direct box

[Emperor !!!]

Hi,

I'm a guitar player and I have never recorded anything, so I wanted to get started recording my own music, so I went to the store and bought a fostex X-12 multitracker, a SM57 and a type II cassette as recommended in the manual.

I've been reading the posts in this forum and it seems to be that I need a direct box to get the music in the tape or a matching impedance device to really get good audio quality, I know the reason for this is the difference between the impedance coming out of the cable and the impedance in the input jack of the recorder, in this case my X-12, while doing some research on the web I've found different models, like active/passive DI, stereo line DI, tube DI, phantom DI, etc..., all this got me confused and now I don't know which one to get, nothing fancy but reliable. I think.

Can I plug the guitar cable to the DI or just XLR type cables???

What else do I need, besides a mic stand and headphones. Would I be able to mix through the headphones???
Would I be able to record my keyboard through the DI or need something else?????
What about the bass guitar???
Don't have drums to record but the keyboard have some patches that will do just fine for a few months, I hope!!!!

[Jblount]

Are you using an amp to record your guitar? If you are, there is usually a direct out. I use a combo of the direct out and a sm57 on the front of the amp.

[Emperor !!!]

My rig is simple right now.

Stratocaster to multi effects pedal to crate amp.

The crate is a little 20 watts amp and it doesn't have a direct out.

[turner]

Get you mind off of the direct box. SM57 --> mic cable --> fostex x12. If your mic cable is a XLR to XLR, you will need a XLR to 1/4" adapter because your fostex x12 only accepts a 1/4" input. You can plug you guitar or keyboard directly into the fostex with a 1/4" guitar cord. Adjust the line/mic knob until you start getting a good sound. Read the manual for the fostex x12 if you have not.