Do I still need a DI box if...

Longtallronnie

...my mixer had a Hi Z input?

I'm using an Alesis multimix for acoustic gigs and one channel had a Hi Z switch for use with guitars etc. 
Would I be better off using a dedicated DI box into a regular line level input or would it make no difference? 
I'm still learning how to use the mixer and discovering new things it can do every day so expect more questions soon!

ICBM

If you're near to the mixer and you're not using any sort of unit which is grounded/earthed, it should be fine to use the Hi-Z input. It becomes more of a problem with long cable runs, which tend to pick up noise, or if you have something driving it which is mains-powered and has no ground lift.

maltingsaudio

As above should be fine,  just don't overload the input of the channel with your guitar and be careful with levels as a mismatch can introduce unwanted noise very quickly on these units

Longtallronnie

All cables are as short as possible but I do run a Line 6 M9 into the aux send/return of the mixer so I can use the looper on vocals and guitar. 
I'll start another thread about that though as I've several more questions regarding setups. 

Thanks for for the advice, I'm thinking a DI box probably won't be necessary but might be useful in conjunction with how I plug other gear into the mixer. 

ICBM

A cheap DI box is something that all gigging musicians should own really - useful for getting you out of a tricky situation if your gear goes down and your only choice is to run whatever's left through the house PA, even if it's not part of how you normally set stuff up.

oktorockto

ICBM said:

A really good quality DI box is something that all gigging musicians should own really - useful for getting you out of a tricky situation if your gear goes down and your only choice is to run whatever's left through the house PA, even if it's not part of how you normally set stuff up.

Fixed that for you. Don't underestimate the sound quality gap between something like a cheap Beringer DI and a Radial/BSS/dedicated acoustic DI like a Baggs para.

digitalscream

oktorockto said:

ICBM said:

A really good quality DI box is something that all gigging musicians should own really - useful for getting you out of a tricky situation if your gear goes down and your only choice is to run whatever's left through the house PA, even if it's not part of how you normally set stuff up.

Fixed that for you. Don't underestimate the sound quality gap between something like a cheap Beringer DI and a Radial/BSS/dedicated acoustic DI like a Baggs para.

Given that the more relevant sound quality gap is between a cheap Behringer DI and the sound of silence, I'm not convinced you're right there

Longtallronnie

So how about passive vs active? Vaguely remember reading something about using passive if your acoustic has a preamp fitted?

Assuming passive DI's are relatively cheaper I think I'd prefer a decent passive to a crappy active. 

maltingsaudio

Get an orchid micro di active brilliant and won't break the bank, not sure your going to need it but for £25 cant go wrong http://orchid-electronics.co.uk/ On second thoughts push the boat out a bit and get the muting one really handy on gigs for guitar swaps and tuning things

Danny1969

Bear in mind unless you have a pretty good PA your unlikely to hear much of a difference between Di box's ... the Behringer one's are fine, electronically balanced rather than transformer but I haven't had any trouble with them

ICBM

digitalscream said:

oktorockto said:

ICBM said:

A cheap DI box is something that all gigging musicians should own really - useful for getting you out of a tricky situation if your gear goes down and your only choice is to run whatever's left through the house PA, even if it's not part of how you normally set stuff up.

Don't underestimate the sound quality gap between something like a cheap Beringer DI and a Radial/BSS/dedicated acoustic DI like a Baggs para.

Given that the more relevant sound quality gap is between a cheap Behringer DI and the sound of silence, I'm not convinced you're right there

Exactly. In an emergency you're going to be doing something like plugging an overdrive pedal into the PA, so it doesn't matter in the slightest what the quality of the DI box is as long as it doesn't break. This only applies at small gigs with limited PAs too - anywhere else with a decent PA and a soundman will have spare DI boxes anyway.

I agree that something like the Para DI is an excellent bit of kit and for something you'll be using as part of your normal set-up, worth it - but there's no reason to spend that much on a backup you'll use rarely, when a cheap one will do.

Longtallronnie said:

So how about passive vs active? Vaguely remember reading something about using passive if your acoustic has a preamp fitted?

Assuming passive DI's are relatively cheaper I think I'd prefer a decent passive to a crappy active. 

In fact passive transformer-based ones often sound better for running electric guitar equipment into a PA than even higher-quality active ones do. Actives tend to be better for acoustic instruments, and essential if the instrument isn't preamped.

oktorockto

digitalscream said:

oktorockto said:

ICBM said:

A really good quality DI box is something that all gigging musicians should own really - useful for getting you out of a tricky situation if your gear goes down and your only choice is to run whatever's left through the house PA, even if it's not part of how you normally set stuff up.

Fixed that for you. Don't underestimate the sound quality gap between something like a cheap Beringer DI and a Radial/BSS/dedicated acoustic DI like a Baggs para.

Given that the more relevant sound quality gap is between a cheap Behringer DI and the sound of silence, I'm not convinced you're right there

Well, I'm not advocating silence of course but people spend a fortune on guitars, leads, recording gear, speakers, amplifiers etc and then mash the signal through some really poor DI box. Some of the cheaper models really do degrade the quality and tone of the signal. Best one I saw was a University with a really nice new SSL console and 4 channels of Behringer DI going into it. 

guitarfishbay

I can recommend the Orchid Classic DI.  Less than £40 delivered and sounds excellent.  Also has pad input and parallel output which are useful especially for recording with.

ESBlonde

Danny1969 said:

Bear in mind unless you have a pretty good PA your unlikely to hear much of a difference between Di box's ... the Behringer one's are fine, electronically balanced rather than transformer but I haven't had any trouble with them

Agreed, they do have very thin tracks on the PCB and they don't have a mumetal can around the rather average audio transformer (so don't sit it atop a big ass bass amp etc). But they are cheap and functional (as a copy of an industry standard). I always had a couple of proper DIs when I did sound, but a bunch of Behringers for kicking about dodgy stages to take bugged instruments, keys, DJ desks, Bass amps or guitars etc. However these days Orchid are priced so well that for the extra quality and reliability it's worth getting one (or several). If the Euro pound rate changes that may not be the case again though. Any decent desk can sort the signal from a behringer DI, probably excludes behringer desks there then :-)