Why do people call it a "DI" if it's an output?

[Drucifer]

“Direct input” makes sense to me, as far as what the thing does.

For what it’s worth, I call them a “direct box.”

Yes, Direct Box, or d-box or db for short. That should eliminate any confusion!

 

[Ric5]

Am I mistaken in thinking DI=direct input? Is this just a case of faulty language that's repeated in zombie fashion (like the use of "same difference" to actually mean "same"), or have I had a brain cramp (again)?

also the jack on a guitar or bass gets called the input jack sometimes

 

[Kipp Harrington]

There’s already enough riffraff on whether that 1/4” jack on the bottom (or side or end, whatever) of the bass is an input jack or an output jack.

It's the output jack, since the cable carries the bass' signal "out" from the bass and "in" to the amp.

 

[agedhorse]

Direct injection just doesn’t mesh in my head for anything audio.
I’ve always heard DI= DIrect or Direct Input.

Depends on which side of the Atlantic you are from. When working with European acts it's referred to as direct injection, when working with US acts it's referred to as direct input, but colloquially it's been shortened to "DI" or "direct box" almost universally in the past 15-20 years.

Yes, Direct Box, or d-box or db for short. That should eliminate any confusion!

In 45 years I have never heard it referred to as "d-box" or "db" in any pro application. DB is a common abbreviation for "double bass". When labeling consoles, the most common abbreviations I have seen over the decades are "DI" and "direct"

 

[Redbrangus]

I figured dubbing it a 'db' was intended to be humorous.

 

[Drucifer]

In 45 years I have never heard it referred to as "d-box" or "db" in any pro application. DB is a common abbreviation for "double bass". When labeling consoles, the most common abbreviations I have seen over the decades are "DI" and "direct"

 

[2112]

 

[Deleted member 365158]

I’ve used db to refer to a couple stage managers.

 

[dkelley]

OK, that's settled. Now, how about why Les Pauls have a Rhythm and a Lead label on their pickup selector switch?

Specially when many guitarists use it the other way around?? HUH??? WHY?? (I know why, so rhetorical question)

 

[Eric Lester]

I swear there are some amps where for the mute function "on" means no sound, and other amps where the mute function "on" means business as usual.

Maybe I should stop using this Mandela Effect pedal...

I have a USB interface with a "direct monitor" button and I can never remember which way is which--further compounded by the fact that it's a push-button, small and black, and hard to see whether it's "in" or "out."

The madness of output-input will never die. Nor input-output. In computers it's just "IO."

 

[dkelley]

As referred before the “injection” term is erroneous and came out of popular misspeaking.

Like much of British colloquialisms...

 

[Eric Lester]

^^^^ Yep, "DI" refers to the "function" of the jack, not the jack itself, as in "Use the DI out jack to connect to the board....". That's what I've always heard sound guys yell at me anyway.

Now, what's the difference between "flammable" and "inflammable"?

Thank you, I was just going to bring that up...

 

[dkelley]

Regardless (or 'irregardless', if you live where I do) of what it once was an abbreviation for, in actual usage we can pretty much just say it now stands for "DIrect". It's a 'DIrect box', a 'DIrect out', a 'DIrect Output', or simply just a 'DI'. It really couldn't be less important what the origin story is.

Irregardless? So... where you live, they call it a a DII, or Direct injection injector? (or Direct Input Inputter)?

j/k ;-)

irregardless.... I have extended family that would likely proclaim that ain't not a word! So, regardless, I'll take "irregardless" over some of the other incorrect double negatives any time.

 

[Eric Lester]

Yeah, guitarists have been dealing with this kind of thing for what, 60 years now? We all love Leo Fender, but he's not so great on his Italian language musical terms. The feature on Fender guitar amps that's referred to as a "vibrato" is of course, a tremolo. The "whammy bar" on a Stratocaster is called a "tremolo" by Fender, but of course it's actually a vibrato bar.
Tremolo = periodic variation in volume
Vibrato = periodic variation in pitch

Thank you I have worried for decades that I was the only person who knew this, hence a certain feeling that perhaps this is an alternate universe and something happened.

 

[dkelley]

The whole notion of it being called "direct" anything is erroneous as well, IMO. Direct box, direct injection, direct input....the fact that there's some sort of circuitry in the middle suggests its hardly "direct". If anything, it should be called a "converter".

Terminology is a funny thing.

It's way more direct than the previous standard, which was playing through an amp and having a mic in front of it. THAT is decidedly less direct. A DI, even though it uses the magic of a transformer (so arguably you are not connected to anything other than a coil of wire, in the box), is, to the end user, a direct connection from your instrument to the mixing board. No sound is made, it is entirely silent, and only transmits electrical signals of your audio output.

So yea, it's about as direct as you can get, specially so when you get to solid state DI boxes (if you want to get technical and kind of arbitrarily moot), which actually have your signal going through a circuit that is, in a manner of speaking, semi-directly connected to the output jack.

 

[dkelley]

I have a Effectrode Blackbird. There's a balanced output at 600 ohms via a TRS jack. Why don't they call it a "DI" out ? I use a TRS to XLR adaptor and plug it into the XLR line in of my Quilter Bass Block 800, I guess it works exactly as if it was a regular XLR DI out…

I asked them by email 'is it a DI or not?', and here's the answer (doesn't really answer my question):

The following is from the Blackbird manual:
'Balanced Direct Out ¼” TRS (stereo) jack socket allows connection of the Blackbird to mixing desk, computer soundcard or external audio capture device. This output is balanced and transformer isolated, eliminating earth loops and reducing hum to an absolute minimum. The Triad Magnetics audio transformer also imparts it’s own character, further enhancing and sweetening the tone. This output is driven by a discrete class AB amplifier circuit – essentially a miniaturised power amp output stage. There’s no substitute for the sound of a real tube amp moving some air, however the direct output is useful for recording in venues with poor room acoustics or excessive background noise. Reverb, eq or cabinet impulse responses can be added post recording to obtain a very realistic approximation of a miked guitar amp in an ideal acoustic space.'​

I guess they don't call it a DI because, traditionally, a DI box doesn't go through a tube preamp and tone stack before it's output jack. Maybe? (Note: I didn't google your amp and am only guessing it's a tube preamp stage from their tube amp comment... either or though).

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Am I mistaken in thinking DI=direct input? Is this just a case of faulty language that's repeated in zombie fashion (like the use of "same difference" to actually mean "same"), or have I had a brain cramp (again)?

Used originally in recording studios to take an instrument directly to the the mixing board. So they are "Direct Input" boxes. First time I used one was in 1972 at a Hollywood recording studio where we were set to record some songs for our agent to send out as samples of what we did to new places he had not booked before. The recording engineers couldn't figure out how to mic my Standel cab to capture the sound I was getting from it. That speaker cab had two 15" CTS speakers, each isolated with a bass reflex chamber set up to take the sound coming from the back of the speakers and channel it around the side to come out the 4 vertically stacked round ports. Sounded great but they couldn't get that particular sound out of either the speakers by themselves or by mic'ing the ports.

So they had me plug into a Direct Input box to the board. It's all a matter of perspective and since they were originally made to get a "direct input" into the mixing console, they are called D.I. boxes.

 

[iiipopes]

Here you go, Ken Townsend's quote on the matter:

"I think direct injection was probably used on Beatles sessions for the first time anywhere in the world," said Ken Townsend, an engineer in the technical department at Abbey Road, in Mark Lewisohn’s The Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes, 1962-1970. "We built our own transformer boxes [called DIT boxes] and plugged the guitars straight into the equipment."

Read More: The Day the Beatles Began Recording 'Sgt. Pepper's' Title Track | The Day the Beatles Began Recording 'Sgt. Pepper's' Title Track

 

[agedhorse]

Still debating input versus injection?

I was there, I was living this very thing back in the pro audio world in the 1970's, and almost universally "injection" was used across the Atlantic" and "input" was used in the US. Absolutely colloquial usage.

 

[Fun With Dirt]

Am I mistaken in thinking DI=direct input? Is this just a case of faulty language that's repeated in zombie fashion (like the use of "same difference" to actually mean "same"), or have I had a brain cramp (again)?

You will see some devices out there where it is the "send" part of the signal where it is marked as a Direct Out. GK RB series comes to mind. At least on devices, I typically on see inputs marked as Direct In. ...however, I have seen people informally refer to the entire DO-to cable-DI path as "DI".