Advice/help needed to choose between LR Baggs DIs

[BeniaminPope]

Hello,

I have a 2022 Gibson J185 which comes with the LR Baggs VTC (Element?) under saddle pickup.
I like the idea of adding a few pedals that will help with overall sound quality to the PA. I am thinking of putting together a pedalboard with the Boss WL-60 wireless system, a tuner, the LR Baggs Align Session, the Align Reverb and a DI. But I'm having a hard time deciding which LR Baggs DI to choose.
Will my sound quality be much different if I have the Align DI, versus combining the Session and the DI to get the Session DI instead!? From what I read, they are interchangeable, with the exception that some setups benefit from having the Session pedal placed ahead of the other effects depending on the pickup that's built into the guitar. But that specific info I can't find anywhere unless I were to physically test the difference. So any clue would be helpful.

And while I'm at it, I do have a huge inclination towards spending a bit more for Voiceprint DI, and in that case would I still need the Session pedal alongside it?

Thanks.

[Caleb_Elling]

The Session DI, for all intents and purposes, is going to sound the same as the Align Session and Align DI put together. Like you said, the difference is being able to move the Session around in the chain with the Align version, while the Session DI forces you to put it at the end. I've run the Session DI at the end of my chain for years, and although it's not ideal, it's still an amazing sounding setup.

The VPDI is definitely a big upgrade. It's a lot more complicated, but it's probably the single most significant improvement you can make to your tone in a single pedal. I go back and forth sometimes with the VPDI and the Session. Sometimes I love the combo, and other times it feels like the Session adds less to the VPDI than it does to a normal pickup signal. I still haven't landed on a final decision.