Balanced line out to PA vs Direct Out

[Bonafide]

So its quite hard to believe the issue of "crackling blown speaker kind of sound" that comes off from the
Markbass may have anything to do with:

All good, I understand and read the post. My response and all the others who responded in same were just basic level 1 trouble shooting based on this:

Balanced line out (XLR) from my amp. I tried lining out to a PA on the weekend and got nothing.

Asking for confirmation from the OP that the line out was feeding the PA at all. The GK does not have a DI/Line out control like the Mark, just a pre/post EQ which means he did not have to crank the PA with the GK. Cranking the PA could have it's own repercussions including 'crackling'. I have had many channels or channel pres over the years go wonky on live boards past a certain DB. It was common on the VLZs and I have one channel right now on my Midas here in the studio.

 

[agedhorse]

A broken DI level pot could cause this, but there are other possible causes as well.

 

[ThisBass]

All good, I understand and read the post. My response and all the others who responded in same were just basic level 1 trouble shooting based on this:



Asking for confirmation from the OP that the line out was feeding the PA at all. The GK does not have a DI/Line out control like the Mark, just a pre/post EQ which means he did not have to crank the PA with the GK. Cranking the PA could have it's own repercussions including 'crackling'. I have had many channels or channel pres over the years go wonky on live boards past a certain DB. It was common on the VLZs and I have one channel right now on my Midas here in the studio.

It doesn't matter in this reagard if the:
"DI/Line out control like the Mark have a DI/Line out control or if it does not"

Once the output does produce a "crackling" sound similar like a damaged speaker, or something else that was similar sounding, then its very very unlikely that the perceived issue might have anything to do with wrong setting of any volume control (if there is one present), or something to do with a wrong setting of an output level pad, or might have anything to do with a wrong setting of anything.

If any, in all cases, then the pad or volume control might be broken, but this in total would mean that the amp was broken!

 

[ThisBass]

You have a couple of options here. You could just put the amp into a good shop, pay something like $100 just for the price of admission and the tech will tell you how much more it will be to resolve the issue (assuming the amp is indeed the problem).

I can speak only about my home country. Here in Germany its rather unlikely that any service would take a charge of ~100 bugs to confirm proper working of an output device.
And if the issue could be very easily fixed by only resoldering the pins on the PCB, with some good luck you'd have to pay very little to nearly nothing to have it repaired.
Of course, I don't know the customs in your country and what they take as charge for rather smallish repair expense on the fly?

 

[agedhorse]

I can speak only about my home country. Here in Germany its rather unlikely that any service would take a charge of ~100 bugs to confirm proper working of an output device.
And if the issue could be very easily fixed by only resoldering the pins on the PCB, with some good luck you'd have to pay very little to nearly nothing to have it repaired.
Of course, I don't know the customs in your country and what they take as charge for rather smallish repair expense on the fly?

This depends very much on the service shop. Some are quite good and quite reasonable, some are not good and some are not reasonable. The ones that bother me the most are the poor shops that are also unreasonably expensive.

 

[Tommy TGrip]

You have a couple of options here. You could just put the amp into a good shop, pay something like $100 just for the price of admission and the tech will tell you how much more it will be to resolve the issue (assuming the amp is indeed the problem).

Your other option would be to grab a cheap passive DI box for like $20 and run that to your PA instead of the amp. If it still gives you that farty blown up sound then you know the amp is not the problem. If it works, you have the choice of bringing the amp to a tech or just moving forward with your $20 DI box solution and forgetting about the problem altogether.

FWIW I have been using one of those cheap boxes for years with no issue. It lives in my gig bag and weighs no more than a typical effects pedal. Even if my amp completely fails, I can still get a good signal to the board and at least get myself into the monitor feed to limp through the night.

Thanks, I am considering this option. The downside of course is that I can only run a pre-(amp)-eq into the desk. That's not so bad though as most sound people want that anyway. That does raise another question; given the choice between DI from head (let's say pre-eq setting, and amp works fine) and DI box (e g. The stage already has one available, or you own one yourself), which option would you go for? Why? Cheers

 

[Tommy TGrip]

My first thought also. You did turn up the line out potentiometer on the front?

I don't know what this means. Can you elaborate please? My mixer is pretty old and basic. Each channel has a switch line/mic - I had it set to line.

 

[Tommy TGrip]

Is there a switch on the back to control DI vs balanced ?

No only pre/post eq and ground lift

 

[6thplanet]

I don't know what this means. Can you elaborate please? My mixer is pretty old and basic. Each channel has a switch line/mic - I had it set to line.

I think he's referring to the amplifier itself, apparently depending on the version you have, there might be a volume control on the front of the Markbass amplifier for the DI output. What's the model of amplifier you have?

 

[ThisBass]

which option would you go for?

I'd go with a DI that provides a high Z input, regarding to your Avatar that shows an instrument with passive pickups.

If I was in your shoes I'd try to let fix the issue by a service tech.
With some good luck the charge for repair expense isn't any higher than the money you may have to spend for an external DI of the same quality.

 

[ThisBass]

I think he's referring to the amplifier itself, apparently depending on the version you have, there might be a volume control on the front of the Markbass amplifier for the DI output. What's the model of amplifier you have?

That's quite a funny story, some folks suggest to turn up the level on front of the amplifier, but its completely unknown if there is one?

 

[Bonafide]

It doesn't matter in this reagard if the:
"DI/Line out control like the Mark have a DI/Line out control or if it does not"

Once the output does produce a "crackling" sound similar like a damaged speaker, or something else that was similar sounding, then its very very unlikely that the perceived issue might have anything to do with wrong setting of any volume control (if there is one present), or something to do with a wrong setting of an output level pad, or might have anything to do with a wrong setting of anything.

If any, in all cases, then the pad or volume control might be broken, but this in total would mean that the amp was broken!

That's quite a funny story, some folks suggest to turn up the level on front of the amplifier, but its completely unknown if there is one?

It's all good dude, while I understand you find it a bit challenging how a few of us responded, it's not personal and nobody is trying to waste the OPs time.

Either way, this has been explained multiple times now, the suggestions were simply level 1 troubleshooting - asking for confirmation from the OP that the line out was feeding the PA at all. Unless it is the Mark Bass Nano, this is done using a potientiometer on the amp. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, maybe we'll never know, but regardless, several of us with experience with Mark Amps thought it might be a place to start since the OP was getting nothing from the XLR out until he cranked the PA and then he got crackling (from the PA).

Carry on

 

[InhumanResource]

Thanks, I am considering this option. The downside of course is that I can only run a pre-(amp)-eq into the desk. That's not so bad though as most sound people want that anyway. That does raise another question; given the choice between DI from head (let's say pre-eq setting, and amp works fine) and DI box (e g. The stage already has one available, or you own one yourself), which option would you go for? Why? Cheers

For me personally, I’m fine with the DI box and using my bass without any EQ to the board. I can dial in my amp to sound good on stage, but I don’t know what’s happening FOH and would rather leave all that stuff to the sound man. My goal is to give him a good clean signal to work with, so I set my bass controls where they are and leave ‘em for the whole show with no extra EQ or effects in my feed. The bass I am using has a very nice sound on its own and I’m comfortable with using it raw.

Best of luck!

 

[InhumanResource]

I can speak only about my home country. Here in Germany its rather unlikely that any service would take a charge of ~100 bugs to confirm proper working of an output device.
And if the issue could be very easily fixed by only resoldering the pins on the PCB, with some good luck you'd have to pay very little to nearly nothing to have it repaired.
Of course, I don't know the customs in your country and what they take as charge for rather smallish repair expense on the fly?

In my experience even for a relatively cheap or easy repair you still expect to be charged a “bench fee” up front just for the technicians time to troubleshoot and figure out the problem. I have occasionally run into very accommodating techs who will make an easy fix for free after the bench fee or wave the fee and charge for whatever the cheap repair is, but in general that is how it works. Bench fee, diagnosis, decide to repair or not.

 

[Tommy TGrip]

I think he's referring to the amplifier itself, apparently depending on the version you have, there might be a volume control on the front of the Markbass amplifier for the DI output. What's the model of amplifier you have?

Ah I see. Thanks. Nano 300