Palmer Joe Bonamassa PDI-03 JB Speaker Simulator

Joe Bonamassa has been bringing the blues to new audiences for over three decades. An anomaly in his field, the bluesman has found a balance between industry credibility and manipulation of social media networks and marketing that is almost unmatched in the blues-rock sector of the industry. Over the years, Bonamassa has amassed a series of official merchandise and signature products almost as big as his discography. The latest of these is the Palmer PDI 03 JB Speaker Simulator.

The PDI 03 JB is a high-quality, professional-level passive DI box built specifically for guitar amps. The unit has been particularly developed for live, studio and home recording applications to eliminate the need for time-consuming microphone placement and mic-related problems, such as low-end rumble or audio spill from other instruments near the guitar rig. Essentially the unit is connected after the amplifier and effects, and then a line can be taken directly to a mixing desk while still sending a line to the actual speaker box.

Designed to Bonamassa's specifications for a powerful yet focused tone, the exclusive ‘JB’ switch brings the output signal to the fore and takes it –in Joe’s own words -  "right in your face." Other controls include db switching and speaker emulation settings. The speaker emulation filters are carefully voiced to authentically replicate the frequency response of classic and contemporary loudspeakers and cabinets. The unit's input sensitivity is adjustable for amps up to 200 watts or line and instrument level equipment.

As well as live applications the PDI-03 JB can also be used to add realistic speaker flavors to preamps and dirt boxes in direct recording applications. It’s a professional DI solution for electric guitarists and as a result it does require a reasonably serious investment of around $400.

Originally published in X-Press Magazine