More radical engineering from Radial Engineering as the Vancouver-based company introduces the PZ-DI, which is a pickup source selector and direct box all in one unit designed to meet demands for the growing population of guitarists who use dual source instruments (e.g. Parker Fly, Godin Prodiac) which blend piezo elements with magnetic pickups.

The PZ-DI offers two 1/4" inputs for the dual sources when dual 1/4" cables are used, but it also accommodates TRS cables, splitting the signal when they're used. Each signal goes down a buffered path. The piezo channel has a four meg-ohm input impedance for more authentic tone while a high-pass filter takes care of low frequency resonance, which can be problematic on acoustic, semi-acoustic and contrabass instruments.

Radial also tacks on a lowpass filter to add some calcium to the brittle, bony tones of mediocre on-board instrument preamps. The piezo path can also drive an on-stage acoustic amp and is designed to be able to allow the acoustic signal to go directly to the PA system.

The magnetic pickup stream all starts with Drag Control load correction, which provides adjustable pickup load to remedy any malady caused by the buffer, restoring the interaction between the guitar and the amp. A separate 1/4" output drives the guitar amp.

In use, the PZ-DI makes it possible to switch between instrument pickups or combine them as necessary. To top it off, Radial adds a tuner output that's always on, which is nice in an "after dinner mint brought with the check" kind of way.