New Music Gear Monday: Rupert Neve Designs RNDI Direct Box

Anyone who's ever played with direct boxes knows that they're not created equally, especially when it comes to the bass guitar. Some sound thin and wooly while others are big and lush sounding, and that can make a big difference when it comes to the mix.

Rupert Neve's reputation as a console designer is unparalleled, having been at the forefront of the art for more than 50 years. Now he takes on the direct box with his new RNDI.

The RNDI is an active direct box based around a very high impedance (2 megaohm) discrete FET amplifier that utilizes a custom designed transformer as well (something that Neve has always been noted for). This is unusual in that most DIs either have one or the other, but the RNDI incorporates both, which the company says is responsible for its outstanding phase coherence and frequency response out to 100kHz.

The box features a 1/4 input jack that's capable of handling both instruments and line level with headroom of 21.5dBU. A speaker switch allows a direct connection from an amp as powerful as 1000 watts. A Thru jack is included in order to send the signal to an amplifier as well. Power comes via 48V phantom power.

The Rupert Neve Designs RNDI retails for $269 and is available now.