, so you will. A pro PA setup will have a stagebox with multiple XLRs connected to the mixing desk at the back of the room.

Most pro soundmen will have their own DI boxes so you probably don't need one if you're doing a bigger gig, but it's not a bad thing to have if you're expecting to use an electro-acoustic in different situations. They aren't expensive, and there isn't usually a huge difference in audio quality between a cheap one and an expensive one.