I am currently recording guitar tracks on a project. Mapping out the track assignment, I realized I needed a signal splitter or a direct injection box to be specific.I wanted to lay-in a dry guitar track and another which is processed thru a multieffects floor unit. Luckily I was able to buy a Behringer Ultra-DI DI20 from ebay at a cheaper price. I got more than what I bargained for since this thing can function in two modes – as a two channel DI box and as a splitter (link mode). And it is active, which means the signal become more managable by my digital interface pre amp.
Now I remember my first encounter with a DI box. When I was very young and in school, I belong to an inter-collegiate organization of visual artists called LUNA, mostly students of fine arts in different universities around Metro Manila. As a cultural group and affiliate of a larger student movement, our group would often work on visual effects for several student activities such as concerts and conferences. We were the people behind the stage of Joey Ayala’s Awit ng Tanod Lupa Concert tour sponsored by the CCP. Joey Ayala would even jokingly call us Joey Ayala at ang bagong Luna. With several lull moments in painting visual arts, the group would often embark into jamming using whatever instrument is available.
Early Jammings
Jet had an electric guitar and a bass guitar at home in pritil, tondo, so we plug both into an old cabinet type phonograph player. We made a makeshift drums out of kiddie toys and water jugs. Later on we were able to reherse on a rehersal studio as we realized we can actually perform as a band. Being with a group of creative people, it is very clear that original musical compositions are plenty.
Playing them while working visual effects made the songs heared by officers of cause oriented organizations -and so the lyrics and music are criticized and refined. Luna was then active with another student cultural group called sining. And the collective started planning out performances to display its collection of “well-deliberated” original musical compositions. The first gig was supposed to be in UP Manila as an intermission to a conference of the college editor’s guild of which I am also an officer. But technical problems and lack of time didnt make the gig happen.
The First Gig
The real first gig was a lagare. There was a campus fair at UST and we were the first group to perform that afternoon in the open air grounds outside the CAFA building. We had an hour and a half to perform and we only rehearsed a few songs. So we ended up jamming songs that we knew from songhits. . mostly new wave stuff. The audience responded with a lot of dancing mainly because we knew almost all of them. (hehehehe) The gig ended up at around 5pm as more bands had to perform and we have to run to San Sebastian for another gig.
The second gig that night was a big concert billed by then big bands – HAYP, Introvoyz and UMD. We were to do the front act. Since we came from a gig on UST on foot and it was getting late, we had to run inside San Sebastian. The audience were now lined up outside the auditorium and as they saw us running up into the building they started screaming. It looks like they mistook us for another well known band as we were running with our instruments going into the backstage. My first taste of fame however feign it seems (lol).
We got on backstage and the bands have already finished their soundcheck. I remember noel mendez was there to tell us that we can now change our clothes in the backstage as there was no time for soundcheck anymore. I saw his guitar lying at the back of the drums and it was my first close up look at a real ibanez guitar. We had not brought any clothes so how we look like is what you get – from running all the way from UST. But, hey we are an aktibista band so the haggared look seems appropriate. You can call it the proletarian look.
The DI Experience
And so the show has to start and auditorium suddenly was full of 3,000+ students. We positioned ourselves on stage and started setting up our gear. Back then I was unfamiliar with any big concert set up. All I knew was to plug my bass to the amp and start cranking. Since there was something plugged on the amp, I took it off and wooooong sounded all over the house which I ignored as I proceeded in plugging in my bass to the amp and started tuning. I recall a lot of technicians were all over the stage as our guitarists was having his own technical problems too. But I could hear myself on my own amp and so I was comfortable now and wanted to play on. Our singer, Buboy, had to do several spiels since the technical problem took almost 5 minutes or more. He told me later that it was difficult for him to make those spiels as he came from that school and just recently drop out – and then he has to face his teachers, administrators and classmates who were in the audience. Finally the guitar worked and the gig started rolling. In the middle of the first song, a technician realized my mistake as my guitar doesnt go through the house mix, and started fixing the connections. This is how I learned about a DI box. The gig was a success and the 3,000 + audience was very cool to respond to our compositions. Even the members of hayp and introvoyz gave us positive comments.
So What is A DI?
A direct box is used to convert an unbalanced signal to a balanced signal which can be handled easily by any mixing console and could match up with all the other signals thus making the mix easier. A balanced signal consist of three lines on three wire cables (positive, negative and ground), against the unbalanced that consists only of signal and ground. Usually balanced lines run on xlr plugs (used on conventional microphones) or standard stereo phono plugs (1/4) called TRS or tip-ring-sleeve (tip=hot or positive, ring- cold or negative and sleeve=ground). Guitars are high impedance signals with unbalanced outs. So they need to be converted to balanced signals for the mixer to handle. Thus a DI works as a converter between the guitar and the mixer. The DI also commonly works as a splitter as another output (unbalanced or link) feeds the signal to an amplifier so the guitarist can monitor his playing. But in some cases, the DI is not used on guitarists as a mic in front of the guitar amp speaker can deliver a warmer tone for the mix. A bassist needs a di as the low signal can only be enhanced on an active balanced line.
I dont want to go technical any further. You can always research on the use of DI by searching thru google. This ends my story on my first encounter with the DI …. which was actually my first gig.
