DIY DI box for recording guitar Amp

[Rob Flinn]

I use a Palmer Speaker simulator for this sort of thing. If you go on ebay they can be had quite cheaply. I also use it as a dummy load ofr testing amplifiers.

https://www.palmer-germany.com/en/products/speaker-simulators-loadboxes/

 

[Whoops]

I use a Palmer Speaker simulator for this sort of thing.

OP said he was looking to capture just the "Raw" sound of the guitar coming from the amp,
so I guess that means no speaker simulation circuits

 

[tony hunt]

Thanks for the info, but these all have a baked in IR response right? I'd need the direct raw sound of the amp!

Try the simple voltage divider to get the raw sound of the amp.
I think CJ is trying to tell you that you may not like that. because the speaker acts as a kind of reactive filter. But if you really want raw guitar amp sound without speaker interaction then go for it.

 

[Rob Flinn]

OP said he was looking to capture just the "Raw" sound of the guitar coming from the amp,
so I guess that means no speaker simulation circuits

It is a raw signal. You plug the raw speaker out into the simulator. It simulates the load of the speaker. Ok some of them have some eq, but you don't have to use it. They're really good boxes. You can properly crank the amp level up since they will handle something like 100W

 

[JohnRoberts]

I am not a guitar amp guy but I used to share an engineering lab space with a bunch of amp design engineers.

Guitar amps are not linear signal amplification devices. There is coloration and sound shaping involved with multiple aspects of guitar amp design.

I seem to recall some premium guitar amps with Di jacks built-in to provide a direct sound feed that didn't totally suck.

JR

 

[Whoops]

It is a raw signal. You plug the raw speaker out into the simulator. It simulates the load of the speaker. Ok some of them have some eq, but you don't have to use it. They're really good boxes. You can properly crank the amp level up since they will handle something like 100W

I know the devices you are talking about, and I used them back in the studio frequently, those are good boxes, but that's not what the OP is asking for, he actually stated he didn't need a dummy load

"I am looking to build my own DI box for capturing the direct signal of my amps. A dummy load is not needed, as my plan would be to leave the cab connected using a through output"

Any of the 4 boxes I mentioned earlier will do exactly what the OP wants for less money than trying to build your own box

I understand the need to record straight from the speaker out, first reason is not all amps have a DI out, then in a lot of amps that actually have a DI out the DI output signal is taken from after the preamp stage so you don't have the sound of the power amp.
Basically with a DI box that accepts speaker level you can use it with any amplifier and you have the sound of the Preamp+Power Amp, just without the speaker. As I told previously I like it a lot on Bass guitar and have been doing that for years

 

[Rob Flinn]

I know the devices you are talking about, and I used them back in the studio frequently, those are good boxes, but that's not what the OP is asking for, he actually stated he didn't need a dummy load

"I am looking to build my own DI box for capturing the direct signal of my amps. A dummy load is not needed, as my plan would be to leave the cab connected using a through output"

Any of the 4 boxes I mentioned earlier will do exactly what the OP wants for less money than trying to build your own box

I understand the need to record straight from the speaker out, first reason is not all amps have a DI out, then in a lot of amps that actually have a DI out the DI output signal is taken from after the preamp stage so you don't have the sound of the power amp.
Basically with a DI box that accepts speaker level you can use it with any amplifier and you have the sound of the Preamp+Power Amp, just without the speaker. As I told previously I like it a lot on Bass guitar and have been doing that for years

I understand what your saying.

 

[eraz]

I solved it with a simple L pad in a box between speaker and amp, it was about 10€ total. Couldn't be happier and is cheaper than any of the above mentioned boxes. Outclasses the Suhr RL I have, which is basically the same thing, when not using its reactive load, as that one has a very cheap transformer built in on the balanced and unbalanced outputs.