DI or Mic?

Mr Bassman Sax said:
When going through a pa system what do you prefer. DI or mic? And why?
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I usually check before the show on what sounds best. Usually, a blend of both is what I end up with. On certain shows, the colouring and "near breakup"-sound from an amp is what I`m looking for, and then I just go with a mic.
 
I blend them, the mic adds some MEAT to the original sound.
 
You guys actually have a choice?? Most of the time I've played, it's been DI, DI or DI and they look at me weird if I ask to have it mic'd.

I prefer a blend of both, as I find that DI often sounds a bit sterile and of course how you sound when DI'd is then down to the engineer (who can often be a bit lacking in the need for punchy bass).

I had a PA company fry the DI on my Trace head by bunging phantom power into it - cost me £150 to get it fixed which was more than the I got for the gig :evil:
 
Both.

And actually, most the sound guys I've worked with of late are willing to use 3 signals: preamp/DI pedal, preamp/DI from head, and mic'd cabinet.
 
TK276 said:
You guys actually have a choice?? Most of the time I've played, it's been DI, DI or DI and they look at me weird if I ask to have it mic'd.
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This is the same problem I have. I've only been mic'd once and that was the best sound I've ever had through a pa. I'm considering getting a mic and taking that to gigs and telling the sound man to use that or the full power of the x-treme because DI sounds bloody horrible to me.

What I don't understand is why some times the engineer takes the signal before it goes to the amp, which completely negates the point of having your own sound.
 
TK276 said:
I had a PA company fry the DI on my Trace head by bunging phantom power into it - cost me £150 to get it fixed which was more than the I got for the gig :evil:
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You used the internal DI on the head? Not to be rude, but most internal DI`s are crap. You should always go for an external one, then you have something to take the damage in case something happens.
 
I DI from an EBS microbass... which is an amazing DI box. Usually pre-eq and a flat eq on the bass... and I trust the sound guy. Then any other settings from the EBS to the amp (amp also left flat) are for on-stage monitoring. Works for me and the PA sounds great!

Both DI and mic sound like a good idea, though... in an ideal world... but I haven't got a very good track record of making eq adjustments mid-gig... I'd probably end up blowing up the venue!
 
The internal DI from Tubepath and Xtreme are just great!!!! Actually many times I use the DI only, and I always get compliments from my bass sound. And this is really something in a band with 4 keyboards, one computer, guitar, 3 backing vocals, and a very LOUD vocal.
 
You used the internal DI on the head?
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Not usually but the guy didn't know what he was doing, hence chucking phantom power into it. I recall that it was a student ball and the PA was supplied by some students who had just started up a PA company!

The DI on my Trace head was great - both pre and post eq. It's an old 500 SMX head and was imo one of the best heads they made before they disappeared. Not so keen on the new heads though.
 
TK276 said:
You guys actually have a choice??
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That's why I said:

Mr Rabble said:
If possibile, I prefer a MIC.
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:wink:

If I use the Eden WT550 I don't care much aboit it, with the tube Mesa of course a mic is way better

The solution:
buy a good mic, and take it out when the soundman says
"I've no more mics, we'll use the D.I for bass"
 
BTW, what kind of mics do you guys prefer?

I sometimes like to switch out the SM57 with a Beta 52, normally a bass drum-mic, if I want less treble and more bassy punch to it.
 
Actually which are the best mic's for capturing the Warwick sound? Just so I know for future reference.


I did 6 shows with one sound guy and it wasn't until the 5th that he realised the FOH sounded way different to my cabs. Still refused to to anything other than DI. If it wasn't for the wierd way the room was laid out I could have probably used the amps power by itself.

The DI out of my x-treme gave high zzzz sound. Surely that isn't so great?
 
Mr Bassman Sax said:
Actually which are the best mic's for capturing the Warwick sound? Just so I know for future reference.


I did 6 shows with one sound guy and it wasn't until the 5th that he realised the FOH sounded way different to my cabs. Still refused to to anything other than DI. If it wasn't for the wierd way the room was laid out I could have probably used the amps power by itself.

The DI out of my x-treme gave high zzzz sound. Surely that isn't so great?
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try the ground lift switch
 
Charmand G said:
BTW, what kind of mics do you guys prefer?

I sometimes like to switch out the SM57 with a Beta 52, normally a bass drum-mic, if I want less treble and more bassy punch to it.
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for bass my favourite mics are the beyerdynamic M88's.


whenever your using the SM57s or 58s i'd recomend trying both the standard version (SM57/SM58) and thn the beta version (SM57 beta/SM58 beta). the beta versions have a slightly different frequency response that you may prefer for live work. the beta versions emphesise a few of the higher frequencies (around 10khz instead of the standard 57/58's 7.5 khz) and this results in the signal often sitting a little better in the mix.

although i've never tried the 57 with the bass i definatly prefer the 57 beta for guitars over the 57 and the 58 beta for vocals over the 58. just something to think about
 
I really like my Audio Technica AT822 for recording live bands that allow it - Its a Fixed-Charge Condenser Stereo Mic - Works awesome for recording drums or any other instrument - I never used for running through a PA though, not really a need for a stereo mic with a bass amp - I'm sure it would pick up everything else, lol
 
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