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need a mic for an amp with no direct out

T

thedrones

Nov 19, 2009
43
1
los angeles
#1
ok, so i need a good live mic. My amp does not have a direct out to the PAs. Its a really old "massie lancer" tube combo, it sounds great, but its just not loud enough for the bigger shows my band is starting to play. I would like a good mic for live sound first and foremost, and good for recording would be a nice addition. My budget is around $100. Oh yea, and i used the sound guy's shure 52 mic for our last show, but didn't love the way it sounded.....
I play a hofner if that helps at all.......
 
#6
thedrones said:
so a di box just puts the amps signal through the PAs?
Click to expand...

Sure does. Most have a 1/4 inch jack in for your bass or speaker cable, and both and XLR line out (to the mixer) and a 14 inch (to your amp or cab).
Both the Countryman and JDI i mentioned earlier have a pad or "speaker" switch so it can be put after your head. Be careful, as not all DI boxes can do that, and if the DI is before your amp, you lose all of your amps tone that you are trying to recreate in the PA.



-RTK
 
#8
thedrones said:
so a di box just puts the amps signal through the PAs?
Click to expand...

Not really. You'd run your bass into the DI and the "thru" output to your amp, so that provides your stage sound, then the DI's XLR out goes to the board (the DI has 2 outputs). The problem is that the sound guy now has control over the EQ at the board.

With some DIs, like the Countryman Type 85, you can throw a switch and take the speaker output directly from your amp and send that to the board, but you sacrifice having a stage amp.

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#9
Munjibunga said:
With some DIs, like the Countryman Type 85, you can throw a switch and take the speaker output directly from your amp and send that to the board, but you sacrifice having a stage amp.

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Click to expand...

Really? How? Don't you just use the amp out put to plug into your cab? In fact, if you didn't send a line to your cab, you would have to attach a dummy load?



-RTK
 
#12
Using a DI that will accept an amp output signal would be a way to go and the Countryman T85 and some others will allow you to use that signal. You will need an insert between the amp and speakers in your combo. Do the speakers plug in or are they directly wired to the amp? It will take the signal from the amp convert it to an acceptable signal and give you an xlr out to send to the PA, you will also need to plug in your speakers since it is a tube amp. Shure Beta 52 mics are fine for bass drums but not for anything else really because of the frequency response.
I get really good results using a CAD KBM 412 mic on bass amps, when I want a lot of low end on other things and bass drums, if you can try one out they're about 70 bucks. I used that mic to record the low strings on a grand piano and a condenser pair that sounded absolutely massive.
 
#13
You will need an insert between the amp and speakers in your combo. Do the speakers plug in or are they directly wired to the amp? It will take the signal from the amp convert it to an acceptable signal and give you an xlr out to send to the PA, you will also need to plug in your speakers since it is a tube amp
Click to expand...

ummm, wow, im not really sure. i have seen inside the amp once and it seemed like the speakers were connected to amp with wires....And what does it mean to plug in your speakers? So if the speakers are wired will i have to mod the amp so that a di box will work? Im leaning toward the countryman if it is easy to use....
 
#18
The soundman is going to change the sound of your bass even if you mic your cabinet. Mic'ing works good if it's YOUR band and YOUR sound man so that you have some control. Otherwise, a good DI is the best and easiest way to make sure you get a good sound to the board. A Radial JDI (if you have an active bass) or J48 (active or passive) will cost you around $200. The Countryman is a close runner up for a little bit less money. Of course there are a lot of cheaper, inferior DI's on the market that will sacrifice tone and noise.
 
#19
ok, ok. So to clear things up, the purpose of this mic is for playing shows with my band, where we are usually in complete control of the mixer and the PA's as well. So a sound guy doing my eq won't be a prolem. Also almost all of the clubs in L.A. have their own mics that i can borrow. So i want my own mic for when we aren't at a club, when we are doing a house party, or something along those lines. (which we do a lot)

Is the shure sm57 going to be good for that? It looks good, reliable, and in my price range. im playing a 4 string so i don't need an insane amount of low frequency response...i think....a sound guy told me recently that the only good way to mic bass is with a 52. is that right?
 

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