What is direct out on a guitar amp?
The direct out works very much like miking the amp but without the limitations of having a mic sitting in front of the amp. ... The direct out is taken from the speaker side of the power amp which adds to the richness of tone because the low dampening factor of the amp allows the speaker to react with the circuit.
Is Direct out the same as line out?
Functionally a line out, direct out, and DI out are the same thing for the same purpose. Some are balanced, some are +4db, some are -10db, and some are "cab voiced". They all allow you to run a signal to the mixing board and avoid needing a mic.