Why do I see less DI than mics at local shows?

[EastCoastThump]

I don't see any downside to micing a bass cab. And vs DI it's really just a matter of preference and/or convenience.

Usually, yes. It's most often a wash if you're aiming for clean tone in the FOH and you run a pretty clean & even stage rig.

Sonics can favor using the DI if you want a clean & even tone in FOH, but you've had to significantly eq your stage rig to more effectively monitor on a very loud or bassy/subby stage.

Sonics favor a cab mic if the cab's high and low end roll-off are part of your sound (say, if you're after the sealed 810 vibe, or if you run OD and distortion—which can sound ganked if not low-passed where you want them.)

If FX play a key part of your sound, sonics rule out taking DI directly after the instrument. Similarly, sonics call for post-eq DI from your head or rack if you've dialed that part of the chain specifically for FOH feed—esp. if you have eq later in the stage rig chain that lets you tweak your cab sound to deal with oddities in the stage acoustics.

 

[Humbled]

My favorite way to play live, by far, is with a small but robust bass amp at my side as "personal monitor", with the entire band blowing back at us through side-fill monitors. I've used ears to the point of being dis-enamored with it. I love playing with people who agree with this, and thankfully, seem to have found a lot of them.

 

[brianrost]

Wouldn't people normally go to mic as a result of not having DI?

The sound man is free to mix the two to get the best tone, plus the mike still works if the DI fails (esp. when the DI is in the amp, not the sound man's own box).

 

[jimfist]

plus the mike still works if the DI fails

and conversely, when the mic or speaker cabinet/stage amp fails, a DI bass feed taken before stage rig can save the day.

 

[carl h.]

and conversely, when the mic or speaker cabinet/stage amp fails, a DI bass feed taken before stage rig can save the day.

What if the bassist has a heart attack? What then??

Not so smart now huh??!!??

 

[carl h.]

OH NOES!!

The keyboard player just had a stroke and can't use his left side!!!!


We're all doomed!!

 

[jimfist]

What if the bassist has a heart attack? What then??

Not so smart now huh??!!??

Link Removed

Yeah...smaaaaht.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I'm still curious.

For those of you that place primary priority on having a mic on a bass guitar speaker cabinet...

What - is - your - mic - of - choice ??

AkgP2, PR40, RE20... My own mic is the $100 one but I doubt I would pick up on difference to the others if they were eq'd to take up the slack. They are all near enough to flat response, unlike your average kickdrum mic.

 

[bolophonic]

My concept of professionalism within this context is to show up and crush it, regardless of how much or how little the sound person cares about my preference of cab voicing. 75% of the time, that means a DI and a soundcheck and it's time to roll. All this IEM jazz and emulating software for bar bands sounds like prima donna nonsense to me. I bet your average sound man LOVES to hear all about the tone in your head, guys.

 

[tfer]

AkgP2, PR40, RE20... My own mic is the $100 one but I doubt I would pick up on difference to the others if they were eq'd to take up the slack. They are all near enough to flat response, unlike your average kickdrum mic.

I use a kick drum mic because of the lower end extension, and that is usually the argument used for using a DI. You can defeat the frequency hump with good placement.

BTW, my amp is nowhere near me when we are using FOH support, so accidentally bumping the mic stand would be next to impossible.

Smaller clubs, I'm using my amp from the stage, with only vocals going through the PA.

 

[tfer]

My concept of professionalism within this context is to show up and crush it, regardless of how much or how little the sound person cares about my preference of cab voicing. 75% of the time, that means a DI and a soundcheck and it's time to roll. All this IEM jazz and emulating software for bar bands sounds like prima donna nonsense to me. I bet your average sound man LOVES to hear all about the tone in your head, guys.

The sounds guys I deal with love hearing from our band that he did a great job reproducing us live. Then we usually have a beer together!

 

[Jfoertsch]

Starting to build gear into rack (amp, tuner, furman, maximizer ect). Is there any logic or reason for how the equipment is stacked or profiled? (i.e. should heavy be on bottom for center of gravity or is their an issue with heat from amp not venting properly )?

 

[Humbled]

Downunderwonder is dissing my mics.

It's a backline gig-pack of industry-standards, suitable for making money. Yes I should have two RE20's or PL20's.

You win.

 

[jimfist]

All this IEM jazz and emulating software for bar bands sounds like prima donna nonsense to me.

Talking about cab emulator pedals and rack processors, personally: SansAmp BDDI and Zoom stomps and stuff like the B3 are hardly the stuff of cork sniffers. Kemper Profiler and AxeFx are top of line pro solutions. I'm not a big fan of software solutions for anything to do with live rigs and amp/cab modeling.

If a sound mixer has never heard my bass tone and is skeptical about my rig, I'd simply suggest they wait until they have a chance to listen to it via FOH, and if they feel they'd prefer to add an additional mic or DI, I have no problem with it. If I'm mixing, I have a conversation with each band member to get a feel as to whether they have a preference or not. You'd be surprised at how much a lot of good players are happy to concentrate on their own performance, and not worry at all about what the sound techs are doing. With competent people running the audio, that can be the best mind set. Let the band management suss it out with the crew.

 

[s0c9]

The sounds guys I deal with love hearing from our band that he did a great job reproducing us live.

How do you know - unless you walk the room - that the sound guy actually did a good job??
With wedges and stage wash, one generally has a hard time "hearing" FOH, and if you are IEM, not going to hear it at all!

 

[tfer]

How do you know - unless you walk the room - that the sound guy actually did a good job??

I'm wireless.

I've been known to spend time on the dance floor!

 

[Humbled]

I haven't seen anyone else's mic yet.

DIs either...


I can walk you through how to post a photo...

 

[s0c9]

I'm wireless.

I've been known to spend time on the dance floor!

OMG !!! How dare you.. you're NOT the guitar player.. you are NOT allowed on the dance floor.. oh sacrilege!

 

[tfer]

I haven't seen anyone else's mic yet.

DIs either...


I can walk you through how to post a photo...

This is a Shure PM-52 that I was asked to experiment with before Christmas. My AKG is currently locked in our band trailer, and this is the only picture that I have access to right now. Next time we have FOH support, I'll post that.

Testing it here for proximity effect on a 10" driver.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Downunderwonder is dissing my mics.

It's a backline gig-pack of industry-standards, suitable for making money. Yes I should have two RE20's or PL20's.

You win.

not at all. I can't tell you what any of them are for sure. Some 'look' inappropriate for bass cab though.