Radial JDI Jensen-equipped 1-channel Passive Instrument Direct Box Reviews

If you need a high-quality DI, this is it! Durable, and made with the best components. The choice of pros everywhere.

Prior to my arrival here at the church, someone bought several Radial Pro48s. These are great boxes, but do not work for everything. Especially instruments that have active pickups. We have a couple of bass players that use active bases, and the signal just comes in too hot. So I would have to use some super cheap passive boxes that we have. So I purchased a Pro DI and a JDI. I used the JDI on our bass player this weekend (yes, he is a GREAT player) and what a difference! His sound was full and amazing and I didn't have to work for it at all! I was actually able to set his signal lower than I do with the cheaper boxes and it sounded better and fuller than normal! I HIGHLY recommend the JDI.

I bought this DI from Sweetwater to eliminate the line hum/buzz that was happening due to LED lighting on the stage. We were using another popular DI, but the buzz was intense when those LED's were on. I swapped out the old DI with this JDI, and it was amazing how quiet it was. I do believe the tone was a little warmer as well, which the product says it does do because of the transformer in it. I am extremely impressed and pleased at the quiet result this product has provided me. I definitely recommend. I played live with this using both humbucker and single coil pickups, and it worked excellent for both.

I have 5 of these JDI's & a Twin City switcher & a Hot Shot DM1 & a Headlight guitar amp selector & a Studio Reamp & 2 SGI TX & 2 SGI RX and I'm extremely happy with all of them. They are built like tanks but sound great in the studio too. The J48 Active Stereo DI is the only one I sold. There was bleed between the two channels.

These JDI direct boxes are the best of the best. I have 3. They are worth every Penny.

This DI works well for all of my active basses and guitars. Nice and clean. My j-bass is a bit too sterile through it though. So don't expect miracles. If you have passive instruments get the active DI. Luckily, most everything I have is active so I feel I made the right choice.

Wow! What a great tool to use for my acoustic guitars. The clarity on true sound that this delivers is amazing and has proven to need that not all direct boxes are created equal. The Jensen transformer is a big reason for this in my opinion. Also, it has a few really cool options that other direct boxes don't have and they are not just gimmicks but practical in live and studio settings. It's a must have for all acoustic players(bass players as well) in my opinion. You're gonna love it!

I purchased this unit for a recently purchased Jazz Bass.
I A/B'd this unit with a Radial J48 Pro with the 15db pad in and a Fishman Platinum Stage EQ/DI - the Fishman unit in the pre position.

The other two DI were good - but I found the JDI to be pleasantly smooth and airy.

And being passive means I don't have to have phantom power (48 volts) to get a good FOH sound.

If you are a bass player, acoustic player or soundman you NEED one or more of these if you play out any at all.
I have used these in clubs, churches and even stadium gigs - rock solid and bulletproof.

I have several Radial units of various types because I need durability with predictable results every time.
You can go wrong with this product.

I used my new jdi for a sound gig with acoustic guitar last weekend with excellent results, great sound quality, no buzz of hum, and made getting a great acoustic tone easy and fast. Very sturdy build quality, recommended product of you need a solid, no frills passive di.

I have tried just about every DI available and nothing beats this radial jdi. Always when listening back to live performances my perfectly crafted stage sound was replaced by a woofy muddy mess of tone with no definition. I decided to change my way of thinking and go for a Passive DI even though I felt like I was giving up control. Running an active bass with flat eq straight into the jdi and to the board has given me the best live sound I could dream of. I also did some home recordings with it and there is a certain warmth this box has that others don"t.

I play acoustic guitar and sing solo. I have a very mimimalist approach to my music. The only effects I use are a tiny bit of delay in my PA head. That means my acoustic signal needs to be very clean and accurate. I prefer a passive DI as I feel that an active DI colors the tone too much. I also need a phase reversal switch as my guitar has a passive K&K pickup with no tone controls. I bought the Radial JDI because it was the only passive DI with a polarity reverse. Now that I have used it, I see what the fuss is all about with the Jenson transformer. Absolutely no coloration of tone. I was able to reduce the amount of eq tweaks on my PA head as I was no longer trying to clean up coloration of my tone. Not trying to sound like a tone snob, but the sound of an Acoustic Martin is magic by itself. It's a lot to pay for a passive DI, but the quality is amazing and it delivers the tone.

I have a wonderful UA solo 610 running into an Antelope Zen Studio. Great sounds, but man, i've always had an issue with hum and buzz. I use a Fender Dimension bass with active pick-ups and was so impressed with the active DI, i tried this to help the bass. I usually run my Bass (or guitar) into the Solo 610 and have the clean signal go into my Zen and then use the through on the Solo 610 go through effects into the Zen as a colored signal. I've never had luck with the through on the Solo, its loud, lots of hum and buzz.

I plugged the JDI in, used the through...hit the ground lift and wow, in all seriousness, i couldn't believe what happened. 100% noise gone. I have a furman power conditionare rack unit and it wasn't until i got the JDI (and the active DI as well for my guitar) that i really heard my gear sing. I use the DI then into my Solo610, its just insane how good it sounds now. The ground lift on the Solo never solved my issues, but this box did.

I never really 'got' the whole thing about DI boxes, but this thing just solved so many issues. Sound quality of my pre-amps are dramatically improved.

Believe the hype.

Works very well with my instruments that have pickups that are a bit too hot for my J48. This is a great DI, and it comes with the typical build quality that you'd expect from Radial Engineering.

I love this wonderful DI Box Really transparent sound and rugged, rugged, rugged. I use it all the time.

Need a passive? Go Radial JDI. Everything you need; nothing you don't.

So fresh and so clean. Guitar and bass sound like they were intended through this.

Radial makes some of the finest gear. Their
attention to detail is unparrelled. You get what you pay for. This unit compliments my active J48 unit. No batteries needed. This unit doesn't color your instruments sound. If used with passive pickups you'll need to boost the gain on your amp or mixer a bit. Works great with my Fender Jazz and Precision Basses. Highly recommended.

For active basses/instruments I love the Radial JDI, and for the Passive Instruments I love the Countrymen Type 11.

Nothing like a direct box with a Jenson transformer! Good sounding stuff! Don't waste your time with other passive direct boxes because the transformer is what companies skimp out on on the most. If it doesn't have a Jensen, Cinemag or Luhndal then save your money and get one that does.

Our last First Saturday on the Greens summer concert featured a singer/songwriter. He had two acoustic guitars with pickups into his pedal board. No amps on stage and he didn't want any monitors, just a vocal mic. We used the Radial JDI into our snake and the sound was perfect. Rugged and rider friendly this is a great product.

The Radial Engineering JDI Passive DI box was purchased to resolve a distortion problem when using the Radial Engineering J48 DI Box with a Traben Array series active bass.

The J48 is a great DI box. While it has a higher rail voltage and was useable to a degree, I had to engage the -15 dB pad and not turn the volume pot higher than 25% before distorting. The J48 is better for moderate output basses, acoustic-electrics, passive basses and guitars.

I tried the JDI. Now I can turn the volume pot all the way up with zero distortion. It is just as silent and flavorful as the J48. It's built like a tank. It performs extremely well and has a great tone. The THRU jack is very useful in blending DI and mic'd cabinets for a custom sound with 100% control over the source in either studio or in live situations. It gets the job done reliably.

I highly recommend if you have a very high output active bass like a Traben.

Needed something that was QUIET. One of the campuses I play for with my church is a setup and take down every weekend and it seemed that my pedal board was either hit or miss as far as noise when using the DI on my Tone Hammer or TECH 21 PBDI. So I decided after reading other reviews on this product and watching the video that I would try this. Man am I glad I did. Have not had any problems since and my tone is better than ever.

I traded this box out for less expensive DI boxes and was very pleased with the difference. Our worship band drummer immediately could tell the difference in his electronic drums and the keyboard clarity was exceptional. My 12 string guitar has amazing clarity as well. These are well worth the extra expense over cheaper boxes.

This DI box is everything advertised. Sounds awesome, especially with a wide spectrum input like keyboard. Built like a tank. We have been gradually adding to our collection of JDI's for going on 5 years and have never had a problem. Expensive, but worth it.

Couldn't have gotten the job done without it. Thanks for getting it to me so quick.

Wow! We stepped up from an in-expensive di to this one for our acoustic guitar and it was a world of difference. The sound is clean and very easy to mix. The unit is build solid and feels like it should last a long time.

I bought this box primarily as insurance for gigs. Short of bringing my own board and amps to a gig, this does the most to deliver the sound of my guitar to the FOH mix . Acoustic guitars with a pickup are bad enough without signal loss and lack of headroom. The JDI with a Baggs Lyric system has to be great combo to keep my acoustic guitar sounding like an acoustic guitar! In my studio, I also compared the tone of a bass into my instrument input vs. into the JDI and mic level pre. The JDI seems to keep the tone balanced while instrument input seemed to impart a more "driven" sound. Either tone would work in different recording situations, but it's nice to be able to get good clean (full range) tone. As far a build goes, it's hard to imagine a better built piece of equipment -- Really solid. Also, I Appreciate the polarity reverse and ground lift options. Many times you don't need them , but when you do, there's not much else that does the trick to get rid of a miserable hum. Well thought out and easy to use. Thanks Radial!

I LOVE this DI! I just got it , but I have already used it on a number of live projects. I do sound for live acts, many for whom I have very little setup time and sound check time. this DI just shines. Ahh, the life of a sound tech...
The DI sounds great and is very quiet. These features plus the ease of setup make my setup time very brief.

I bought this DI for recording a bass with 18 watt active electronics. One day I decided to try it on acoustic (my main instrument), and was completely blown away! The first thing I noticed was the lack of distortion—distortion that I didn't even notice before was just not there, and the resulting tone was a huge relief to the ears. Notes in dissonant chords now blend together like they're supposed to, rather than clashing with each other. It allowed a layer of dynamics to shine through that was just missing with my LR Baggs Para DI. I actually had to practice with it for a while, because of how sensitive it was to my attack.

This box also warms up the top end slightly compared to active DI boxes—this is not necessarily bad, but good to keep in mind before buying. If you prefer the extra crispness of active DIs, look elsewhere (the JDV would be the active equivalent to this box). While the JDI doesn't "dull" the sound necessarily, it does soften the 10k+ range a little. The transformer also adds some saturation when driven hard, causing notes with harder attack to "pop," in a way that's almost similar to tube compression. It's a very warm and pleasant sound, that remains clear without the bite of an active DI. There's a very analog feel to this DI which, once I got used to it, completely won me over. I HIGHLY recommend it!

yep love em. warm clean sound.

Some people believe if they buy a better pre-amp, better studio monitors, or special $200 xlr cables that their sound will be better. Let me tell you, look at your existing signal chain, if you do not have a high quality DI in line, start there. The difference was not just a small difference that only engineers would hear, but not the end user. This difference between this JDI and a $50 DI is astounding. You owe yourself to get one of these, and to all you guitar players out there, carry one of these with you and you will have a perfect sound.

I had this guy on an acoustic side by side with an Avalon U5, and the JDI was the clear winner (it may have been the tone setting on the U5, but that was the guitar players call, not mine)

The clarity, dynamic range, and overall fidelity of this DI is worth way more than the price.

This box is without doubt one of the best additions to my Studio to date. I recently recorded a jazz album and had the JDI box running through an unright accoustic bass. The signal was clean and constant and the bass sounded natural.

I also ran this box with my Kurzweil keyboard, the same result. It a produced clean and constant sound throughout the entire nrecording process.

This is excellent value for the price and if you want to get the job done right, then the JDI box is the one you will need.

I was using a cheap live wire DI for my acoustic on stage and at a show a sound guy had one of these and said he wouldn't let me use anything else that night. I also tried a country man too which sounded incredible. We use IEM's so it's easy to tell the difference between a great DI and a crappy one when the sound is right in your ear. The live wire was not as clear / crisp. Sweetwater recommended this one also and the tone out of my Taylor Acoustic is awesome. The only draw back is that it's a little larger and heavy adding a tad bit more weight to the gig bag but the weight is worth the added tone and beyond!

I had been mulling over which DI to get and I chose to get this one. I know of Jensen transformers' reputation so I figured that a DI with one would be a great investment. As a passive DI, this thing rocks! The merge function is fantastic and I'm so glad that it can handle practically any level thrown at it with ease and without distortion. My next investment will be a good active DI for those pesky, cheap, and passive acoustic guitar pickups that so many college students seem to like. You CAN NOT go wrong with this DI...

As a long time Taylor player I don't usually like the sound as much plugged in. There is what I perceive as a plastic midrange sound that sounds less appealing than when you mic up the guitar properly. With the JDI I was able to capture more of the true sound of the instrument plugged in. Although the difference may seem subtle to some ears it appealed to mine and made me want to play.

I have been using a direct connection to my board but I was not satisfied with the results. So I looked into getting a DI. After reading many articles and reviews I decided on the Raidial JDI Jenson Passive Direct Box. I used it for the first time last night and after some eq and volume adjustments I was surprised on getting the best dry track I have ever recorded with my equipment. I have not tried it yet with an amp, but I will be trying that today. That is the only reason I gave a 4 rating. Now that I have a great dry track I can't wait to use the Radial Studio Reamper. This DI will be a real time saver. It lives up to the reviews! Thanks Sweetwater for your help with answering my presale questions.