Hawk DI 100 Active DI Box

Hawk DI 100 Active DI Box

The Hawk DI 100 is an active direct injection (DI) box for connecting instruments to a mixing console or PA system. It takes the unbalanced, high-impedance output of an instrument such as a guitar, bass or keyboard and converts it into a balanced XLR signal at microphone level. That conversion is what allows an instrument to travel down a long cable run or a stage snake to the mixer without picking up hum and interference along the way.

Key features

• Active DI circuitry with a buffered input stage
• Converts unbalanced instrument output to a balanced XLR signal
• Designed for guitars, bass, keyboards and acoustic instrument pickups
• Suitable for live stage, studio and house of worship use
• Compact format that fits in a gig bag or pedalboard setup

Why a DI box is needed

An instrument cable is unbalanced, which means it has no protection against the electrical noise around it. Over a short run to a nearby amplifier that rarely matters. Over the fifteen or twenty metres between a stage and a mixing desk, the same cable acts like an aerial for mains hum, lighting dimmer buzz and radio interference, and the high impedance of a guitar pickup also loses top end as cable length increases. A DI box solves both problems at the source: it lowers the impedance and balances the signal, so the long run to the desk is carried on a standard microphone cable that rejects interference, and the instrument’s tone arrives intact.

What active circuitry adds

A passive DI box does the conversion with a transformer alone. An active DI box like the DI 100 adds an electronic buffer stage, which presents a high input impedance to the instrument. That is particularly helpful with passive guitar and bass pickups and with piezo acoustic pickups, whose output can sound thin or harsh when loaded down by a low-impedance input. The buffer keeps the signal strong and consistent before it is sent to the mixer, so what the engineer receives at the desk is a faithful version of the instrument rather than a weakened one. Active circuitry needs a power source, so check the unit’s stated power arrangement before relying on it in a setup.

Typical uses

On live stages, a DI box sits between an acoustic guitar, bass or keyboard and the PA, giving the sound engineer a clean feed for the main mix and monitors. In houses of worship, keyboards and acoustic instruments are routinely run through DI boxes for the same reason. In the studio, a DI feed is recorded alongside a microphone on an amplifier so the clean signal can be re-amped or processed later. In each case the DI 100 performs the same single task: impedance conversion and balancing, done at the instrument end of the cable where it is most effective.

Using it in a setup

Connect the instrument to the DI box input with a short, good-quality instrument cable, then run a balanced XLR microphone cable from the DI output to a microphone input on the mixer. Keep the unbalanced instrument cable as short as practical, because that is the section still exposed to noise; the balanced section can be as long as the venue requires. Set the mixer’s input gain for a microphone-level signal and check levels with the instrument played at its loudest expected volume.

The Hawk DI 100 Active DI Box is a straightforward piece of stage hardware: one job, done where it matters, for any performer who plugs an instrument into a venue PA or recording desk.