Rupert Neve Designs RNDI 1-channel Active Instrument Direct Box

Well, I thought I knew more (alot more) than the aver pro audio tech head about DI's. In fact I have bought, used and sold 7 different brands and models over the years. Landed on Radial Engineering's solid designs of the JDI and J48. . what's not to like? I have installed them in multiple churches and own several myself. THEN, it happened. . a Sweetwater gear catalog came in the mail, I perused it and said- "What's that?". Spent the next several hours reading through ALL of the SWeetwater reviews on the RNDI. Installed it on a Fender JazzBass with active electronics. . . night and day improvement, then bought a second one to install on acoustic guitar, stunning difference. While I will alwasy be a Rdial fan sIv'e ahd strong success using theri DI's, the RNDI is simply differnt and markedly more musical than any DI I ahve ever heard. I sepnt many hours viewing YouTUbe videos of Bass guitars through multiple DI's and alwasy the RNDI shone brighter than the rest. AS a "tone freak", this is the real thing, complete tone purity. Connected a Motif keyboard to it- "pure tone" like the sytnh came alive! A taste of Neve magic. No comparison to anything I've ever heard or used.

love this thing. literally removes any icky-ness of any signal that goes through it. cannot even listen to my preamp pedals without it now. the difference is crazy. also i use the Thru output to my bass amp and it sounds so good. best 300$ i have ever spent. Thank you Rupert Neve Designs, you have changed my life forever lol.

I researched the options at this price point fairly extensively, and the ability to put the Neve between amp and speaker as well as between your instrument and the your amp clinched it for me. To say this device doesn't disappoint is an understatement. Of course the instrument to amp DI works perfectly and sounds great with classic Neve sonic characteristics. With the flip of a front panel switch, changing a few cables and insertion of your choice of speaker emulator plugin (I typically use Lancaster or the two notes audio impulse responses and there are tons of good free and paid IR's online) and you get real, great amp tone and touch sensitivity into your DAW. Note: ** Make sure you (i) use speaker [i.e., not instrument] cables to attach the line in from the amp and to a speaker load to the 1/4" output jack on the front to avoid amp damage; and (ii) make sure you remember to put a speaker emulator on it or it will probably sound rather disappointing). I went for the single channel version, but if I had it to do again I would have purchased the two channel so both sides are matched when I want to use it for a stereo source. Hope this is helpful.

I already have a Universal Audio Apollo in my home studio which sounds very good when running a bass or acoustic into my DAW but this little box definitely adds character over the top of the UA and definitely adds some sparkle to the acoustic guitar and clarity to the bass. I've also used it to run my Yamaha DTX Multi Pad into the UA and again, it just adds a level of depth and clarity that wasn't there by simply running into the UA Apollo. It's not the cheapest DI box but you get what you pay for and in a home recording scenario any little bump you can get towards professional sound is well worth the money spent.

Best DI ever. The sound difference is amazing. Also can come out of guitar rig and into interface via balanced XLR or reg cable and takes care of hum etc with clean tone.

This thing is just awesome. I replaced a LR Baggs Venue DI in my acoustic guitar rig with this thing. I had to add a tuner and a paraEQ but tonally it was all worth it. This thing is rich and warm and the low end is incredible. I can see why so many bass players fall in love with this. I looked at quite a few options and decided to pull the trigger on this one - I wouldn't go back. Dig around on YouTube and search for this thing and you'll see a video that I did on my acoustic rig. There's not much out there on it right now but I promise you won't be disappointed. This is a crucial part of a very expensive rig (Maton 808TE, Strymon & Empress pedals, A&H Qu-16 mixer, EAW speakers, etc...) that I use for our acoustic performances and I assure you it will be on my board for a long time...

It's an Rupert Neve Designs direct box, of course it works like a charm—as expected.

Good job!