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need help

reggie hall

Guest
Oct 16, 2015
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florida
Ok so i get invited to play at a new church the church has a nice pa setup with subs and all , they would like for me to run through the house using there di box , the problem is i never ran through the house before i always just play through my rig which is always loud enough (1000w) when plugging into the di box is it just as simple as the cable going from th direct out on my amp into there di box? Would my eq i use on my amp be the same coming through there pa system? Thanks in advance
 
Bass to DI box, cable from DI box to amp is typically how this is done. In this instance, all bass tones heard by the audience will be off of your bass ONLY. So if you have a pre-amp on your bass and you adjust the Bass or Treble knobs, the sound man will get the results of the tone change. This can be good or bad depending on the sound man. Small boosts or cuts are usually OK. Drastic changes will ANGER most.

Keep in mind that if you unplug the bass, the sound man will get a loud pop/click sound of you unplugging. This is where a Mute pedal is crucial right before the DI box. Almost every bass head has a direct out connection and a mute switch on it. You can easily send a PRE signal (Just the sound of whatever is plugged into the input jack of the head) from the head and gain a mute switch in the process. You can also send a POST signal from the amp head to the sound man. This signal will include all of the tone changes you have made on the dials of the head. It may or may not sound good in the room; talk to the sound man about it and see what he wants.

Lastly, I suggest being more patient in waiting for responses to posts. 19 minutes is a bit short and many of us are not Rock Stars and actually have to work in the day time. I am using my lunch hour to type this....:bassist:
 
Bass to DI box, cable from DI box to amp is typically how this is done. In this instance, all bass tones heard by the audience will be off of your bass ONLY. So if you have a pre-amp on your bass and you adjust the Bass or Treble knobs, the sound man will get the results of the tone change. This can be good or bad depending on the sound man. Small boosts or cuts are usually OK. Drastic changes will ANGER most.

Keep in mind that if you unplug the bass, the sound man will get a loud pop/click sound of you unplugging. This is where a Mute pedal is crucial right before the DI box. Almost every bass head has a direct out connection and a mute switch on it. You can easily send a PRE signal (Just the sound of whatever is plugged into the input jack of the head) from the head and gain a mute switch in the process. You can also send a POST signal from the amp head to the sound man. This signal will include all of the tone changes you have made on the dials of the head. It may or may not sound good in the room; talk to the sound man about it and see what he wants.

Lastly, I suggest being more patient in waiting for responses to posts. 19 minutes is a bit short and many of us are not Rock Stars and actually have to work in the day time. I am using my lunch hour to type this....:bassist:
My apologies thanks for the info
 
So instead of plugging bass into amp I plug bass in di box then from di box into the direct out on bass amp?
NO!! direct out from the DI would go into the INPUT jack on your amp, NOT the direct out.

AS @Gearhead17 said.. bass->DI, DI to PA, DI -> AMP
yes... that is one method.
The other is to take a PRE signal off the direct out on your bass head (no DI box used) - if it has one. Most decent ones do. It's basically the same thing.
 
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A DI is basically just a splitter for the sound guy. Think of it as a box that you insert on the cord on its way to the amp: The cord from your bass goes in one end, and another cord comes out the other that you plug into your amp. You just play like you normally do, and adjust your amp like you normally do. (The DI also provides a mic cable version of your sound for the sound guy).
 
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A DI is basically just a splitter for the sound guy. Think of it as a box that you insert on the cord on its way to the amp: The cord from your bass goes in one end, and another cord comes out the other that you plug into your amp. You just play like you normally do, and adjust your amp like you normally do. (The DI also provides a mic cable version of your sound for the sound guy).
I understand now thanks I noticed my amp has a post eq switch in back as well
 
So my bass gets plugged into the di box and then from di box to back of my amp in direct out?
You ALREADY asked this question... the answer hasn't changed.
Your bass gets plugged into the di box and then from di box to normal INPUT jack on the FRONT of the AMP.

The direct out on your amp REPLACES the DI box - if you go that route.
Bass gets plugged into the amp as you normally would. The direct out from the amp then goes to the PA.
 
[QUOTpeoe0c9, post: 18532366, member: 256128"]You ALREADY asked this question... the answer hasn't changed.
Your bass gets plugged into the di box and then from di box to normal INPUT jack on the FRONT of the AMP.

The direct out on your amp REPLACES the DI box - if you go that route.
Bass gets plugged into the amp as you normally would. The direct out from the amp then goes to the PA.[/QUOTE]
Some people saying plug bass into the amp that's why I was verifying
 

So my bass gets plugged into the di box and then from di box to back of my amp in direct out?
To perhaps clarify a bit, the DI box has three jacks on it: Two 1/4" and an XLR. The two 1/4" plugs are paralleled. You plug your bass into one of them and from the other you run a second cable back to your bass amp. The XLR plug goes to the house system. Kinda like a splitter as dreamadream noted, but it also converts the guitar signal to balanced for the house send.

It sounds like your amp head has a XLR output (also commonly called a DI output) that can be switched for pre- or post-send operation. I won’t go into details on that since Gearhead nicely explained it, but that means you could forgo the DI box and just use your amp’s DI output. I this case your guitar (naturally) just plugs into your amp as you have always done.

However, since they are specifically requesting that you use the DI box, that’s what you should do. Personally that’s my preference when I’m running sound. It’s not uncommon for the DI outs on bass amps to be noisy.

All that said, if this church has such a sophisticated sound system I’m surprised they aren’t using an in-ear monitor system. If they are you can leave your stage amp at home; the DI box is all you need for playing there.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt


Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45


 
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image.jpeg
 

To perhaps clarify a bit, the DI box has three jacks on it: Two 1/4" and an XLR. The two 1/4" plugs are paralleled. You plug your bass into one of them and from the other you run a second cable back to your bass amp. The XLR plug goes to the house system. Kinda like a splitter as dreamadream noted, but it also converts the guitar signal to balanced for the house send.

It sounds like your amp head has a XLR output (also commonly called a DI output) that can be switched for pre- or post-send operation. I won’t go into details on that since Gearhead nicely explained it, but that means you could forgo the DI box and just use your amp’s DI output. I this case your guitar (naturally) just plugs into your amp as you have always done.

However, since they are specifically requesting that you use the DI box, that’s what you should do. Personally that’s my preference when I’m running sound. It’s not uncommon for the DI outs on bass amps to be noisy.

All that said, if this church has such a sophisticated sound system I’m surprised they aren’t using an in-ear monitor system. If they are you can leave your stage amp at home; the DI box is all you need for playing there.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt


Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45

Thanks so much
 

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