My first Countryman DIs were the ones I loaded into the workbox for my first tour in 1985 with Crystal Gayle: brand new black anodized Countryman Type 85 direct boxes, which have since become a ubiquitous staple in live sound and asked for by brand – the ‘Scotch Tape' of DIs. I'm sure most of you have used them.
Over the last quarter-century the direct box market has filled out and there are good passive and active models offered by dozens of manufacturers. Last year Countryman went back to the drawing board, releasing their new Type 10 and, as you can see, the model numbers represent the year of release.
A direct box takes an unbalanced high-impedance signal – often a quarter-inch lead from a guitar pickup – and transforms it into a balanced low-impedance signal that can travel hundreds of feet down a snake. Originally direct boxes were simple "passive" devices employing little more than a transformer and the parts seen on the outside: dual quarter inch jacks, a male XLR and a ground lift switch.
Along the way, instruments with "hotter" outputs appeared. Electronic keyboards, as well as guitars and basses with on-board pre-amps were introduced, with the ability to produce some serious output voltage – often in excess of +30 dBu – enough to saturate even a Jensen transformer core when the low B on an active five-string bass (31 Hz) is slapped or popped, for example. Other "hot" modern sound sources include DJ mixers and all manner of computer generated playback.
There are many good manufactured passive DIs, and the best ones – like the green Radial JDI – employ the legendary Jensen JT-DB-E transformer, providing ruler-flat phase and 20 to 20,000 Hz frequency response. However passive DIs require the console to make up 20 to 30 dB of gain for typical instruments and transmit a fairly low level signal up the snake, subjecting it to potential interference. An active DI is really a remote pre-amp that is able to accept hot inputs while providing a hot enough signal at the source to keep SNR high and the signal clean at the console's end.
Looking
As with the original black Type 85 DI, the connectors and switches on the brushed aluminum Countryman Type 10 are recessed into a single-piece extruded anodized aluminum case, a rugged piece that a truck can drive over. Both DIs were designed with a 30 dB pad to be used with guitar amp outputs, and are able to handle 200 volts coming right off a guitar cabinet's jack.
Next to the quarter-inch jacks, the new Type 10 now has a dual position switch to with a second, 15 dB pad to accommodate the output levels of modern active instruments and keyboards and each pad is engaged in the opposite direction. The switch's center detent is the unpadded position, making it easier to put them on stage without the pad engaged without having to look too closely.
One obvious improvement to the Type 10 is a momentary switch on the opposite XLR end of the DI to engage the dual Phantom Power and battery indicator LEDs, which glow green to indicate both the presence of Phantom Power from the sound console as well as sufficient voltage from an onboard 9-volt battery. The DI is easily opened with either a flat-head screwdriver or, conveniently, a small coin, to change the battery.
Listening
In 1998 I compared seven popular direct boxes for a magazine review – based on a prevailing assumption that all DIs sounded pretty much the same – and discovered that while there are several tests that can be performed with an AP analyzer, the most meaningful involved listening to instruments and music played through them, much in the same way we would critically compare microphones. There are a couple of simple listening tests that can be performed – even if you're not planning to buy right now – so you can learn how different models of DIs in inventory compare.
One test is to take a guitar or bass (or instrument of your choice – one that you play yourself is best) and simply compare the Type 10 with the DI you're currently using, going back and forth between them and noting the differences. A quarter-inch AB box makes this dead simple. Make sure you match the gain so level differences don't throw you off.
Another, somewhat unusual listening comparison is to use a familiar stereo music track and patch each channel into a different DI, bringing it back into a console and panning them hard – again carefully matching their gain. Using your own PA, near-field monitors, headphones or even IEMs, listen to the difference between the left and right. To make sure you understand the differences, reverse your channels. Which one do you prefer? Next ask someone else whose ears you trust, but who doesn't know which is which.
The Road
Over the course of a year, we used the Countryman Type 10 and Type 10S in a wide variety of applications, including symphony, rock, pop, country, jazz and corporate theater. Two words: "Instant Classic." The combination of accurate transient response with low noise and distortion produces a clear open sound that lets the impact of the instrument and the music come through.
Last season with the Jacksonville Symphony, we used the Type 10 for a steady stream of pops concerts, frequently for electric bass which plays an important part in symphony pops, as it becomes the glue that binds the show (instead of the kick drum in rock shows) for an audience that typically doesn't like too much low end. The open detail allows the instrument to ride below the mix and still be heard, a bonus for older patrons.
Pink Martini's Pete Plympton even used it with a Barcus Berry CS4000 piano pickup that he uses on their harp to provide isolation and bring it out of his mix, and the harp sprang to life. I subsequently used it with my own CS4000 on piano, and found I enjoyed its sound more than with its original pre-amp. I eventually decided the Type 10 improves the sound of many pickups that ordinarily would be used with proprietary preamps, such as the Helpinstill bar I like to use on the piano's low end occasionally for rock shows.
We used several at Jacksonville's Alhambra Dinner Theater for a production of Gail Bliss' A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, with one on upright bass, another on fiddle and a stereo Type 10S on the Yamaha electric piano hiding inside an old upright. The instruments sounded natural and lifelike without overtaking the mix, a bit brighter and more open than the Type 85 or the house passive DIs.
The stereo Type 10S is simply two complete Type 10 direct boxes housed in a similar extruded chassis that's slightly thicker and longer, and an inch wider – way more practical than taping two mono DIs together as has been common practice. At greater than 105 dB, 20 to 20k Hz, the cross-talk spec for the Type 10S is unusually high, rivaling that of individual mono DIs, as its internal construction actually employs totally independent circuitry, unlike other stereo models.
The 10S actually just uses phantom power on its first channel. When running of battery power, its life is shortened from 400 to 100 hours, due to the fact that twice the circuitry must be energized. Though it's only 10 per cent cheaper than buying two mono Type 10 DIs, if the stereo separation isn't enough to convince you, an added advantage is the gold plated dual RCA jacks and stereo mini TRS, making connection to consumer and computer devices easier than digging through the work box for the right cheaters to daisy chain.
I occasionally work corporate ballroom events, where pre-recorded music takes on higher importance than for concert sound. Besides the obligation for background music at meals and breaks, the need to introduce presenters and play executives onto the stage with excitement using computer audio and Instant Replay tracks places special emphasis on playback. Again, the Type 10S breathes a bit more life into canned music than some other DIs, and is helpful for feeds from video world, which always need assistance. I'm sure it would be great for Hip Hop as well, but I haven't gone there lately.
