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moosers
Published on 04/14/10 at 23:14
The Horizon SL-1 Straightline is a passive direct input box designed for uses of all types. It is an analog piece of equipment that I have experience using in the recording studio. Like pretty much all direct input boxes, you could use this for live shows and in the studio pretty interchangeably I think, but my experience is limited to that in the studio so this review will focus on this application of the box. The SL-1 has 1/4" connections for both a high-z input and output, as well as a lo-Z LXR output, so as you can probably tell this is a pretty standard and straight forward DI box. It isn't rack mountable in any way...
UTILIZATION
Setting up and using the Horizon SL-1 Straightline is a very straight ahead process, as there really isn't anything to it. Once you've made your connections you're pretty much good to go, but there is a ground switch that you can use if you're getting noise. Beyond that, there aren't any parameters to work with, so I don't believe that a manual would be needed.
SOUND QUALITY
As far as direct input boxes in this price range go, the Horizon SL-1 Straightline is the best that I've used. Setting aside the price for a minute, the box sounds pretty good on it's own, even if you didn't know or consider the price. I've used the SL-1 for the standard DI applications of bass guitar and keyboards. The keyboard was a Yamaha Motif, and I should also mention that we used a bass amp in tandem with it for the bass guitar portion. We recorded both of these within the same session at different times with the same exact box, and for both we were quite pleased with the results...
OVERALL OPINION
If you need a cheap direct box that isn't completely worthless, the Horizon SL-1 Straightline is for you. While not the best DI box out there in terms of sheer quality, it still does reproduce your sound faithfully without any added color or noise. The price will undoubtedly drive people to the Horizon SL-1, and for good reason, so if you need a couple of cheap DI boxes, I'd encourage you to check these out for sure.
UTILIZATION
Setting up and using the Horizon SL-1 Straightline is a very straight ahead process, as there really isn't anything to it. Once you've made your connections you're pretty much good to go, but there is a ground switch that you can use if you're getting noise. Beyond that, there aren't any parameters to work with, so I don't believe that a manual would be needed.
SOUND QUALITY
As far as direct input boxes in this price range go, the Horizon SL-1 Straightline is the best that I've used. Setting aside the price for a minute, the box sounds pretty good on it's own, even if you didn't know or consider the price. I've used the SL-1 for the standard DI applications of bass guitar and keyboards. The keyboard was a Yamaha Motif, and I should also mention that we used a bass amp in tandem with it for the bass guitar portion. We recorded both of these within the same session at different times with the same exact box, and for both we were quite pleased with the results...
OVERALL OPINION
If you need a cheap direct box that isn't completely worthless, the Horizon SL-1 Straightline is for you. While not the best DI box out there in terms of sheer quality, it still does reproduce your sound faithfully without any added color or noise. The price will undoubtedly drive people to the Horizon SL-1, and for good reason, so if you need a couple of cheap DI boxes, I'd encourage you to check these out for sure.