Best way to amplify through PA

[funalij]

Hi everyone:

Not so long ago I read about to amplify the sound amp through PA with a direct box (speaker emulator) instead a microphone in front of amp.

For a live gig, what do you use/prefer?
Is there any TONE loss (you know, the warm tone of a tube amp) when you go through a direct box?

Thanks in advance

Javier

[Barry]

Hi everyone:

Not so long ago I read about to amplify the sound amp through PA with a direct box (speaker emulator) instead a microphone in front of amp.

For a live gig, what do you use/prefer?
Is there any TONE loss (you know, the warm tone of a tube amp) when you go through a direct box?

Thanks in advance

Javier
I prefer a mic . I use a Shure SM57 . Be sure to experiment with the placement of the mic . There are "sweet spots" to be found .

[Suriel Zayas]

mic, mic, mic, mic, mic, mic, and more mics. the whole objective is to amplify your own tone, not how an engineer perceives it. my favorite mic is the sennheiser 409. my .02.

[thecaleb]

mic, mic, mic, mic, mic, mic, and more mics. the whole objective is to amplify your own tone, not how an engineer perceives it.

+1

also I like being able to put my amp in front of me so i can tweak on the fly.

[Janine Doubly]

I have never, ever had good tone using a direct box, especially with a tube amp. A good mic, or even a pair of good mics, is always the way to go. If you need to isolate the amp, or bring your stage level down, try isolating the speaker if you can. But, I never recommend a D.I. unless you want a Prince, direct into the board clean tone.

[funalij]

thanks a lot for your replies.

Javier

[entraind]

+1 On the Sennheiser 609, much flatter response than the SM 57...

[dannopelli]

+1 On the Sennheiser 609, much flatter response than the SM 57...

+1+1. I carry one in my gig bag in case the sound man does not have one!

[GaryMcT]

Which 609's are you guys talking about, silver or black? (I think there might be old and new of one of them too.)

[Tremendo]

I've got a Silver e609 I like better than my SM57.

[Suriel Zayas]

Which 609's are you guys talking about, silver or black? (I think there might be old and new of one of them too.)

they are both very good, but the silver (older) is built like a tank and nice response.

[GaryMcT]

Any experience with the new 906?

[tom]

anybody played the new guytron gt20 with built in mic? i think it's a 609?

[GaryMcT]

Hey Tom,

Here's a thread with some clips of the amp:

http://www.hugeracksinc.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=25769&highlight=guytron

[njjessee]

Javier - this post may get me banned from this board, but here goes...

Let me start by staying I play in my church's band, so that may have some bearing on this. For the longest time, I mic'd my amps. Well, about a year and a half ago, I switched to using a Hotplate between the power amp and speaker (Lonestar Special). The Hotplate has a line out with level control that I connected to a Behringer Ultra-G (direct box with speaker emulation). The signal went from there to the board. All this was in effort to reduce the stage volume. We don't have in ear monitors and volume is a big issue in churches.

I then began to hear more of my guitar through the monitor mix and less from my amp (I was attenuating it with the Hotplate) and it actually sounded good to me. Even the recordings sounded good. I'm not saying that it was the best tone I ever had, or that I preferred it over my amp mic'd, but rather it was working well and I found the tone pleasing.

Well, this past winter, I went off to see Johnny A. play live (http://www.johnnya.com/) with a few of my buddies. That trip really reinforced my decision to go direct. Seems that Johnny A. plays through a pair of Marshall 30th Anniversary combos and was going direct with the built in speaker emulation (http://www.johnnya.com/tone_quest_0905.pdf). The speakers were turned off. He sounded great!

So, I'm like why even bother with the amp and so I purchased a Mesa Boogie Rectifier Recording Pre-amp which has emulation and a balanced signal out straight to the board. This set up sounds really good to me and I've found the preamp to be very flexible.

Now I am toying with the idea of buying a Marshall JMP-1 to work with the Mesa and go stereo out from my pedal board to the two preamps.

Now, I'm not saying what I have is the best tone ever, but it sounds really good to me, and in the end, that's what matters. I still have my other amps, but for this situation, going direct works well.

I say this with all due respect to those of you that do this for a living.

Noah

[tom]

you can stay noah. i have spent so much time and money trying for that last 5% of tonal goodness. i just recently have gone back to square one and am working on my playing more. simplified the rig so i have to be more creative. i haven't given up on micing speakers yet but i am glad to hear you have a solution that works for you. i know others that have also found a solution. they have spent long hours getting there as well. the quest continues.
gary, guy at guytron told me about sean. he doesn't live too far from here, so i may get to hear the amp before too long.

[entraind]

Which 609's are you guys talking about, silver or black? (I think there might be old and new of one of them too.)

I'm using the Silver one that came out a few years back, blows away a SM57 for me. It does a pretty good job live and in the studio it's great combined with 1 or 2 well placed condensors....Let us know what you think if you try one out Gary.

[Suriel Zayas]

i just recently have gone back to square one and am working on my playing more. simplified the rig so i have to be more creative.

guitar, cable, and amp. :D

[tom]

a few pedals, i'm not superman :o

[GaryMcT]

gary, guy at guytron told me about sean. he doesn't live too far from here, so i may get to hear the amp before too long.

Please let us know if you get a chance to hear it.