Patrick Shirkey wrote: Sorry. Guitar is already line level. doh. -- Patrick Shirkey - Boost Hardware Ltd. Http://www.boosthardware.com Http://www.djcj.org - The Linux Audio Users guide ======================================== Being on stage with the band in front of crowds shouting, "Get off! No! We want normal music!", I think that was more like acting than anything I've ever done. Goldie, 8 Nov, 2002 The Scotsman

On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 15:16:41 +0000 Daniel James <daniel(a)mondodesigno.com> wrote: This seems to be a bit of mis-information. Bass, more than any other instrument, works well with DI. Dependin on the mixer, and the preamps in it, you may not have any problems at all with this approach, or you may need some sort of preamp/DI box between the bass and the mixer. The signal from a guitar or bass is not at line level; it's equivalent to a microphone level input. Note that some mixers have 1/4" and XLR connectors for their inputs, and in some cases the use of the 1/4" input bypasses the preamp circuit with the assumption that the input device is already at line level. If you have a 1/4" plug to XLR cable, you might find that makes a big difference in the strenth and tone of the signal. -- ====================================================================== Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh(a)brainiac.com Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa

On Fri, Nov 14, 2003 at 10:36:08AM -0500, Joe Hartley wrote: It is neither. Guitar pickups are roughly 10 kilohm impedance, while microphones are roughly 500 ohm impedance. Both microphones and guitars are sensitive to the load you connect them to. Mic preamp input impedance ranges from about 500 ohms to about 5 kilohms. Guitar preamps and DI's have input impedance ranging from 500 kilohms up to several megohms. So - don't do the following: passive guitar -> line-level input ... decent loading, low signal level, high noise passive guitar -> mic preamp ... good gain, really bad loading; frequency response suffers. active guitar -> mic preamp ... too much gain! probably distorted. not sure about the loading. The following are reasonable solutions: passive guitar -> DI box -> mic preamp ... good loading, good signal level active guitar -> line-level input ... good loading, good signal level active guitar -> DI box -> mic preamp ... good loading, good signal level, a bit noisier -- Paul Winkler http://www.slinkp.com Look! Up in the sky! It's BRITISH LEOPARD! (random hero from isometric.spaceninja.com)

On Fri, Nov 14, 2003 at 03:16:41PM +0000, Daniel James wrote: it's not. you are correct. i've been playing and recording bass for many years now so i can't resist chiming in here... it depends what you mean. normally "DI into mixer" means bass -> DI box -> mic preamp on mixer, and this is a very common way to record bass. if you mean bass -> mic preamp, that's not usually good. same for bass -> line-level input, unless the bass is active. My old Ibanez with active Alembic electronics works fine connected directly to any line-level input. i highly doubt it was otherwise identical, but yes, it should be noisier :-) FWIW i prefer large dynamic mics (akg d112, EV RE-20, maybe MD-421) for micing a bass amp. Large-diaphragm condensers have a treble boost that I find unflattering on bass guitar. I only tried a small-diaphragm condenser once and it couldn't handle the low end. I also prefer micing the bass amp to going DI. The speaker -> air -> microphone combination changes the frequency response and the attack in ways that I find very nice. Mic placement is critical. Mic pointed at the middle of the speaker cone is "standard" but not necessarily best for a particular sound. oh, that :-) -- Paul Winkler http://www.slinkp.com Look! Up in the sky! It's THE VIRIDIAN TAMBOURINE! (random hero from isometric.spaceninja.com)