DI banned by the sound guy

[dbsfgyd1]

Ridiculous is proper word for that kind of explanation.
There isn't anything about DI versus mic that makes is more dangerous for PA. Danger is minimised by using quality equipment and cables, handling gain, and using tools like limiting and compression.
I would guess he simply has a personal preference he presses on musicians, with vague excuse.
Nothing you can do, just adopt and do your best.

Agreed. Or an advanced case of a Napoleon complex..LOL!!

 

[Wasnex]

He said the PA was worth £20k so couldn’t risk the bass player blowing it.

Could have been intended as a little white lie.

 

[JC BASS 91]

You would THINK a 20k mic channel comes with a trim knob?!?

Riis

Beat me to it....

 

[bucephylus]

Tough crowd.

This SE clearly doesn’t know what a Helix is. So, he takes the low risk road, using what he knows.

I’m not defending ignorance. It’s just not unusual for SE’s to use what they know. In the case of inexperienced SE’s, you get what you get. I don’t find this surprising in the least, and suspect this kind of thing is more common than not.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I was a pro sound guy.

You would probably be surprised by how badly people can and do adjust levels between different patches. Additionally, level matching varies from gig to gig. What works for a loud gig may not work for a quiet gig. This is also true for tonal balance and how much of the wet signal should be used for different effects. So for each gig, as a player you really need to be able to step through all of your patches and adjust level, wet/dry, tone, etc.

Unfortunately, there tends to be sort of a circular aspect to this problem. You make a change to your patches and this forces the audio tech to adjust. Then the audio tech's adjustment may force you to make another change...on and on.

Maybe the OP is the rare exception and knows how to quickly mitigate these problems. And maybe the audio tech has been burned by several people who do not. It's also possible the audio tech was an idiot or lazy. I don't really know as I wasn't there. About all I can say for sure, is the problem is probably a lot more complicated than some of us seem to think it is.

‘I don’t play with effects, so usually I have almost zero problems with sound techs. Although I have a fairly wide dynamic to my style, mainly caused by too many years of playing without FOH support. They take a pre effects feed from my amp DI, I keep my tone on stage mostly flat other than a slight boost at 165hz , and volume down to where I’m not in the way of what the technician is doing in the house. Seems to work well.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Most keyboard amps are basically small PA combos. If you have to play there again, at least bring your favorite preamp or preamp/DI pedal to go into the front end of the KB amp.

Otherwise, a sound guy who prefers micing over DI for bass? Yeah. You can't fix stupid.

 

[kyral210]

Most keyboard amps are basically small PA combos. If you have to play there again, at least bring your favorite preamp or preamp/DI pedal to go into the front end of the KB amp.

Otherwise, a sound guy who prefers micing over DI for bass? Yeah. You can't fix stupid.

I plugged my helix into the amp’s return loop, so only lost my impulse response; the most important tonal shaping tool I use.

 

[ebo]

Were you able to run the Helix to the amp and then have “your” signal come through the speaker to hit his mic? If so, uneven patches would still cause the sound guy grief. Ive had sound guys so hung up on their one way of doing things that there is no happy ending trying to convince them to try something different. My guitar player insists on his amp being mic’d. Try to talk him out of it, I dare you.

 

[Egg250]

Setting up for a gig the other night the sound guy refused to take a DI off my Helix and insisted i use their backline amp (a keyboard amp) that he miced up. He said the PA was worth £20k so couldn’t risk the bass player blowing it.

I think he was being ridiculous, what are your insights?

Proper gain staging pretty much ensures safety. Unless I'm completely ignorant about something.

Could be the PA owner has already worked out the space the bass will occupy in the mix and is using the expensive gear as an excuse. Lazy. I'll bet you were "felt not heard" in the mix that night.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

I wouldn’t work with them again.

 

[KellyC]

Setting up for a gig the other night the sound guy refused to take a DI off my Helix and insisted i use their backline amp (a keyboard amp) that he miced up. He said the PA was worth £20k so couldn’t risk the bass player blowing it.

I think he was being ridiculous, what are your insights?

I don't believe they bought a $20k system for amateurish sound production.
He would have to be incompetent for there to be a risk of you damaging their PA.

 

[GreyBeard]

First time ever heard this one

 

[DJ Bebop]

Setting up for a gig the other night the sound guy refused to take a DI off my Helix and insisted i use their backline amp (a keyboard amp) that he miced up. He said the PA was worth £20k so couldn’t risk the bass player blowing it.

I think he was being ridiculous, what are your insights?

As you know, those mixers have pads, gain, and volume controls. Apparently the sound guy is not aware of that.

That DI is better at being controlled than that SM57 he probably insisted on using.

 

[Spectrum]

Setting up for a gig the other night the sound guy refused to take a DI off my Helix and insisted i use their backline amp (a keyboard amp) that he miced up. He said the PA was worth £20k so couldn’t risk the bass player blowing it.

I think he was being ridiculous, what are your insights?

I don't think criticizing sound guys is allowed here. You simply have to accept that as a mere bass player you must defer to your betters. There are already people here questioning your story.

 

[Kael]

Guy sounds like an idiot. Don't argue with him. There's no point in it. Get the gig over with and move on.

 

[Medicine Man]

Sounds like a guy than a sound guy, but hey, I worked with a great sound guy for a tour who insisted on using a keyboard amp for bass monitoring because it was just his thing (and it fit under the bus) and he always mixed us great.

 

[DaveParker39]

I was a pro sound guy.

You would probably be surprised by how badly people can and do adjust levels between different patches. Additionally, level matching varies from gig to gig. What works for a loud gig may not work for a quiet gig. This is also true for tonal balance and how much of the wet signal should be used for different effects. So for each gig, as a player you really need to be able to step through all of your patches and adjust level, wet/dry, tone, etc.

Totally, but that's a competent sound check. Gear like the Helix solves far more soundcheck/mix problems than it creates, and saves time.

 

[2F/2F]

Cheap P.A.

B.S. explanation. But he has the right to control his stage, and it makes sense, and is well within norms, to require the use of the backline.

 

[pglaser01]

This reeks of laziness

 

[deff]

I am a completely amateur sound guy but if they were really concerned they could just pad the input and then adjust it according to what worked in the mix. This is the last thing I would be afraid of.