compensating for different output levels

[ehsaan]

hi all i use a ta classic and a parker fly mojo when i perform. naturally when i switch from the fly to the classic there is an output drop and my engineer complains that he has to turn the gain up. how do guitar players compensate for varied pick up output levels ? does one use something like an rc booster ? any suggestions ?
thanks
cheer
ehsaan

[dannopelli]

Honestly, the sound guy should deal with it. It is not that big an issue. He has to move a fader a quarter inch?

I am not trying to be glib here. But the reality is, I use guitars as the textural need of the song requires. So I would imagine you use the Parker for things requiring more output or the tone or growl it provides. Like I might switch from an LP or PRS to a Classic.

Again, you are already adjusting your sound and tone to fit the need of the song. So for the most part it is jut all part of the sonic change needed for the song. The sound guy should be part of this solution. Try approaching it with him from a "teamwork" perspective.

For gigs where there is no sound guy, I have gotten to a point where I know my guitars well enough to adjust the Master Vol on the amp a touch if needed. But normally, again, since I am using the GUITAR to fit the textural need of the song, that is kind of rare.

Hope this helps!

[mdrs]

hi all i use a ta classic and a parker fly mojo when i perform. naturally when i switch from the fly to the classic there is an output drop and my engineer complains that he has to turn the gain up. how do guitar players compensate for varied pick up output levels ? does one use something like an rc booster ? any suggestions ?
thanks
cheer
ehsaan

Read this;

http://www.thestringnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=241&view=unread#unread

It's a "mono mixer", and looks like it might work very well........

[tom]

it's hard to imagine that that mixer would not mess with the guitars signal. it's meant to see microphones which would have very different impedance.
a simple booster like the rc would seem to be a simpler solution, or just turning up the volume like danno mentioned.

[mdrs]

Tom,

I asked Lee Phillips about that. Lee's played out forever, out of Detroit. He said that that mono mixer is completely transparent to his tone. I've heard a bunch of live recordings of his band, and his tone is excellent. He uses it to compensate when going from humbuckers to single coils, and plays thru that mixer full time.

I've never used one, but Lee is a very experienced guy, so it is worth checking out.

[dannopelli]

Does that mixer thing require that when you switch guitars you have to unplug and replug? If that is the case it seems like a bit of work.

Who knows. What I have found is everyone eventually figures something out.

[tom]

it's just multiple ins to a mono out, so you wouldn't have to unplug anything. for me i prefer the sound and interaction of the high imp signal from the guitar hitting the pedals. with a buffer in between things react differently. lots of people get great tone with gear that wouldn't work for me, it's all how you make it work together.

[dannopelli]

it's just multiple ins to a mono out,....

Still a bit confused. I mean, if I bring three guitars to a gig, every time I change guitars I have to unplug the guitar from the cable, plug in a new guitar, then move the cable in the mixer to the correct input? Or use three cables? Even if I were wireless, this would still be the issue, no? Unless I had multiple wireless devices?

I do mostly club/church gigs and the occaisional outdoor thing, which is nothing more than a club gig with a lot more amps behind me. This just may be too much for a guy like me.

I am in NO WAY trying to denegrate the concept. In fact I keep probing because I am intrigued. I just really do not understand it. I am sure LOTS of guys get GREAT sound and find this convenient as all get out. I think I'll just tweak my volume control, or the sound guy if my wife tells me after a gig she could not hear my solos!

[tom]

it's just a multi input mixer to go in front of the pedalboard. each guitar has it's own channel and volume control. you would need multiple cables. it does seem like a complicated solution to me as well. turning a volume control or hitting a boost pedal sits better with the caveman brain in my head:o

[ehsaan]

hey thanks everyone !!! thanks tom !!! have a beautiful burgundy mist classic on order with u looking forward to it !!!!:)

[mdrs]

it's just a multi input mixer to go in front of the pedalboard. each guitar has it's own channel and volume control. you would need multiple cables. it does seem like a complicated solution to me as well. turning a volume control or hitting a boost pedal sits better with the caveman brain in my head:o

Well, it might not be as complicated as you might think. If you use an OD or boost pedal, you'd need one for one guitar, and a different one for the other. Or you'd need one OD pedal and you'd go straight to the amp with the other stronger guitar. But, then, if you wanted to push this "stronger" guitar for a lead, you might need another, different OD pedal. Of course you could just do the lead by using the vol. knob on the guitar, also.

With this mono mixer, the mixer is set once, and automatically "equalizes" your two different guitars, say a single coil and a humbucker axe.

Once the mono mixer "equalizes" their signals, than you only need one set of pedals, and that one set of pedals should treat each axe equally. This could really minimize and simplify your pedal board.

I've not played out with this set up. But, Lee plays three gigs a week, and has done so for years. He's also an engineer, and usually has things worked out fairly well!!! LOL

There are many ways to "skin a cat". This one seems pretty interesting, and worth checking out, I'd think.

[mslugano]

Why not try an EQ pedal? They are cheap and easy and would not only boost your signal that little bit you need, but, also you could adjust your eq a bit to compensate for the smaller single coil footprint.

[spitalny]

Am I missing something here? Why not turn up your guitar amp a little for the Anderson and turn back down for the parker?

[tom]

it does seem like we've drifted into complex solutions.

[Janine Doubly]

A great little pedal that I think would be an elegant solution for you is the Radial PB-1 Big Shot Power Booster. Its a high quality buffer/pre-amp/booster and you can kick in up to 15db of boost. Used as a first pedal in line, you can set all your gain and tone for the Parker and then kick in the adjustable added boost you need for the Andy to even things out. I've used it as a clean boost at the end of a pedal chain with excellent results, but I've also used it at the beginning of a pedal board to boost a Gretsch w/Filtertrons to match the output of a set of Fralin PAF's on another guitar. It was quite nice, very transparent and made for a nice Class A buffer for the rest of the pedal board even with the boost off. And, its got a variable impedence "drag" circuit too, if you want to load the signal a bit. But wide open, it kept the top end clarity of the Gretsch, but I could get the volume up to where I wasn't having to adjust all the gains on my overdrives. It was a win/win all around; full Gretsch and PAF tone, but matched volumes to boot when I kicked on the PB-1's boost with the Gretsch.

[dannopelli]

it does seem like we've drifted into complex solutions.

Master volume. Never leave home without it.