Countryman Type 85

The Countryman Type 85 Direct Box is a venerable performer dating back to the late 1980s. It has a reputation for being both euphonic and dependable. It's built (almost literally) like a brick, with chassis-mount connectors and switches rather than the more fragile (and difficult to service) PCB-mounted connectors and switches found on more modern devices.

The Countryman is particularly suited for instruments having passive pickups, thanks to its high input impedance and low input capacitance. The unit is phantom-powered and uses a 9V battery to automatically supply power in the absence of phantom power. Battery life is reported as 300 to 400 hours, which is practically forever with casual use or months of 8-hour working days.