mjbphotos
Moderator
Ok, I'm going to put the first actual review in this section of the forum!
Radial is well-known for its solidly-constructed DI units. This pedal will take the space of about 3 normal stompboxes on your pedalboard.
The top surface features 3 positive-feel on-off switches, from left to right: Mute, FX Loop/Boost, A/B input selection, all with indicator lights. Also on the top surface are switches for Hi-pass filter (off, 80Hz, 200Hz); Notch (bypass, normal, deep); Phase (normal, reverse); Loop/Boost/both. Knobs above the switches include Boost; EQ – Bass, sweepable Mid (2 knobs), High; Notch (frequency); Level 2 and Level 1 (for the inputs).
There are two ¼” inputs, each with a switchable Piezo booster for piezo pickups with no preamp. Outputs: dedicated ¼” output for a tuner (always on, even when the Mute switch is activated); Pre- and Post-EQ XLR jacks; ¼” guitar-level Post-EQ output (for feeding an amp) with separate phase reversal switch. There are FX loop send and return jacks for connecting outboard pedals.
The two ¼” inputs can be used as either/or for keeping 2 guitars plugged in all the time and having their input volume preset ahead of time to balance them, or with the press of a recessed switch in the side, both inputs can be activated. Note that there is no separate EQ for the two inputs, though.
Ok, now for using this unit.
Really is built like a brick. Quick to set up – all jacks and side-mounted switches are labeled on the top surface so you can read them easily. Comes with a 15V power supply (battery operation is not an option), but the input jack is the same as a standard 9V, so don’t get your power supplies mixed up. It would be nice if it had 9V power output to power external pedals.
Switching the inputs to have both on is a bit of a PITA – you need a pen or something with a long-enough point to engage/disengage the recessed switch, would have been better to use a recessed slider or at least had a press point that could be hit with the point of a guitar pick. I’ve ended up taping a Bic pen cap to the pedal, and ripping it off the tape when I need it.
The DI section of the pedal works well – I’ve been using the Post-EQ output to my mixer at my open mics, and used the Pre-EQ to feed a bass signal to a digital recorder (1/4” out went to an amp that was miked to the PA) at a show. There’s a ground-lift switch, too, but I haven’t had the need for it. The DI-preamp works well enough that Taylor guitars that use the ES1gen3 balanced output don’t need a special TRS-XLR cable to get the maximum potential out of their sound (the Radial does not have an XLR input).
The Mute button works silently and is a great feature when swapping out instruments/players. Having a tuner on a separate line means you can always have it on and don’t have to worry if its ‘true bypass’ or not.
The built-in boost has good range and is perfect for an acoustic player who needs to bump up his volume for leads, unfortunately you can only choose to turn both the boost and your FX loop on at one time or either - separate switches for each would be better.
Besides for live use, this pedal serves as a good Y-pedal for recording by taking an instrument input and splitting it into the amp output and a DI output to your audio interface so you can record both a miked amp and DI signal at one time.
Normal retail price on this is $299, but I got 15% off on an online sale. The price compares favorably with other DI/preamp units on the market.
Radial is well-known for its solidly-constructed DI units. This pedal will take the space of about 3 normal stompboxes on your pedalboard.
The top surface features 3 positive-feel on-off switches, from left to right: Mute, FX Loop/Boost, A/B input selection, all with indicator lights. Also on the top surface are switches for Hi-pass filter (off, 80Hz, 200Hz); Notch (bypass, normal, deep); Phase (normal, reverse); Loop/Boost/both. Knobs above the switches include Boost; EQ – Bass, sweepable Mid (2 knobs), High; Notch (frequency); Level 2 and Level 1 (for the inputs).
There are two ¼” inputs, each with a switchable Piezo booster for piezo pickups with no preamp. Outputs: dedicated ¼” output for a tuner (always on, even when the Mute switch is activated); Pre- and Post-EQ XLR jacks; ¼” guitar-level Post-EQ output (for feeding an amp) with separate phase reversal switch. There are FX loop send and return jacks for connecting outboard pedals.
The two ¼” inputs can be used as either/or for keeping 2 guitars plugged in all the time and having their input volume preset ahead of time to balance them, or with the press of a recessed switch in the side, both inputs can be activated. Note that there is no separate EQ for the two inputs, though.
Ok, now for using this unit.
Really is built like a brick. Quick to set up – all jacks and side-mounted switches are labeled on the top surface so you can read them easily. Comes with a 15V power supply (battery operation is not an option), but the input jack is the same as a standard 9V, so don’t get your power supplies mixed up. It would be nice if it had 9V power output to power external pedals.
Switching the inputs to have both on is a bit of a PITA – you need a pen or something with a long-enough point to engage/disengage the recessed switch, would have been better to use a recessed slider or at least had a press point that could be hit with the point of a guitar pick. I’ve ended up taping a Bic pen cap to the pedal, and ripping it off the tape when I need it.
The DI section of the pedal works well – I’ve been using the Post-EQ output to my mixer at my open mics, and used the Pre-EQ to feed a bass signal to a digital recorder (1/4” out went to an amp that was miked to the PA) at a show. There’s a ground-lift switch, too, but I haven’t had the need for it. The DI-preamp works well enough that Taylor guitars that use the ES1gen3 balanced output don’t need a special TRS-XLR cable to get the maximum potential out of their sound (the Radial does not have an XLR input).
The Mute button works silently and is a great feature when swapping out instruments/players. Having a tuner on a separate line means you can always have it on and don’t have to worry if its ‘true bypass’ or not.
The built-in boost has good range and is perfect for an acoustic player who needs to bump up his volume for leads, unfortunately you can only choose to turn both the boost and your FX loop on at one time or either - separate switches for each would be better.
Besides for live use, this pedal serves as a good Y-pedal for recording by taking an instrument input and splitting it into the amp output and a DI output to your audio interface so you can record both a miked amp and DI signal at one time.
Normal retail price on this is $299, but I got 15% off on an online sale. The price compares favorably with other DI/preamp units on the market.
