Q: Can I also use the JD6 with guitars and basses?
A: Of course! The JD6 uses the exact same audio circuit as our popular Radial JDI direct box and it is perfectly suited for guitars, basses and just about any instrument you can think of.

Q: Can I use the JD6 backwards like a re-amping device?
A: Yes. You will need to find a female to female XLR turn around. You would start by pre-recording a dry track using a guitar with the JD6 to your pre-amp and audio recorder. Send the recorded track (at mic level) back to the JD6 using the XLR output (as an input) and then the guitar input (as an output) to your guitar amplifier.

Q: I have heard that when you combine left and right outputs from a keyboard it can be a problem...
A: When two signals such as the left and right from a keyboard are simply ‘Y-jack’d’ together, the signals are both trying to feed the output while also trying to feed their own inputs. This can cause damage to the keyboard and phase cancellation to the sound. The Radial JD6 is equipped with a merge function which is in fact a resistive mixer that is designed to avoid this problem.

Q: If I use the front panel input on channel-1, will both the front panel thru-put and rear panel thru-put still work?
A: No. The JD6 input and thru put jacks on channels 1 and 2 are switching jacks with front panel priority. This means that when you connect a plug in the back, the signal goes to the back connector. If a second plug is connected to the front jack, the signal is diverted to that connector until the front plug is removed.

Q: How many keyboard players does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just hit auto transpose and it makes the changes for you!

Q: I heard that active direct boxes sound better than passive DIs. Is this true?
A: It depends. This is the same as stating that a condenser mic sounds better than a dynamic. A good passive direct box will eliminate noise, hum and buzz and still sound amazing. The magic to a great sounding passive DI is the transformer. A good transformer will cost upwards to $100 per channel. Active DI’s are best suited for passive instruments or devices that do not connect the power grid. For devices such as keyboards, a good passive is definitely the way to go!

Q: Why is a passive direct box a better choice for keyboards?
A: The problem with keyboards, computers and audio-visual equipment is noise or 60-cycle hum caused by so called ‘ground loops’. Equipment that is electrically powered or connected to a wall socket is designed with a reference voltage to ground or the return electrical path. As such these are charged with an electrical field, connecting two of these pieces together such as a keyboard and a mixer opens the door to stray fields or voltage differentials from interacting with each other. A good passive direct box like the JD6 employs an isolation transformer to keep stray fields away from each other, thus avoiding interaction, which can cause system noise.

Q: Will phantom power hurt the JD6?
A: No. Phantom power is 48-Volt DC and will not harm the JD6.

Radial - True to the Music™