The 10 Best Radial DI Boxes For electric Guitar (2023 reviews)

Best For computer:

Buy: Radial Engineering Passive Direct Box

Best With Phantom Power:

Buy: Radial DI Box For electric Guitar

Best For synth:

Buy: Radial Engineering Pro Swiss Army knife Direct Box

Best With EQ:

Buy: Radial Engineering Great Box

Best For Live Use:

Buy: Radial Engineering DI Box

Best For keyboard:

Best For Passive guitars:

Best For Very reasonable price:

Best For microphone:

Best overall: Radial Engineering Clean signal

The radial engineering clean signal is long-lasting, rigid and fits well with your daily usage like a dream. The active pickups on your bass should be producing a line-level signal that can just pass through the di and be fine. It lets you plug a guitar or bass into the mic input of a mixer without the tone being screwed up. This preserves the sound quality very well when running with 300ft of cable.

These boxes are compact and simple, they sound great with no audible noise, and they're solid as a rock. They naturally smooth out the transients that sometimes sound harsh on piezos, and they can handle huge amounts of signal before distorting, so they're well suited for the Godin Multiac series guitars. The design is changed from a six-about-one (two layer) design to a 12-about six-about-one (three layer) design. It should work with both passive and active pickup systems that use batteries.

Why We Like This:

Just clean signal and playing freedom in a well-constructed, small package
Must have for active emg pickups
Brilliant di that produces pure sound

Best For computer: Radial Engineering Passive Direct Box

If you often find yourself confused about convenient and suitable box, this product is your solution. The XLR cable is a balanced cable so the signal going to a PA would be Balanced no matter what. It has pad and ground lift options for noisy environments. It is responsive across the entire range and sounds very good. It is easy to use, and most importantly it delivers a clean signal. It also makes wiring easy.

It's pro-studio grade quality, works perfectly, and won't comprise your audio signal in the slightest. It's a passive direct box, so there isn't much that can go wrong. These are so heavy and well protected.

Why We Like This:

Very clean, very crisp piano sounds
Hums or any kind of distortions, the sound quality is real good
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best With Phantom Power: Radial DI Box For electric Guitar

The features department is where radial di box for electric guitar truly manages to shine. This is a fantastic active DI with ample headroom and a creative and effective ground lift. It is built road-ready with. It provides protective zones around the switches and connectors. It also is great when the bass pickups are non active (no battery in the bass) as you can easily boost up or down the signal input. It is easy to use with great quality signal. It can be used on a lot of low and high-profile shows without a single issue.

It allows for less distortion while yielding a smooth, linear response extending from 20hz to well above 100khz resulting in natural, uncolored signal transfer.

Why We Like This:

Clean passive-bass guitar signal from a great di box
Uses phantom power from the mixer
Acoustic/keys with onboard active pre-amp passive

Best For synth: Radial Engineering Pro Swiss Army knife Direct Box

Compared with other products by Radial Engineering, the radial engineering pro swiss army knife direct box has a convenient design. While there are better DIs for screaming guitars and instruments with high transient loads (looking at the Radial JDI), this thing is amazing for dual/stereo inputs like keyboards, computers and portable audio devices. The AV2 is a stereo DI with most of the current input jacks. It has inputs for every type device, mini plug, RCA and 1/4" line. The product and the resulting smooth bessel curve is warm and natural, making the proav2 passive di box particularly adept at handling digital sources that can sound harsh.

This is THE tool for analog audio signal conversion. It will take a direct feed from an iPod or computer via the headphone jack, or if you've got a iPod 30pin breakout cable it will take the line level as well via stereo RCA's or 1/4" connections. The unit will take your TRS but it will unbalance the signal going in. It is stereo, so it can do the job of two mono DI boxes, offsetting most of the cost increase.

Why We Like This:

Removes hum and ground loops / high quality at low frequencies
New and hot release

Best With EQ: Radial Engineering Great Box

Radial Engineering has been making great box for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials. There is an electrical difference between balanced and unbalance signals. The sound of this box trounces them all with clean, clear, pure tone. It's a solid workhorse that won't let you down. The case is very durable and rugged. The product is impressive the moment you open the box and hold it in your hand as it feels like a piece of vintage military equipment as this thing is like a brick in your hand.

The day and night difference, this DI box adds virtually no color and sends a clean signal. It is for instrument users there's as many stars in the sky to fit any budget.

Why We Like This:

Love to use it on acoustic guitars
Built like a tank and can add a bit of texture
Sb-6 isolator to kill the noise spreads from effects
Sounds great and very natural, no hiss or humming at all

Best For Live Use: Radial Engineering DI Box

Next on the list, we've got yet another product that manages to win our hearts. It's the radial engineering di box and it's widely considered as product that has the most suitable features. It is great for live use. It is a passive direct box for multi-media/audio/video use. This helps when the DI is placed in an area that gets a lot of use, or an uneven surface. The Radial unit works perfectly for these needs easily and the sound quality is great. It is great for helping select the right box and hooking it up correctly.

Why We Like This:

Uses the same excellent transformer as the prodi series from radial
Good brand reputation

Best For keyboard: Radial Engineering Direct Box

The radial engineering direct box is suitable and reliable and fits well with your regular usage. The StageBug yields a very full-range, rich signal. This thing won't affect the tone of your instrument, it'll preserve your instrument's level in the process of doing the impedance conversion, it's quiet, it's well-built, it's solid steel and tough, and it's unobtrusive. It does look homemade, and there's no way to hide it from view.

The bottom end is extended, full, and extremely strong. The sound is deep and full. It can be dropped into a stage floor box and the box's cover can still be closed.

Why We Like This:

Worked with an acoustic guitar and a movie setup
Good investment for long term

Best For Passive guitars: Radial Engineering Direct Box

We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate box. The product is exactly that - it's a simple product that hits all the right notes. Passive DIs do not require any addition power source like batteries or AC input. It is important with the modern generation of pre-amplified (powered) acoustic guitars, active basses, and ect as these signals can be quite dynamic electrically. It features a rail voltage of around 9v which is much higher than comparable active dis. It is capable of peak transients to 9 volts without choking. It's made of a solid steel case to protect it from damage on stage while at the same time create an "EM cage" to shield the internal electronics from outside interference.

It has a ground lift switch to isolate grounds and get rid of noise due to ground loops. It has an indicator light that shows Phantom power but stays on only momentarily. It has lower harmonic distortion, half the inter-modulation distortion and significantly improved dynamics over other dis. It is great for instruments that need an active di.

Why We Like This:

Very clean signal, no clipping, no distortion
New and hot release

Best For Very reasonable price: Radial Engineering Direct Box

If you often find yourself confused about appropriate and satisfactory box, this product is your solution. Radial's high-performance stagebug sb-2 passive di delivers warm, vintage-flavored direct sound from your bass, keyboard, or acoustic guitar. Input a stereo signal on trs, and the unit's convenient stereo-to-mono merge function saves you from having to reset your source to mono. The compact direct box handles high input levels with natural compression, and it is also equipped with a 15db pad for extra.

The Radial is sturdier and more stage appropriate in terms of footprint. It has a particularly low signal level. It is no slouch, either to add to that it is a well built and very quiet di.

Why We Like This:

Hot signals from active bass pickups, digital pianos, and the like
Kills hum in hostile electrical situations
Great tool needed in every audio guy's pocket

Best For microphone: Radial Engineering Direct Box