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Rupert Neve Designs RNDI 1-channel Active Instrument Direct Box

Mono Active Direct Box with Custom Transformers, Class-A, Discrete FET Amplifier Circuit, Rugged Steel Chassis, Ground Lift, Speaker/Instrument Switch, and LED Current Consumption Meter
$299.00

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Rupert Neve Designs RNDI 1-channel Active Instrument Direct Box
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$299.00
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A DI with Unparalleled Sonics

Those of us at Sweetwater who have been privileged to work on vintage Neve consoles can attest to the vibrant richness and powerful punch that Rupert's electronics impart to your signal. Now there's a direct box that delivers this magic: the Rupert Neve Designs RNDI. Sporting fastidiously developed custom transformers and Class A biased, discrete FET amplifiers, the RNDI makes your bass, guitar, keyboard - or any instrument with a piezo pickup - sound massive and amazing. If you record music or do live sound, you take signals direct all the time. Might as well invest in a killer direct box: Rupert Neve Designs' RNDI.

The Neve of direct boxes

With its high input headroom, you can feed the RNDI a pro line-level source without a pad, and in Speaker mode, the RNDI can handle the full brunt of a 1000W power amp (for you EE types, that's +41.5dBU). The RNDI also sports impressive phase coherence, unrivaled amongst its peers. Trust us - you'll really appreciate this feature when you're blending a mic and a direct signal together! The Rupert Neve Designs RNDI is essential kit. We all need at least one.

Rupert Neve Designs RNDI Direct Box Features at a Glance:
  • Big and bold direct tone for basses, guitars, keyboards, and Piezo-equipped instruments
  • Custom transformers deliver powerful low end and sweet highs without sacrificing clarity
  • Flat frequency response within the audible 20Hz-20KHz range
  • Extended response below 10Hz and above 100KHz
  • Transformer and active circuits provide complete circuit isolation
  • Extremely low output impedance and phase shift provide excellent, consistent results
  • 1/4" In and Thru jacks; gold-plated XLR output
  • Speaker/Instrument and ground lift switches; LED current consumption meter
  • 48V Phantom powered
  • Rugged steel chassis built to withstand life on the road
Going direct? You need Rupert Neve Designs' RNDI!

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Active DI
  • Channels: 1
  • Ground Lift: Yes
  • Inputs: 1 x 1/4"
  • Outputs: 1 x XLR, 1 x 1/4" (thru)
  • Power Source: 48V Phantom Power
  • Height: 1.5"
  • Depth: 6.25"
  • Width: 4"
  • Weight: 1.5 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: RNDI

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

It’s a Neve box you already know.

I didn't think a DI box would really create such an improvement in my tone, I've had a couple other ones and really high class inputs on my interface. To be honest I bought with the intent of just finding out of it really matches up to the reviews. With its extended range it really does deliver on tone for both guitar and bass (especially bass). I will admit the differences are subtle but they make a big difference in the context of a mix. Being an active box with a sort of hybrid operation it doesn't choke out but rather saturates rather nicely and allows my plugins to drive nicely. It does isolate interference but if you have noise on the HiZ side you'll still have noise on the HiZ side obviously. It works great for my American Pro Telecaster with humbuckers and my Charvel PJ whether I'm going in active, passive and has the headroom to take a boost/overdrive with great clarity. If you're on the fence check it out because it made me a believer. I might one day grab a REDDI or a Broughton P15 for the flavor but this is a great DI for the money compared with others in class/price range.
Music background: Drummer, bassist, guitarist “producer”
Rated 5/5

Perfection

This is a very true DI. True to the exact signal you send to it. I don't know a lot about the details of the circuit inside the RNDI but I do know they make their own proprietary transformer as well as class A discrete FET amplification electronics.

The low end was extremely tight and well defined, but clear.

I think clear is an adjective that is synonymous with this DI. It is very pristine and doesn't make your tone pretty or add any flavor - but for me, that is the point. This is probably the opposite of a fancy tube DI, which applies lots of tube coloration and saturation, such as the Noble or REDDI - I think those are meant to accomplish a totally different end.
Music background: Worship
Rated 5/5

Amazing

It 100% get the higher frequencies that most DIs don't get.
Music background: Drummer, audio and light
Rated 5/5

Fantastic

Neve knocked it out of the park with the RNDI. No nonsense, no frills, does what it says it does, with that classic Neve mojo!! Matt Lubick and his team took great care of me (as usual) and I think they deserve a pat on the back (a raise) for the job they do.
Music background: Singer songwriter multi instrumentalist and studio owner operator
Rated 5/5

This is the Secret Sauce

Do you use amp simulators to record guitars? Or a reactive load into a cabinet simulator / impulse response?

If you do, you might think that these technologies just aren't "there yet" in terms of of producing realism. That's what I thought too, for the last several years. I decided to take a bunch of modern metal production classes to really understand how to create the sounds I hear in my head. I had heard about "DI Boxes" but falsely assumed they merely split the signal so you can record a DI while monitoring via your real amp - for editing or re-amping.

Turns out, these little boxes do quite a bit more than that:
1) They allow you to record the DI without clipping into your interface, even with your pickups nice and close to the strings.
2) They produce a more clear and pure sounding DI.
3) They remove certain noise and non-musical detail from the signal, allowing even the most distorted high gain tones to sound fuller and more dynamic.

I believe this little box in particular also does all of these things to the "thru" output. So I am able to brighten up my boost pedal more than before, without precious low end information getting clobbered by my sensitive and unforgiving high gain tube amp.

This is my first Neve product and I'm very impressed so far. If you look at reviews from many years ago, it also looks like they listened to their customers feedback and produced a stereo version of this for instruments such as keyboards. I'm thinking I may have to pick one of those up as well.

Anyway, I'm considering this the final component and secret sauce to the guitar tone that I've been meticulously constructing for the last few years to use on my solo album. Get one and do a comparison using your own gear. I was absolutely blown away.

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What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

Josh Hacker

I've always viewed a DI Box as nothing more than an impedance-matching tool, but the moment I ran my bass though the Rupert Neve Designs RNDI, I changed my mind. This DI is more like a preamp, delivering the colorful, harmonically rich punch I look for in a rock bass tone. It sounds amazing live, but the beauty of the RNDI really comes though when I track original music in my studio. It's like my bass comes in EQ'd and compressed to perfection, saving me a ton of mixing time.

Jared Kalish

I can't find a bass that sounds bad through this DI! It's a must-have tool for any live sound or recording situation.
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