For me the only thinkable answer is both. I can't imagine not mic'ing my cab (I bring my own mic) and I can't imagine not having a DI.
Why choose?
Why choose?
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FX guys, mic or direct live?
- Thread starter ole Jason
- Start date
Why do I seriously doubt you have played a gig in the last 20 years where you only had one channel available in the board for you?
I get your point. If I had had had to choose - it would probably be the cab mic'ed. But it would be close. We've been working with a steady soundman for the last few months and he does wonders with both.
Almost always direct. It's what the sound guys almost always do automatically, and it sounds perfectly fine from what I can gather through listening to recordings of our gigs and feedback from other musicians (yes, even with fuzz).
Granted I play in an original rock/metal band that mostly plays small clubs, so the majority of the tone that the audience hears typically comes from the bass amp itself.
Granted I play in an original rock/metal band that mostly plays small clubs, so the majority of the tone that the audience hears typically comes from the bass amp itself.
I played a gig in the last 20 DAYS where I could only get one channel.Why do I seriously doubt you have played a gig in the last 20 years where you only had one channel available in the board for you?
Slummin' it huh?
We play some small ass clubs and I have yet to come across one that only had one channel for me. I guess it helps that we are at most a 4-5 piece.
I mic it, and thus far (knock on wood) no sound guy issues. Generally when they see a toob head, they're fine micing it, and I bring my own mic so all they have to do is give me a cable. But I'm a hobbyist hack playing small stages 
Impulse Responses used for cabinet emulation in some equipment is, essentially, a tone derived from a mic'd cabinet. For FOH purposes, if you accept that the sound if an IR-based direct output is at least as good as the tone of a real mic'd cab, then you can have both in one channel if there are mix/blend controls for direct tone and cabinet emulation. Or, you could bake the amount of direct mix into the IR with an IR blender (if you know how to cook your own IRs and have a box that accepts custom IRs). Not saying that this is widely done, or that there is a lot of reasonably priced gear that allows this to be done, but you can, essentially, have both mic'd tone and direct sound in a single line. I've been doing this for quite some time (goodbye mics). But it ain't cheap.
Tell them they don't want all the distortion from your fx blowing their tweeters and your cab/mic stage filters that out for them.
Same here, VT DI as the last pedal in the chain. Everything sounds good. No matter what.
I bring a mic and stand, sound guys try to fight me sometimes but 99% of the time there's no feedback, no hum, no gain issues, and no hassle. As soon as i plug in a DI (either my amp or my sansamp) there's hum, there's gain issues, and there's hassle!
I think that if you want a mic you should do the right thing and bring your own mic and stand. I recommend a good dynamic mic such as the Heil PR-40 or Sennheiser 421. Also learn where to place the mic for best gain before feedback and sound quality. This will make it easy for the soundman to mic you up. He will appreciate it.
