Radial Engineering has announced the 4-Play direct box, designed for artists who employ multiple instruments on stage.
The unit offers a standard quarter-inch jack input and has a mute footswitch to silence the switcher when connecting or disconnecting an instrument. The signal is routed to a selector footswitch that sequentially activates up to four outputs, allowing each instrument to have its own dedicated channel on the PA. High-visibility LED indicators provide clear visual feedback of which output is active.
‘When you are on a busy stage, switching instruments can pose several challenges,’ Radial Tech Team associate Mike Bauer explains. ‘When sharing the same direct box, switching between an acoustic guitar and mandolin requires both the FOH engineer and monitor engineer to mute the active mixer channel in order to avoid damaging plug-in transients and painful pops for the audience. You then need to alter the EQ and adjust the level to adapt it for each instrument.
‘Alternatively, when using separate DI boxes you end up with a bunch of wires connected to each instrument, which often get tangled. Ask any stage tech and they will tell you that the preferred approach is to use a single cable and manually switch between instruments. Then, because the artist can mute the instrument on stage, you avoid having to flag down the FOH and monitor engineers between each changeover. Since each instrument is now connected to a dedicated channel, the signal level, EQ and effects can be predetermined and optimised without having to make radical changes every time an instrument is changed. With so many auxiliary musicians onstage these days, there has never been a more appropriate time for this type of solution.’
The 4-Play features four balanced XLR outputs, each of which is equipped with a ground lift switch. All of the connectors are made from glass-filled nylon and use nickel-silver contacts. Two ‘set-and-forget’ switches increase the range of the selector footswitch to two, three or four outputs. There is also a dedicated tuner out that can be assigned to be always on, or function in tandem with the mute switch for quick on-the-fly adjustments.
The 4-Play is made from heavy 14-gauge steel for rigidity and rejection of stray magnetic fields. It employs a standard Boss-style 9V power supply (not included) and is equipped with a cable lock to prevent accidental disconnection.
The MAP for the 4-Play is US$279.99.
More: www.radialeng.com
