United Studio Technologies Vintage Direct Box

Inspired by some of the industry’s earliest hand-wired DI boxes, Vintage Direct is a DI tool built to deliver the purest possible tone with the help of a specially designed custom transformer.

Vintage Direct incorporates a uniquely large-core transformer, inspired by mid-60s era direct box designs such as the Wolfbox and Bass Box by Bruce Swedien.

Focusing on the traits of vintage transformers including UTC’s A12 component, United’s meticulous research over a number of years culminated in the completion of their own transformer design: the United Studio Technologies 5078.

By utilising a specific winding ratio, bobbin and magnet wire type and high-nickel lamination style, United were able to achieve the pristine low-noise signal, wide frequency response and outstanding headroom that so many vintage DI designs are revered for.

To preserve the signal as pristinely as possible from input jack to output, Vintage Direct uses high-grade audiophile components to avoid unnecessary noise and retain as much original tone as possible.

In lieu of resistor pads, volume pots and RC network filters found in lesser DI boxes, the Vintage Direct’s level tailoring is built directly into the output transformer taps to enable 6 individual output levels with even spacing. True ground isolation also suppresses any ground-loop hum during operation for optimised tracking quality.

Top-Shelf Components
Vintage Direct is powered by custom audio-grade resistors, made specially for United Studio Technologies in the USA by Precision Pesistive Products Inc, a company who also supply components to NASA.

Roadworthy
In true United fashion, the Vintage Direct is hewn from a rugged aluminium chassis designed to survive even the most hectic of tours. Feet may also be removed for custom mounting.

Specifications

• Impedance 80k Ω in, 50-250 Ω out
• Frequency Response 20 Hz-20 kHz, +/-0.5 dB
• Max Input < +10 dB
• Levels -42, -38, -34, -30, -26, -22 dB
• Dimensions 46 x 149 x 155mm, 0.95kg