"Muddy" DI

[Thejamesjordan]

Hey guys,

I just got a pre owned GK 700 RB (I not II). it defintely has some power, but when I played my first gig with it, the sound man had me turn my stage volume down to the point where neither me or my guitar player couldnt hear it.

The sound man also said the DI was super "muddy". I thought maybe I had it set to "post" EQ which could explain it, but it was set to pre. I didnt have the active pad turned on (even thoguht I play a Bongo), would that have caused it?

Any suggestions? Dont want that to be the case this weekend.

Thanks,

 

[JimmyM]

I seriously doubt it's the active switch not being pushed in. No idea what's going on...could be a faulty soundman. You would need to hear it to make any determination about its quality. Got a small PA mixer or computer interface you can plug it into?

 

[Kro]

I seriously doubt it's the active switch not being pushed in. No idea what's going on...could be a faulty soundman. You would need to hear it to make any determination about its quality. Got a small PA mixer or computer interface you can plug it into?

Exactly.

I've had similar comments from sound guys, thankfully infrequently, that drive me nuts thinking that something is wrong with my gear until I can actually set up and verify it to not be the case.

Only thing that you can do is what Jimmy recommended and test it yourself into a PA or interface to see if it's true. If you do go the interface route, and it has more than one input, you can put the DI into one, and the tuner out into another and run them in separate tracks. This way you can even compare the signals in an audio editor and A/B them back and forth to see what difference there may be.

Also, about the pad - even with a Bongo I'd probably still run it with pad off just as you did. Shouldn't be an issue unless the clip light is on more often than not.

BTW, those 700RB-is are great amps. One of my favorites.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I can’t comment on your particular amp but some DI’s can be muddy. Smearing of different frequencies can cause this. Sometimes there is a problem in the circuit or power supply and changing components can help. Other times it is in the design.

You should test it into a mixer as recommended. Part of the problem could be the cable length. Longer cables can cause loss of high end and upset the tonal balance of the mids. The cable could be part of the problem. Your testing might come out fine but the DI might not have the drive to go the distance that was used at your gig.

If you want to use the DI, it would be worth having the amp checked outby someone who knows how to diagnose the DI.

 

[two fingers]

What tone do you go for? Is it scooped? If so, that can get buried in a mix. And that can come straight off of your bass being that it has an active pre. If your bedroom/rehearsal tone is scooped, try cleaning it up a bit pushing some low mids and maybe backing off of the lows a tad. Any time I deal with "muddy" bass it almost always has a lot to do with a lack of mids.

 

[Kro]

Just out of curiosity, were you playing in Jersey or within the tri-state area? Sorry, not a stalker, but I seem to remember you being in the area from other posts.

Especially in Philly there are a small handful of sound guys that seem to run sound for the majority of clubs... just curious if it was one of the usual suspects...

 

[Kro]

What tone do you go for? Is it scooped? If so, that can get buried in a mix. And that can come straight off of your bass being that it has an active pre. If your bedroom/rehearsal tone is scooped, try cleaning it up a bit pushing some low mids and maybe backing off of the lows a tad. Any time I deal with "muddy" bass it almost always has a lot to do with a lack of mids.

Also a great recommendation, you have a very powerful onboard preamp there on your bass. No need to have your DI in "post" mode for there to be adverse EQ effects going on.