Hughes & Kettner Red Box Mk. II

Here's a nice utility box for home recording or even live application (if you've run into a sound guy who hates guitar amps 😠). It's a direct box but also a cab sim (4x12). It won't run off phantom power, so just power it with a 9v wall wart or a battery. Also, connected to the Speaker In pad should be another jack for "speaker through" (so you don't blow up your amp). Here's the schematic and original user manual for reference.

Update Nov. 15:
I removed the extra components for ground lift application as most reported it not working and they had better success with placing an on/off switch between XLR pin 1 and ground. YMMV

Guitar Direct Box

Got a request for an active DI, which coincided with a project I'm working on, so it seemed like a good idea. This one's designed by Samuel Groner and modified by Jack Orman. The schematic came from his blog and can be found here, along with some other info about the circuit.