DI out

[Ant1981]

How does a DI out/ DI box compare line out or to micing up the cab?

[bpd111]

It will vary from one piece of equipment to another, but generally the DI outs & boxes attempt to recreate what you'd get from mic'ing a cab. As a rule, the original sounds better than the model, but in some circumstances players aren't able to mic their cabs, so they have to go direct. If you can mic it, go that way.

[Ant1981]

Yea, Have been mic'ing but not getting the results I think I should be. Using an SM57, I've tried with the mic up close on axis, sounded better 6" away on axis, got my levels right.

[bpd111]

Experiment with mic placement. You might be happy with DI results, but I think you'd be in the minority. It's my understanding that most players that go direct do so out of necessity not to get a better sound.

[Ant1981]

Yes, I've always thought that too.

But as I'm new to recording, I've yet to overcome the problems with mic'ing up. Perhaps a condenser would be better like one of the Shure KSM mics?

[Ibanut]

DI boxes change the signal from high impedence from the pickups to low impedence line level. The input of a console needs to see low impedence line level.


Like I mentioned before the 57 is a dynamic mic. You need a condenser mic and you must be able to get it phantom power to operate. The 57 would work on a electric guitar amp so keep it.

In most studios you have limited room for amps and cabinets so usually the bass gets a DI set up. Sometimes a player wants to be in the control room too so a DI set up is the way its done.

As far as the XLR not working its probably just a bad solder joint or a broken wire.

When I track an acoustic I either use a stereo condenser setup or a DI and the mics .. As far as what mics to use, that depends on your budget. You can spend as much as $2500 US for 1 neuman U87 or you can get an entry level condenser for around $100 us but the quality of sound wont be as good.

[Ant1981]

If the 57 is good for guitar amps then I need to play about a bit more and see how i can get it to sound good.

When I did play with the acoustic I had it plugged into the mic pre and it sounded pretty good as the preamp seems to sort the signal out to go directly in my Motu interface unlike some non preamped stuff that would otherwise be quiet until boosted.

[rty13ibz98]

do both, and blend. i use line6, so i always DI. when i used to run 5150s, i used an sm-57 dead on slightly off center with a rocktron juice extractor for DI. now if i were to mic a cab, sm-57 same way, DI box(behringer for me...cheap and good), and condensor(akg2000 or 3000...maybe the cheap mxl990) about 3-6ft away. blend the crap out of it to get the best mix.


rich

[Ant1981]

what are those AKG's like compared to the Shure condensores? Have you ever used one?

[Ibanut]

neither Shure nor AKG's low priced mics wont be as good as a higher costing mic . Get the best Mics you can afford. Dont cut corners if youre serious about getting good sounds. The lower priced stuff will be cheaper now but the higher end stuff will probably last longer and sound better. A great preamp is needed too. Presonus and Focusrite make good semi pro stuff. The secret to a good mix is get great sounds to tape. Its hard to make chicken soup from chicken crap. Get good tracks to work with.

[Ant1981]

Cool, I don't mind spending £645 on a Shure KSM44 if it will give me the pro reuslts. As for preamps, my Motu Traveler has pretty good mic pres and if I want more, I've been cosidering linking up with ADAT, the Focusrite Octopre

[Ant1981]

Or how about a Shure KSM27 over an AKG if the KSM44 is a bit too extreme?

[Ant1981]

I've been experimenting some more and with the SM57. Close up to the grill, 1" or so away, i got terrible results, where as 5 or 6" away gave much better results (pretty much to best I could get) on axis with the centre of the bottom speaker on the 4x12 cab. Off axis or away from the centre wasnt so nice. Ofcourse, each time the mic was moved, all gain settings were adjusted accordingly

[bpd111]

The SM57 are the workhorse mics, and should give good results. I'm wondering if something else is wrong. Are you happy with sound otherwise?

[Ant1981]

Well, like I say, the best results i got were about 6" away on axis, bottom of cab, which actually is also in accordance with the instructions from Shure that come with the SM57.

Sound otherwise, correct me if I misunderstood your question, otherwise the sound I get is ok, ofcourse my room at home isnt a studio, so acoustic studio conditions aren't there. Vocals on the same mic sound ok. Perhaps I'll try to post a clip if I can. Actually, how do I post a sound clip?