Live Impact of Amp vs. DI Box Question ...

[CPplaysBASS]

I know this topic must be covered somewhere here, and I have honestly searched, but I just have a very simple question that I should already know given the amount of gigs I've played.

My Genz Benz GBE 600 has a DI which I've used for recording/live and it works great. Most clubs I've played though have an in-house sound guy and I always defer to them when they prefer to use their own DI box ... from the one time when a band used my rig after my set, things sounded great.

But ... I plug into my pedal board which runs out to the DI box, which goes to the mixer, and my amp with my great sounding Dr. Bass Cabs (2X10, 1X15) pumping behind me.

Am I correct that I'm really the only one benefitting from my nice sounding rig on stage, and that really all the audience is hearing is the tone of whatever DI box is being used plus whatever adjustments the sound guy has made at his board?

Just curious ... will still defer to a sound guy especially if he knows the venue inside out, and I still love my rig ... just wondering what the true impact of the rig is (room capacity, if it matters, is typically in the 150-200 range .. in terms of size ... play to a hell of a lot less people than that unfortunately)!

Edit: I have been mic'd live occasionally too (combined with a DI), but not consistently. Is it recommended I regulary mic at least the 2X10 and ask the sound guy to mix that as well (obviously up to him, ultimately, how much he dials it in)?

Thanks,
CP

 

[JTE]

Pretty much no matter what you do, the only one hearing what your rig sounds like is you. What you hear from five to ten feet away from your stack is different from what a good mic on the rig hears. It's hearing one 10" speaker most likely, but your rig is four of them, plus the 15, plus the ports, plus the tweeter(s), plus the walls of the cabinets vibrating.

So, use the amp DI to get "your souind"? Sure, if you EQ the head so it sound great through a full-range PA instead of cabinets made for electric bass. Or, use a DI to send a good clear signal to the board and trust the sound crew to make it sound great out front.

I opt for that one. Because realistically, no matter what I do, I'm trusing the sound crew to make it souind good. I have a SansAmp BDDI, my amp has a DI with a pre/post EQ switch, and I've been mic'd with good mics and crappy ones. If I'm playing a big enough gig that we're putting stuff through the FOH, I GOTTA trust the sound guy to do his job, just like I trust the drummer, and keyboard player trusts me, and the singer trust the keys, etc.

I've done sound too, and while it was cool to take a DI and a mic, it ate up two channels and only sounded noticably better when nothing else was going on. Once the drums and the guitars started, the subtleties were lost.

So, I don't obsess about it. I have two good sources for DI to the board, I have good sounding cabs, and I even carry an SM-57 even though I'm not a singer. I'll do about whatever the sound crew wants as long as their DI doesn't load my PUPs nor overload if I'm using my active bass (that happened at one sound gig- passive DI that sounded bad through my amp whether I used the passive P bass or the active Lakland- and it went away when I unplugged their DI).

jte

 

[CPplaysBASS]

Awesome JTE ... thanks for the clear and concise knowledge! With all the variables involved, it can certainly drive a guy nuts!!

I didn't put it in my original post, but I was half-thinking about investing in my own high quality DI box in the hopes of consistent tone ... but I do realize that consistency goes out the door with every single venue and even depends on how many bodies are in the room.

I always tip the sound guy after the show. I will continue to do so!! Cheers.

 

[JTE]

Try tipping them before the show. That'll make sure you get good sound!. I remember reading a Pino Pallidino interview decades ago (he was on tour with Paul Young) and he said the secret to a great stage sound was to bribe the sound man to put him in the cross-fill monitors!

Bottom line is that there's a lot of variables which are beyond our control no matter what we choose to use. I've given myself access to a wide range of tools, but ultimatley they all have short comings. And I''ve been on both sides to the FOH mixer enough to know that what sounds awesome and wonderful on stage with the bass solo often sounds useless and indistinct in the house with the whole band.

jte