ampeg v4b classic di question

**bass dan** · #1 05-01-2011, 05:06 PM

The di on my v4b classic does not work and I was curious what would be the best ouput to use to run from my di to the foh. The pre amp out, or the slave out?

I currently have a fishman pro plat. di/eq box. I would like to retain as much of the tube sound as possible. I would run the fishman pre eq of coarse.

My other thought is to get a country man type 85 di and use the "speaker" option on the di and hook it up to one of my amps speaker outputs.

Just wondering if getting a countyman type 85 and running it in speaker mode would be better than using the pre out or slave out into the fishman. Opinions?

anderbass · #2 05-02-2011, 09:04 AM

#1 - Your pre-out = a preamp only signal.

#2 - Your Slave out = pre and poweramp signal

#3 - Your Type 85 option would be a pre and poweramp signal, but would sound different than simply patching into your slave.

Each of these methods would end up sounding different, and it would come down to choosing your personal preference just like your favorite color.

How about this: Next time your at a gig (with a good PA) sound checking, try to borrow a type-85 and try out all your options to see what you prefer...

I can tell you right now most sound guys would prefer the clean type-85 patched between the bass and amp, and then your preamp-level out as a second choice option.

But the choice is yours to make, I'd probably prefer the #2 or #3 options, but If you've got a master volume V4B model, all of these options will result in any amp knob changes (done mid-set) to greatly affect the sound coming out of the PA.

Sometimes this is a big issue...

For this reason alone, sometimes its best to simply use a DI between your bass and amp, so you could always be able to
re-adjust your amp any way you want without effecting the P/A...

**bass dan** · #3 05-02-2011, 10:53 AM

thanks for the ideas. I primarily use my fishman with my upright bass post eq to the board. With my passive p-bass I have not been thrilled with the sound from the fishman di, post eq or pre eq. If the di worked on my v4b I would happily use it. I thought I may just get that fixed but for the money, getting a countryman 85 seemed like a better idea so I could use it for other things as well. I do have a b100r and a 400rb that do not have a di.

Thanks for clearing up the pre out and the slave out for me. I really did'nt know what I would get out of those. I've only had the v4b for a short time. First gig I did with it the di had no signal, but the guy doing sound was drunk and figured he was just screwing it up so I just cranked the amp thru a mesa 4x10. The second gig I did with and had no signal I cranked the amp thru a pair of svt 15e's.

anderbass · #4 05-03-2011, 12:14 AM

Hey, yer welcome

billfitzmaurice · #5 05-03-2011, 06:23 AM

Take your amp to a good techie. Have him put in a padded capacitor isolated output taken from both sides of the inverter tube to the XLR, the straight signal to pin 2, the inverted signal to pin 3. With a ground lift switch, of course. If he's good enough to do the job he'll know exactly what this is.

Jerrold Tiers · #6 05-03-2011, 07:48 PM

It has a capacitor/resistor isolated output now.......with 63V caps...... Which must have been plugged into something bad if it is "fried".... as was mentioned on another thread.

I suspect it may "not work", but if it was "fried" there would likely be other things not working also. Probably a smaller problem than "frying".

**bass dan** · #7 05-03-2011, 07:55 PM

I did check my preamp out and slave out. I did not have a pa but plugged up my fishman pre/di that has a clip light and was able to clip the preamp. I assume it's putting out a signal if both of those outputs were able to clip the fishman.

I also noticed the master volume effects the outputs. I had to have the v4b volume up about halfway before I could determine there was any signal getting to the fishman. I guess I need to borrow a pa head and really check everything out.