Gearank

Radial Engineering is one of the biggest names in studio and stage audio gear. They are well known for the quality of their Direct Boxes, many of which continue to rake in sales and positive reviews.

The Radial J48 makes this list because of its high ratings and expert testimonials.

And if the high Gearank Rating score is not enough to convince you, then you should consider that acoustic guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel uses one and recommends it.

Features:

• 48-Volt phantom powered direct box
• High rail voltage design to avoid clipping
• 80Hz highpass roll-off filter for reducing mud and increases headroom
• Merge to mono function
• Input 1/4", Outputs XLR, 1/4" thru
• Weight: 1.55 lbs

Pros

The J48's main advantage is its simplicity and clarity, which translates into versatility, allowing it to be used to great effect with many types of instruments. While it is more popularly used for acoustic guitars, positive reviews for this product come from musicians that play various instrument types, from banjos to mandolins and even bassists, proving its flexibility which easily ups the value and use you can get out of this DI box. Some even use it to capture clean guitar lines, so artists can focus on getting the notes right and then tweak the tone later via reamping.

Cons

It would have been nice if the price point was lower, but in this case, the saying you get what you pay for rings true. Other than that there isn't that much else that people complained about. If you are looking for more features, you'll probably see one with the features you need among the many DI models that Radial produces.

Overall

If you're a musician who plays acoustic instruments and you're looking for the most straightforward and easy-to-use DI Box, then this is a good one to get.

Although this was previously on our recommended list, there are now more highly rated options available which you can see in our guide to The Best DI Boxes & Reamp Boxes.