Samson MDA1 1-channel Active Instrument Direct Box Reviews
The affordable Samson MDA1 is your ticket to clean, rich sound on a budget. Whether you need a faithful guitar signal to re-amp in the studio, or a discreet way to send your bass guitar or synth to front of house, the Samson MDA1 does a commendable job for the price. It includes a Thru output to go between your instrument and amp without coloring your sound. The Samson MDA1's custom transformer reproduces frequencies all the way down to 18Hz, and its rugged, noise-rejecting chassis stands up to nightly abuse and noisy conditions. The MDA1's -15dB attenuation switch keeps hot signals from overloading your DI.
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Highest Rated Reviews
The Little Box That Could
Fantastic little box! I just recently purchased 2 of these to run guitar DI tracks to my DAW. The passive DI I've used in the past left a lot to be desired…weak and lifeless. The MDA1 boxes gave me a clear and robust signal with zero loss of the lower frequencies. The ground lift came in handy to deal with a ground loop on one of the rigs. This will enable me to REALLY use my DI tracks with plug ins for some cool mojo. Thanks Samson!
Good D.I. Box
Does what it should and is an upgrade from what I had. Sweetwater is always great to buy from.
Accurate sound, well-constructed, and an exceptional value
Summary: The MDA1 provides a very accurate representation of what you input into it, appears very well-constructed, suits my intended purpose well, and is therefore an exceptional value.
I bought the Samson MDA1 to use with my passive basses in a live setting. I have observed through recording that an active DI seems to preserve more detail and punch in the low end. Live, some of my amps have DIs, but I may not always be able to use my amp. Some amp DI levels are dependent upon the gain level, and most sound persons I have worked with do not prefer this dependence.
The unit is solid with a metal case. The battery compartment lid is plastic, and hinges on the terminal side of the battery. Push in on the terminal side of the battery to remove it, while taking care to not let your finger slip; you could inadvertently break the lid. I couldn't remove the battery by trying to push on the bottom (non-terminal side) of the battery. The power light on the MDA1 is very helpful, and automatic switching from phantom power to battery is noiseless. The MDA1 should be compared to other active stand-alone active DIs such as the Radial Pro48 and Countryman Type 85, but I have neither. The 15dB attenuation is useful for high output instruments.
I conducted a simple comparison test: I recorded electric guitar and bass with two preamp/DIs that I know well, then with the MDA1. The first preamp was a bass-amp brand tube preamp. The output selected was pre-eq, runs through half of the first tube, and the DI's output volume is not variable. The second preamp is from an Acoustic Image Clarus 1 Series III amplifier. The output selected was pre-eq. The Clarus DI output level is dependent upon the gain level, so I set the gain to about 12:30-1:00. The MDA1 output was not further attenuated. The channel input on the PreSonus AudioBox USB DAW interface was set to minimum in all cases. The recorded level was approximately the same in all cases. The results to my ears: All three are similar and all three sound very good. The sound of the MDA1 and Clarus DIs are very similar. The MDA1 is the most natural or balanced-sounding of the three. The Clarus has an enhanced bottom end (girth). The tube preamp has a greater extension (sparkle) in the high end. The difference in treble extension was more noticeable with the guitar. The difference in the bass frequencies was more noticeable with the bass guitar. I do now use the MDA1 for recording; one channel through the MDA1 without eq; and another channel through another preamp with eq. I hope this review has been helpful.
Great Direct Box
We have 4 of these for our practice studio. Very durable boxes!
Does the Job
I'm using this DI Box for Recording Bass. Love the fact it's active with 48 Volts Phantom Power from my MOTU M4, which is an outstanding Audio Interface, that I purchased at Sweetwater as well. The Samson MCA-1 does the job delivering a clean bass signal for recording, and at a nice price. Plus my wife got a little candy out of the deal!
Stoutly built and sounds great!
Purchased two of these for an upcoming gig, where a mixer with phantom power is not available and needed battery powered Di's. I currently have the Radial Stagebug SB1, which has been a great unit! The Samson MDA1 units are equally as sturdy, have all of the features of the SB1, sound as good as (or possibly better than) the SB1, and have battery power! All of this at a lower price!
This, admittedly, has been a ahort term evaluation. I will update this review in the future if any issues arise, but I am confident they won't! Consider me a fan of Samson DI boxes!
Samson MDA-1
Quite simply, it does what it"s supposed to, and it does it well. As is typical of Samson gear, it"s of sturdy construction and offers good audio quality at a good price.
Works well and affordable too!
Purchased this so I can use an XLR line out to my mixer and amp with a Yamaha keyboard. The battery power is just what I need as my amp doesn"t provide it but the mixer does. The unit is rugged and I anticipate that it will last forever.
