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Post by divagrrrl on Dec 2, 2004 20:22:55 GMT -5
I was told that I need to get an active direct box with a pre-amp for my electric/acoustic guitar. I am on a budget... does anyone have a good recommendation for me?
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Post by Maggis on Dec 4, 2004 20:48:53 GMT -5
I was told that I need to get an active direct box with a pre-amp for my electric/acoustic guitar. I am on a budget... does anyone have a good recommendation for me? First of all... Why were you told this? What are you going to be using it for? What do you normally do? Not liking to assume but a lot of people talk a lot of shit so since you haven't got that much money it'd be a shame for you to go buying something you didn't need... What elecric acoustic have you got? Many electric acoustics (even nice ones) come with quite shit pick-ups so most of the time you're better off micing them up for a richer sound anyway... |
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Post by divagrrrl on Dec 4, 2004 22:11:52 GMT -5
First of all... Why were you told this? What are you going to be using it for? What do you normally do? Not liking to assume but a lot of people talk a lot of shit so since you haven't got that much money it'd be a shame for you to go buying something you didn't need... What elecric acoustic have you got? Many electric acoustics (even nice ones) come with quite shit pick-ups so most of the time you're better off micing them up for a richer sound anyway... The person who told me is a guy who has been playing acoustic blues and roadhouse for 30 years.... i kinda figured he would know what he was talking about. My guitar is an Olympia Tacoma and still has the factory pick-up. If someone has a recommendation for a better one, I am totally down with investing in a good pick-up. I'll be playing to accompany myself singing; occasionally other musicians may join me. Venues for the moment are going to small places like pubs and coffee shops with generally crappy PAs. |
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Post by Maggis on Dec 5, 2004 10:33:11 GMT -5
The person who told me is a guy who has been playing acoustic blues and roadhouse for 30 years.... i kinda figured he would know what he was talking about. My guitar is an Olympia Tacoma and still has the factory pick-up. If someone has a recommendation for a better one, I am totally down with investing in a good pick-up. I'll be playing to accompany myself singing; occasionally other musicians may join me. Venues for the moment are going to small places like pubs and coffee shops with generally crappy PAs. See most sound people will be able to DI you if that's what you want them to do... You'd tend to buy your own DI box if you were recording stuff at home... I could be making a wild assumption but what you seem to be doing is what a lot of women do which is one reason why people don't take us seriously... You're not making you're own decisions on things based on your own experience.... for example... When I said most acoustic electric pickups are shit you didn't say "well mines actually pretty good actually..." or "yeah it does sound a bit crap feeds back easy etc..." no; you just asked everyone to suggest another one for you to buy... How do you know you need to buy another one other than me making a generalisation from my experience (I could be wrong in the case of your guitar... I haven't actually had a go on the guitar you play so I don't know) Do you see what I'm getting at? Only you know what you need by trial and error... By all means take other peoples experience into consideration when you think about things but don't just go out and buy something just because one person says you need to... This dude may have been playing for a hundred years but he's been playing his own way and that's what you need to do... Find your own way of doing things... |
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Post by divagrrrl on Dec 5, 2004 11:04:06 GMT -5
See most sound people will be able to DI you if that's what you want them to do... You'd tend to buy your own DI box if you were recording stuff at home... I could be making a wild assumption but what you seem to be doing is what a lot of women do which is one reason why people don't take us seriously... You're not making you're own decisions on things based on your own experience.... for example... When I said most acoustic electric pickups are shit you didn't say "well mines actually pretty good actually..." or "yeah it does sound a bit crap feeds back easy etc..." no; you just asked everyone to suggest another one for you to buy... How do you know you need to buy another one other than me making a generalisation from my experience (I could be wrong in the case of your guitar... I haven't actually had a go on the guitar you play so I don't know) Do you see what I'm getting at? Only you know what you need by trial and error... By all means take other peoples experience into consideration when you think about things but don't just go out and buy something just because one person says you need to... This dude may have been playing for a hundred years but he's been playing his own way and that's what you need to do... Find your own way of doing things... 1. I have NEVER played an acoustic guitar live in my LIFE. 2. The places I am going to be playing do NOT have a "sound man." Just a PA, no DI, just plug n play n go. 3. I have NO IDEA what my pick-up sounds like since I have very little frame of reference. I have never plugged it in anywhere except the store I bought it at. 4. How can I make a decision based on experience when I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE with these matters? I am a writer who has previously used only midi to compose. 5. I have neither the time nor the funds for "trial and error." 6. If I am going to get insulted for asking a simple question by f**i-n***s who seem to really have it in for any musician with a penis, I am gone. |
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Post by Maggis on Dec 5, 2004 12:36:10 GMT -5
1. I have NEVER played an acoustic guitar live in my LIFE. 2. The places I am going to be playing do NOT have a "sound man." Just a PA, no DI, just plug n play n go. 3. I have NO IDEA what my pick-up sounds like since I have very little frame of reference. I have never plugged it in anywhere except the store I bought it at. 4. How can I make a decision based on experience when I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE with these matters? I am a writer who has previously used only midi to compose. 5. I have neither the time nor the funds for "trial and error." 6. If I am going to get insulted for asking a simple question by f**i-n***s who seem to really have it in for any musician with a penis, I am gone. Woa! Slow down girl... I'm not trying to cuss you or condesend you... I'm just saying how it came across... And tring to advice you to make up your own mind... Which in my opinion is really good advice and naturally implies that I don't think you're an idiot... As I've seen your posts and site before and knew you had quite a repetior behind you there was no way for me to know this was for your first acoustic gig was there eh? You certainly do have time for trial and error... By this I mean... You're first gig is definately not going to be a desaster without a DI preamp... But I would advise you to bring someone along who knows a bit about sound engineering if only so the burden of setting up is not all on your shoulders when you're obviously going to be a bit nervous and preocupied... You can do one of two things for your gig... Mic up your guitar... Plug it straight into the PA... plug it into an amp... plug it into a compresser or limter and then into the PA to minimise the possiblity of feedback or just DI it all of which are fine none will result in desaster... by the way the last comment you made was completely unsubstanciated so I'm not even going to credit it. |
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Post by divagrrrl on Dec 5, 2004 13:04:06 GMT -5
HMPH. *pms* sowwy.  But seriously..... I DON'T have time for trial and error. I trust the opinions of more experienced guitar players than me. If you guys can save me some trouble and point me where I need to go, I would prefer that to being told "just play around until you hit on the solution." I'm 35 years old, trying to promote my CD ALONE because I can't seem to rely on musicians around here. |
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Post by Maggis on Dec 5, 2004 19:48:19 GMT -5
HMPH. *pms* sowwy. But seriously..... I DON'T have time for trial and error. I trust the opinions of more experienced guitar players than me. If you guys can save me some trouble and point me where I need to go, I would prefer that to being told "just play around until you hit on the solution." I'm 35 years old, trying to promote my CD ALONE because I can't seem to rely on musicians around here. No worries ;D I figured the root of the situation was pre gig nerves and we've all been there  Really by trial and error I mean what happens to us all is the more we play the better we get... We don't realise we were crap until we got better type of thing... And you're just going to have to accept your first few gigs are going to have their ups and downs that's just the name of the game we are in  I'd probably be able to give you some better advice if I knew how acoustic venues worked over there... In england even small intimate acoustic venues and open mic nights have a sound person there to set up and even if you don't get a soundcheck the sound man knows what to do to make it sound right... quite simple for acoustic stuff... I might be able to give you some more constuctive advice if you give us some info about the venue you're going to be playing... (what you might need etc... ) a web link might have all I need to tell you what you're in for?? |
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Post by prsdeb on Dec 6, 2004 16:09:33 GMT -5
Divagrrl, Direct boxes are not a bad thing to have but aren't always necessary. I wouldn't worry about it at this point. You can buy a lower end box (Behringer for example) for around $35-$40. Until you can buy one just plug your guitar into a channel on the PA and you're good to go. I use an acoustic for a couple songs with my band and I just plug straight into the PA without any problems. Is someone going to help you with the PA or do you have to figure it out yourself? www.jeezluweez.com |
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Post by divagrrrl on Dec 8, 2004 17:33:52 GMT -5
Divagrrl, Direct boxes are not a bad thing to have but aren't always necessary. I wouldn't worry about it at this point. You can buy a lower end box (Behringer for example) for around $35-$40. Until you can buy one just plug your guitar into a channel on the PA and you're good to go. I use an acoustic for a couple songs with my band and I just plug straight into the PA without any problems. Is someone going to help you with the PA or do you have to figure it out yourself? www.jeezluweez.comFunny.... I DID end up buying a Behringer direct box, and it DID cost me $40... are you psychic or something?  ;D Since I am doing open mic nights initially, someone is bound to be able to help me with the PA. I have been a studio rat / session singer for so long that I need all the help I can get with live sound. |
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Post by prsdeb on Dec 9, 2004 18:58:22 GMT -5
Psychotic maybe but no, not psychic ;D Anyway....glad you were able to pick one up cheap. Good luck with your gigs  www.jeezluweez.com |
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joeyangel
New Member
SHUT UP 'N PLAY YER GUITAR. . .Frank Zappa
Posts: 12
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Post by joeyangel on Feb 7, 2005 12:14:07 GMT -5
If you acoustic guitar has a factory pick-up, it should be ready to roll. If you have a friend who has a really good amp, plug it in a take a listen. Make sure you have fresh battery installed and a good guitar cable that you know is not shorted. I think you will find that you will not need a direct box. I have never had to use a direct box with any of my acoustic/electric guitars. Take care,
Joey
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joeyangel
New Member
SHUT UP 'N PLAY YER GUITAR. . .Frank Zappa
Posts: 12
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Post by joeyangel on Feb 7, 2005 12:15:48 GMT -5
Oh brother, I hate it when I miss a letter.
I meant, "Your" and not "You acoustic guitar. . ." but I think you knew that.
Joey
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Post by EngineerGrl on May 1, 2005 1:23:30 GMT -5
Hi Devagrrrl,
The advice you were given about the active DI (direct box) and preamp was accurate -- at least if you want good sound quality. You can get by without it, but they DO make a noticable difference.
If you're on a limited budget, then Behringer is the way to go. They have low-priced DI's and pre's.
You already bought the DI so as far as the preamp, I would recommend the Behringer Tube UltraGains. They have three models: the Ultragain Mic100 that sells for around $50, the Mic200 going for $65 and the Behringer T1953 Tube Ultragain rack mount unit that sells for $130. Naturally, the higher the quality preamp, the better your sound will be. Also, the preamps can double as a DI box but if you have both the DI and preamp, I would recommend plugging your guitar into the DI box first. Then patch the output of the DI box into the preamps' input. Then patch the output of the preamp into whatever source the house is using (the sound person can help you with that).
An added bonus to owning the rack unit (the Ultragain T1953) is that you could also use it as a mic preamp for your vocal mic since it has two channel inputs. Adding a preamp to your vocal mic would greatly improve your mic's sound quality.
There are higher end pre's out there but they will cost you hundreds, even thousands of dollars so I won't list them here. If you're interested, let me know and I'll recommend some.
Hope this helps you.
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;D 