Comparison between Para Acoustic DI and Align Active DIU

[DADGAD_Rick]

I was wondering:

I own a Para Acoustic DI, but have recently purchase the Align Session, Equalizer and Reverb pedals. Will my Para Acoustic DI "work" with the Align series of pedals or should I consider purchasing the "Align Active DI" pedal in lieu of the Para Acoustic DI? If I keep the Para Acoustic DI, what settings ought I be using to "mimic" the "pristine" effect of the Align Active DI? Thoughts?

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey Rick,
The Para DI will work just fine with those pedals. The Align pedals were designed so that players could add elements and effects into their existing signal chain, without needing to replace everything. The Align DI is a bit more "pristine" as you said, but the warmth of the Para DI is not a negative thing for most players. I would try out what you have first. It should sound great!

[Shannon]

I've been considering between these 2 units, and not sure which is the best option for me. I have a passive DI which sounds fine but doesn't really deliver a hot enough signal to the board. My guitar is equipped with an LR Baggs Anthem, and the signal coming out of the guitar is not nearly as strong as my Fishman equipped guitar. The result is that I get a little more noise from the preamps than I'd like. I'm hoping to make up for this with an active DI. The Align series appeals to me more because of the mute switch, but tbh I really want the one that will give me the hottest, most pristine signal.
What would you recommend?

Edit - I actually just stumbled upon the session DI. Aside from an effects loop, it has everything I wanted. Just ordered one. Planning on having it at the end of the chain, and hopefully my reverbs aren't bothered by it there.

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey Shannon,
I am glad that you came across the Session DI. I think that will be a great solution for you.

Let us know how you like it!

[Shannon]

Hey Shannon,
I am glad that you came across the Session DI. I think that will be a great solution for you.

Let us know how you like it!

It's working great!
Follow up question... I'm running a few effects into the Session. It goes: guitar - tuner - El Capistan - Venue reverb - Wulrus Slo - TC HOF - Session DI - mixer.
I don't run all those verbs at once... They're for different things. But I'm considering getting rid of the Slo and getting a Bigsky. Would it be better to take the Session DI back and get a venue so I can run these through the effects loop, or does that even matter?

[Caleb_Elling]

If you have an active pickup like the Anthem, you should be able to run directly into your effects, with the DI running last.

The FX Loop can be used in that situation, but it's only really necessary if you have a passive pickup that needs to run through a gain stage before going into the effects.

If that were my board, I'd probably run it just like you're doing it now. That's just me though.

[Shannon]

If you have an active pickup like the Anthem, you should be able to run directly into your effects, with the DI running last.

The FX Loop can be used in that situation, but it's only really necessary if you have a passive pickup that needs to run through a gain stage before going into the effects.

If that were my board, I'd probably run it just like you're doing it now. That's just me though.

Thanks.
I'm keeping the Session.
I also have a D18 fitted with a K&K mini pickup, and, yes, you're right that it absolutely needs a pre in front of it. So I run a K&K pure preamp first in the chain when using that one.
I don't particularly like the performance of the K&K pickup compared to the Baggs, tbh. But also didn't want a piezo installed on that guitar, or any other pickup that may alter the acoustic tone. After having an Anthem installed in my 00015sm, I'm not sure it really did affect the acoustical tone. If it did, it was very slight.