Long guitar/bass run: balancing with transformers?

[JW]

Can someone answer a question for me here? I've researched this a bit (guitar/bass in the control room, amp in the live room) and it seems like it's the fad to plug guitar into active DI, then a reamp at the other end? I wonder why. Ideally, I would think that a simple passive transformer on one end to balance the signal and then the same transformer on the other end  in reverse, to debalance it would be the cleanest way to do a long run.

Is it the high impedance that creates all these active solutions for this problem, or is it just that there is a company for every audio problem, and the dollar says let's do it with a chip?

Anybody just do it with two transformers? Or have a recommendation from Cinemag or Jensen or other for this purpose?

 

[Winetree]

I've used passive D.I.s , with just a JENSEN transformer in them.
In the reverse D.I. method.
Sounds great.

 

[PRR]

The HIGH impedance is cheaper now with active than with painstaking windings.

Do whatever floats your boat.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

I've used passive D.I.s , with just a JENSEN transformer in them.
In the reverse D.I. method.
Sounds great.

I have exactly the opposite experience, particularly on passive guitar. Bass seems to suffer less, and indeed, active instruments do well.
The typical impedance shown by a Jensen JT-DB-E is a tone-killer for most passive guitars, in particular humbuckers, and the volume pot taper is greatly affected. Remember these passive guitars are optimized for 1Meg input impedance. A Strat would do better (not as bad as) than a Les Paul.
As PRR mentioned, using active circuitry is cheaper and better. For a solution based on easily available products, I would use a good active DI followed by a step-up xfmr, such as a Shure A85F.