recording a direct guitar signal with or without DI box?

Yes it's the same, the only difference being is that dedicated DI Boxes or higher end Audio Interfaces, will give you a clearer, noiseless signal.

 

Yeah I get the exact same results with the Radial DI box as I do with my Mbox audio interface

 

Since we're in the same topic I have a question. I have a focusrite scarlett solo, and I'm wondering if it would make a difference to switch it to a DI- box. Nothing expensive... But for some reason I don't really like the signal I'm getting from the scarlett, sounds a bit cheap for me...

I was looking at the Millenium DI-33 and it's a pretty budget friendly and the reviews were good and I use it for home recording only.

Would this make the signal clearer and hopefully less noisey? Thanks in advance!

 

Nowadays there's no need to spend a lot to get good professional quality preamps for DI recording, any Audio Interface between 150-350 USD/Euro is more than capable, there's not always a need for a separated DI-Box. Apogee, PreSonus, RME are all great options between this price range.

 

You'll definitely hear a difference, from those above I highly recommend Apogee or RME.

 

I have a Focusrite scarlett and I'm not that pleased with it... Asked a question above regarding would a dedicated DI- box make a difference to the signal...

 

I've seen lots of complaints about the Scarlett line in pre's for DI recording, the signal is too distorted and not hot enough. I don't think it would be a worthy upgrade from the Line 6. I'd suggest saving a little and get an Apogee ONE/Duet, that will be a huge improvement. A separated DI box might improve things a little but see it this way, there are cheap/mid/high/expensive DI boxes, some are great, some are not, for the price you spend for an extra DI Box, why not just go with a great audio interface? It's a much better investment and very crucial to great sound quality recordings.

 

I really interesting about the signnal too distorted or not hot. If you talking about the clipping isues, i have the Scarlett 2i4 and a 7s with EMG 707 on it. I don't have any problems with the signal and it doesn't clip at all. I don't even need to activate the PAD button, even though i bought this one specificaly because of the pad to remove clips from my active pickups.

 

Skip Scarletts, noise city. Unclear, distorted signal that is nearly unusable which is why I haven't did NEARLY as much recording as I want to. It makes amp sims a major pain to use, which sucks for someone like me who only uses amp sims.

Go RME, Apogee, Audient or that new Axe IO from IK Multimedia as it seems pretty interesting (ensure you can return it though).

 

Oh I don't mean clipping, I meant serious distortion in the clean signal. For reference I had an old Roland Duo Capture interface which would distort my DI's so amp sims would sound awful.

 

I'm using scarlett for a year now, i don't even hear any distortion. I'm really curious about this since i only use amp sims for play/records. Do you have any clip tests showing this happening?

 

Made this (bad) video 3-4 years ago showing the problem, I've used the same interfaces with multiple computers in differing environments (different outlets, different buildings, some desktops, some laptops) all with the same problem, so it's not a grounding issue with the wall outlet or anything



Those two examples in the clip were using POD Farm alongside a bunch of other processing, but it's not plugin-specific or anything like that

Also just a super low-heavy and unclear signal, plugging in the guitar to ANYTHING different (ie: practice amps, tube amps, hardware sims) opens it up SO much, and keep in mind this is just a stock RG8 so the harsh noise in the high end is only amplified when I use a guitar with actual decent pickups with some high end (though the low buildup is still present)

 

Well I just feel that the sound quality could be a lot better... Could be different factors, but that's how I feel after using it a few years now.

But since it's under 100€ I guess that's what you get.

 

I think it would be amazing if someone who has both scarlett and one hi-end interface record some DIs and share. Unfortunately it's really hard to find such content online...
I had to search for 3 months before buying my scarllet and couldnt find any genuine information or sound test with guitar DIs.

 

Supposedly the Scarlett issue has been fixed with the new gen, but it is still problematic for some.

I'd personally suggest Audient as I think their DI and pres are a cut above the rest in their respective price ranges.