Whether you play guitars or basses with passive pickups, you'll need a direct box that won't diminish your instrument's tone when recording or plugging into the board. Using premium components like a Cinemag transformer and leveraging elite build quality, the Warm Audio WA-DI-A Active Direct Box is more than just a basic DI. There is no specific rule on when to use active vs. passive DIs, but a good guide is to use active direct boxes with passive sources like guitars and basses with passive pickups. If you're looking for a professional, durable DI, the Active Direct Box from Warm Audio delivers premium features that help solve many audio issues live and in the studio.  Plug in your guitar, bass, keyboard, or other high-impedance instruments on the unit's front panel. The Thru jack sits beside it, for easy access to run a line out to your amp, and the converted signal exits the unit via a sturdy XLR jack on the rear panel. The front-panel switches include Phase, Ground Lift, and Amp Out. On the back panel, you can select passive or active operation, and choose to engage the variable pad.  The Warm Audio Active Direct Box is powered by 48-volt phantom power or by two 9-volts, with an operational life of over 1,600 hours on a fresh set of batteries. The unit auto-senses 48-volt phantom power — switching the unit automatically into active mode — and includes a 48-volt indicator light. When operating on batteries, manually select active or passive mode via the back-panel toggle switch. The batteries are easy to remove and replace when the faraway day comes for a new set!

Features:

• Active direct box with Cinemag transformer
• Converts a high-impedance, unbalanced signal to a low-impedance, balanced signal
• Leaves your instrument's tone and clarity intact
• Variable pad from -3dB to -30dB lets you set an optimal input level to prevent distortion
• Ground lift switch helps eliminate buzz and hum caused by ground loops
• Route your amp signal to a live mixer or recording interface
• Intuitive front- and rear-panel layout
• Sturdy all-metal chassis can withstand the most rigorous use
• 1,600+ operational hours on a set of fresh, high-quality 9-volt batteries