Is the mic no mo actually different than any DI box?

[samal50]

How is this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicNoMo--friedman-mic-no-mo-passive-cabinet-simulator

Any different from any passive DI box like The Director by Whirlwind?

[Mr.Grumpy]

The "Mic no mo" is a special type of direct box, specifically meant to be used with a guitar amplifier. It has a circuit that electronically emulates the frequency response of the speaker cabinet and microphone.  Since it does not have a line or instrument level input, it HAS to be used with an instrument (guitar) amplifier. And if that amplifier is a tube amp, you still need to have a speaker connected with a speaker cable and not a standard instrument cable.

There are some direct boxes that can handle a speaker-level signal, but most don't have cabinet emulation.

[WRGKMC]

You can build a speaker emulates DI box that connects to a speaker jack for less then $10.   The two resistors are about 25 cents each, same for the cap. 

You can buy the 1/4" jacks for $1 each and a metal box might cost you $5  That's about $8 and you can connect this to any amp, 50W or less.  If the amp is a higher wattage you can simply increase the 470K resistor or add a 500K pot so you can adjust the volume level.  The .005 cap rolls off the high frequencies and the 22K resistor keeps the impedance high so it can be connected to a line level input

This is pretty simple stuff.  We used to use these all the time back in the day for both live through a PO and for recording.  Worked like a champ and you didn't have to waste $100 on some expensive box that didn't do any better.