Radial Engineering • Shoreline Music

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Radial Engineering DIs and stompboxes are the favorite of sound engineers, stage musicans, and recording professionals. We first heard about these indirectly from Paul Baloche, and have since found countless other pros using them: Phil Keaggy, Victor Wooten, Tony Levin, Billy Sheehan, Ben Harper, Randy Travis, and too many more to list here. The guys at Radial are electronics wizards, which you'll discover the first time you plug into a Radial Engineering DI, whether you're using it in the studio or onstage.

It's also clear that the folks at Radial consulted actual sound engineers and performing musicians when designing their gear (or perhaps they're musicians themselves). This isn't just a bunch of electronics slapped in a box—every design feature is built with the stage musician in mind. I have yet to run across a DI that combines tone as good as this with a feature set as robust as Radial's. Perhaps more important than any of these considerations is the rugged design of these boxes. Radial likes to describe their circuit boards as "military grade". I'm not quite sure what that means, but I do know these things can actually handle the rigors of stage use, like being stepped on and dropped. If you've ever had your DI die during sound check because it was kicked accidentally, you know the value of Radial's rugged design.

Moreover, Radial Engineering's philosophy of sound reproduction is the same as ours, and the same as most of the manufacturers we choose to work with: Let the musician and the instrument create the tone, and let the rest of the gear get out of the way. The more transparent the cable, the amp, or any other piece of gear, the more I like it, and the more useful and versatile I find it. Radial likes to refer to the sound of their DIs as "the Radial un-sound", which just means that their gear is the most transparent you'll find anywhere. The first time you plug into a Radial DI, it'll be like you pulled the cotton out of your ears for the first time. They're that good. You simply will not find a better performing, more durable stage DI anywhere. It's the only DI I'll use these days.

Radial Engineering DIs:

JDV - This is Radial Engineering's flagship model. It is hands-down the best DI for the stage musician. With 30V internal voltage, its dynamic handling is unmatched. This just means that when you lay into your instrument, the DI won't give out or overload. Ever. Even if you're playing bass. It has all the bells and whistles you could hope for, with multiple outputs including balanced (to the board), tuner send, amp send, and aux sends, as well as polarity reverse and ground lift switches. It even includes a strain relief clip for the power supply so it doesn't get unplugged accidentally. (JDV high-res pic)

J48 - The J48 is an active DI similar to the JDV, but without all the bells and whistles (and without the high price tag). It's also phantom powered, but without the usual shortcomings of phantom-powered DIs, that is, distortion and weak dynamics. If you're looking for a basic active DI that sounds better than any DI you've ever used, this is the model to get. (J48 high-res pic)

JDI - The JDI is considered by many stage pros to be the finest DI in the world. While it doesn't have the massive internal voltage and dynamic handling of the JDV, it does have flat frequency response and complete freedom from distortion. Plus, since it uses no power supply, you don't have to hunt for somewhere to plug it in, and you're free from 60hz ground loops. The JDI pulls this off by using a Jensen transformer (Jensen the industry-leading transformer designers, not Jensen of car audio fame). This superior transformer also means that you get significantly more headroom than many other passive DIs—more even than many active DIs. If you're using a guitar with an active pickup, you'll have a hard time finding a better, quieter, more transparent DI than the Radial JDI. Also available in a two-channel version. (JDI high-res pic) (JDI Duplex high-res pic)

Pro DI - The Pro DI is Radial's bargain offering. While it doesn't boast the dynamics or features of the JDI or JDV, the passive Pro DI is easily the quietest and most dynamic passive DI under $100. Also available in a two-channel version. (Pro DI high-res pic)

Radial Engineering Preamps:

PZ Pre -

DTAR

With a ground lift, tuner send, effects loop, robust EQ and notching, boost and mute footswitches, as well as Radial's legendary uncolored, clean sound and stage-ready construction, it's hard to imagine a more feature-packed blender. It's even more amazing that this rings in at only $299. If you have two pickups to blend—and even if you don't—I recommend this without reservation. (PZ Pre high-res pic) (usage diagram)

Other Cool Stuff:

HotShot - Have you ever needed to communicate onstage with your band, but in secret? Perhaps you wanted to change your song order, but you didn't want the announcement to go to the whole audience or congregation. Or maybe you needed to yell something to them, but they couldn't hear you past their in-ear monitors. Or maybe you needed to inform the folks running the lyrics PowerPoint at the back of the church that you're doing "Days of Elijah" instead of "Wonderful Cross". Or maybe you need to communicate with the sound guy privately. We all know the value of speaking to the sound desk without telling your entire audience "I'm getting a hum in the front left monitor". If you've ever tried to solve these problems with hand signals, second microphones, or jury-rigged mute switches, you're going to love Radial's HotShot. It's a simple dynamic microphone channel switcher. Step on the switch, and you're talking to the sound desk only (or your band's in-ears, or wherever you choose to send the second signal). Step off the switch, and you're in the mains again. I've been looking for a simple, inexpensive product like this for years. The fact that it comes with Radial's legendary engineering makes it all the better. (HotShot high-res pic)

Radial Engineering/ToneBone Preamps	Description	Price*
PZ Pre	Full-featured blending preamp	$299
Radial Engineering DIs	Description	Price*
JDV	Industry-leading active DI	$399
J48	Phantom-powered active DI	$199
JDI	Single-channel passive DI	$199
JDI Duplex	Two-channel version of the JDI	$349
Pro DI	Single-channel passive DI	$99
Pro D2	Two-channel version of Pro DI	$149
Other Goodies	Description	Price*
HotShot	Dynamic microphone switcher	$79

*All Radial Engineering prices include free shipping anywhere in the US. CO residents add 2.9% sales tax. Please see our Shipping page for additional shipping information.