• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Do you run a pre or post amplifier signal to the P.A.?

Direct box or line-out from amplifier?

  • Direct box signal

    Votes: 25 27.2%

  • Line out/amplifier signal

    Votes: 57 62.0%

  • Couldn't care less

    Votes: 10 10.9%
  • Total voters
    92
SC Bassboy

SC Bassboy

Supporting Member
May 7, 2007
1,789
2,256
48
Birmingham, AL
#1
One rite of passage for all bass players is the age-old struggle with sound guys. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we all deal with them. Over the years I have learned to be patient and friendly with sound guys because being a d*ck is definitely not going to make your bass mix any better, whereas mutual respect and a professional attitude is ALWAYS going to make the gig easier and help ensure that your channel on the mixer isn't muted.
That being said, one issue that I usually discuss with the sound guy is pre/post amplifier D.I. Most guys want me to run through a direct box, but I absolutely refuse to do so unless it is post amplifier. The amplifier is a big part of my sound and I didn't spend thousands of dollars to have tubes sitting there cooking away and not running through the P.A. Preferably my cabinet is miked up, but if they don't want to mess with it I'm happy to run direct.... as long as it's a line out of my amp. This used to get me into a few arguments but now I just unplug the mic cable from the D.I. box and plug it into the line out of my pre without saying anything. Better to ask forgiveness, right? lol. So how do you guys feel about this subject?
 
#4
stflbn said:
Pre or Post EQ?

I prefer Post EQ for my TC RH450. It's just closer to my preferred tone even though I usually play with the EQ Flat, it still injects it's vibe of a bit of high rolloff into the DI output when in Post EQ setting.
.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. I hadn't though about that. I have a tube pre-amplifier that I take my line-out from and it's EQ is set flat because I use the EQ on my power amplifier for shaping.
 
#5
Big debate for many on this subject. Usually your stage amp is just that, for stage monitoring. Nowadays you don't see the backline of amps in concerts much anymore. Most of these players use anything from a backstage amp miked up or just go direct or a combination of the two and use stage monitors to hear themselves.

I personally use post eg because I don't use much eq-ing anyway.I eventually found my tone sounds better by using eq to cut certain frequencies rather than boosting others.

If you are real heavy on eq-ing your sound ,it would probably on the verge of overloading the mixing boards input, then the sound man would probably use his eq to cut a lot of what you gained.

If you really want your amps sound out in front, I would recommend miking your cab and let the sound man do his job. You should sound good thru any powerful P.A.:bassist:
 
#7
fourstringburn said:
I personally use post eg because I don't use much eq-ing anyway.I eventually found my tone sounds better by using eq to cut certain frequencies rather than boosting others.
Click to expand...

Same here...EQ flat with some of the bumps rolled off. The soundguy hasn't complained yet but, then again, I'm the soundguy. I will roll-off some of the treble on the desk depending on what I'm hearing from the mains.

Riis
 
#8
As a bassist and sound guy, I'm very familiar with this.

Personally, I'd much rather take a signal from the amp, post preamp but pre-EQ. That way I have the basic tonal shape of the bass, pedals (if any) and preamp, but don't have it negatively affected by the EQ (which, as someone above pointed out, can lead to problems).

I don't like DI boxes but will use them if I have to.
 
#11
DI, after any FX but before the amp.

I play and also run sound, and I can tell you from personal experience that it's way easier, most of the time, to get a good sound for the house system with a raw signal, than with an EQ'd feed.

Bear in mind a couple of things: What has been lost to EQ cannot be EQ'd back later in the chain; as soundman, I know what my gear sounds like and how the room reacts, while you, as bassist, may not; lastly and perhaps most importantly, what sounds good to you on stage, may not necessarily (and usually doesn't) sound good on the floor. So giving me a raw signal to work with improves my chances of making you sound good to the audience.

If time, space, and cost were not factors, I would sound-check with a DI right after the bass, a DI after the FX, a DI after the pre, and a DI after the power section, as well as one or two cab mikes. Armed with all these feeds, I could get the very best sound that you and your gear are capable of, and I'd probably break it down to two feeds in stereo that I'd use for the show, with one DI in reserve as a backup.

Now, when the players are polite and respectful, and if they can demonstrate through rational discussion that they know more than me or have more directly relevant experience, I will usually bow to their requests. But in most cases - when the wannabe rockstars just show up and plug in - a DI before the amp is always my weapon of choice. It's purer, and there's fewer things that can go wrong.

...of course, when recording, I like to take post-amp DI feeds in addition to one cab and one room mike.


IME, YMMV.
 
#12
I always go post; WAY, WAY post. I use a mic on a cab.
I'm as particular about my tone as any guitarist (tell a pro guitarist with a /13 or Trainwreck, etc. rig that you want them to use a DI and see what happens...:rolleyes:), and have spent much time and dollars to get it.
I expect my rig to be heard FOH the way I hear it on stage, just louder.
 
#15
Not sure how to answer that. I run a SansAmp BDDI in-line as a "tube-ifier" to my amp, and then out the XLR on the amp to the board - but pre-EQ.

So logistically the feed is "post" amplfier however the effect on the signal is no different than if I ran my BDDI right to the board.
 
#16
edbass said:
I always go post; WAY, WAY post. I use a mic on a cab.
I'm as particular about my tone as any guitarist (tell a pro guitarist with a /13 or Trainwreck, etc. rig that you want them to use a DI and see what happens...:rolleyes:), and have spent much time and dollars to get it.
I expect my rig to be heard FOH the way I hear it on stage, just louder.
Click to expand...
same here.
 
#18
There seems to be a couple of cats on TB who are sound guys too. I would like to know why the standard is to mic guitar amplifiers and run bass direct. Not trying to start an argument here! Just give me the run down, from a sonic point of view. Obviously both guitarists and bassists can be picky about their sound, and both spend lots of money on equipment to achieve sonic bliss. Is a bass signal really that much harder to capture with a mic?
:hiding:
 
#19
SC Bassboy said:
There seems to be a couple of cats on TB who are sound guys too. I would like to know why the standard is to mic guitar amplifiers and run bass direct. Not trying to start an argument here! Just give me the run down, from a sonic point of view. Obviously both guitarists and bassists can be picky about their sound, and both spend lots of money on equipment to achieve sonic bliss. Is a bass signal really that much harder to capture with a mic?
:hiding:
Click to expand...
no it is not, and any soundman who claims it is is lying. however, you do have to have a decent mic with good low end response. i use a heil pr40.

the reasons most soundmen go with di's is twofold...

1. most bassists like di's

2. most soundmen don't want to bother setting up a mic and stand when they can just slap a di onto a mic cable
 
#20
JimmyM said:
no it is not, and any soundman who claims it is is lying. however, you do have to have a decent mic with good low end response. i use a heil pr40.

the reasons most soundmen go with di's is twofold...

1. most bassists like di's

2. most soundmen don't want to bother setting up a mic and stand when they can just slap a di onto a mic cable
Click to expand...

3. there can be phasing issues when using both a DI and a mic.

4. It's only bass...

5. They have final control of your sound, anyway.


I just run a line from my Countryman to the snake box. As long as I hear what I want to, on stage, I'm fine. My basses all sound great.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back