$309.99
Finally. That's all I have to say. Radial finally cranked out a single-channel, guitar-focused DI. I've said in my other descriptions of Radial Engineering gear that theirs are the only DIs I'll take onstage with me anymore. The J48 (my favorite DI until now) is rugged, clean, and simple. It just makes my guitar sound good, and the soundboard crew at the back of the house is always asking me why my channel is so clean, balanced, and whisper-quiet compared to everyone else's.
But with that said, there just aren't many features on the J48 to satisfy most guitarists, at least not like you see on other leading DIs like the Baggs PADI. Sure, the PZ Pre, Radial's dual-channel guitar preamp+DI combo, is a great piece of gear. But that unit is overkill if you're just looking to plug in a single guitar, or if you don't feel like spending more than $200. Their PZ DI was another step in the right direction, but it frankly had the wrong feature set, no matter how good it sounded.
Enter the PZ Deluxe, the preamp and DI combo I've been hoping for since I started bragging about Radial Engineering 9 years ago. It gives you the controls you've come to expect, including EQ with sweepable mids. But check out the extras (also found on the PZ Pre):
• 15 volts of headroom. Nearly all other inexpensive stage DIs give you 9 volts at the most. This feature alone makes the PZ Deluxe a frontrunner in this category.
• Mute footswitch
• Boost footswitch. You'd normally pay $100 more for the mute+boost combo in a Venue DI or PZ Pre.
• Low-cut filter with 2 settings
• Dual-output phase switch, so you can reverse the phase of either the line out, DI out, or both.
• Ground lift
• Tuner send
This is a seriously good DI. I recommend it without reservation.