Would this work:

Oreomeister365 · #1 02-12-2008, 12:58 AM

Heres the plan: From My bass I go to my whammy. From the whammy dry out it goes to a DI box which then goes straight to the house, so to speak, more on that later. But it appeases the sound guy because I have a straight signal etc.

From the whammy wet out it goes to my effects, then to my amp. I mic the amp and then send that to the house as well. However, rather than have 2 channels for the soundman to deal with, where he'll probably boost the direct one not knowing it does not have any of my effects in it, I use a Y DI cable, send both the mike from the cab and the super clean DI straight from the bass into the cable so it is consolidated into one signal for the soundman.

Reason being I want to maintain the relative levels of the two signals. DI and cabbing sound rather different, and I sorta want the clean uneffected signal in there. So the DI fills out the sound with its fatness that I usually associate with a Di, while my micd cab goes and makes up the majority of the sound, and I prefer the micd sound, it just isn't quite full enough on its own. Then using the controls on the DI box I can adjust its volume level to roughly 30% of the signal while the mic makes up 70%, while the sound guy can make whatever changes to the final signal, so long as that relationship stays constant.

Why:
I want some slightly fatter dry DI signal underneath all my effects, also to get the best of both worlds (mic and DI...)

Would be really cheap, as all I'd need is the $10 Y cable to make this work.

Opinions? What would the sound guy think?

TrevorOfDoom · #2 02-12-2008, 01:30 AM

give it a try. all i can think is that for optimum sound, you'd need to mis the two signals together.

look at that again. i said mix. like on a mixing board. a little more of one, a little less of the other. i've never heard anyone just go 50/50 with a clean and dirty signal. plus you'd have to worry about phase issues.

as for the soundman, he'll just kind of have to take it. if it sounds bad, he'll just turn you down.

but you can try it. it might work.

Vic Winters · #3 02-12-2008, 03:35 AM

Get a blender or a small mixer instead, you'll be happier.

Oreomeister365 · #4 02-12-2008, 08:49 AM

So you suggest I either get a little mixer myself to mix the signals or just let the soundman mix them, just make sure I tell him the deal eh?

Lalabadie · #5 02-13-2008, 12:59 PM

Dry and dirty signal through a Y cable...

You'd better get a small microphone mixer if you want to do that. Mixing 70/30 will require more than a standard Y cable.

Bardley · #6 02-13-2008, 01:13 PM

As a sound man I can tell you that you're probably going to have phasing issues with those two signals combined in a Y cable. The mic signal will be ever so slightly delayed because of the processing , amp, speaker, and the slight travel through the air to the mic and this could cause frequency cancellations giving you a weak sound. Also, there is no way to adjust for the difference in gains at the FOH board between the DI and the mic. Trust me, you want individual channels or use an effects loop on your amp to blend both signals and send either a mic signal or a DI signal.

That's my 2 cents...

MakiSupaStar · #7 02-13-2008, 01:30 PM

I have a split pre-amp that mixes my blend. I run my FX-loop through my dirty channel, so that I always always have my clean channel blended into the sound. This not only works great for digital effects that don't trigger well (Boss syb5 for example) but it also gives me complete control over my sound and the sound guy can just adjust the volume in the mix.

Oreomeister365 · #8 02-13-2008, 04:51 PM

Thanks guys, so as long as I have a little mixer of some sort, whether it be mine then the sound mans, or just straight to the sound mans, I should be good?

bluestarbass · #9 02-14-2008, 09:13 AM

Itd be easier to let the soundguy take care of it, but you dont sound like you trust him, and I wouldnt either, unless you use the same soundguy everytime. Musicians do alot of things to thier rigs that would be easier done by the soundman, but with varying degrees of venues and soundguys, its just more reliable to do it yourself. Youd need something with mic pres since your micing the cab. Other than that I totally agree with everyone else. A small 2-4 channel mixer would be your best bet.