Acoustic guitar into passive DI

[Torbjörn Molin]

Re: Acoustic guitar into passive DI

I don't know what brand the DIs were that you were using - but this is a huge reason to spend more money up front to get better gear. I have no problem spending $150 on a DI if it's going to last 10 years without a hint of an issue. I can't afford to have a show-stopping failure because of a crappy piece of gear. Same thing with cables. I only have the highest quality cables I can get because I can't afford to have a show stop because one of them fails. It doesn't matter what they cost.

Not saying this was your fault at all - you weren't using your gear. This is one of the big reasons that I'm really wary of doing walk-in gigs; most of the time the gear isn't up to my standards and I can't afford to have a show-stopping failure blamed on me when it was really the gear I didn't provide.

I'm all with you on this and when they asked me what to buy when they now realized they needed a few more DIs i recommended the BSS AR-133 wich seems to be the standard good-enough-for-pro-audio DI around here, or one of the Radial units as an alternative. Then again, the last DI I opened up before this happened that had a loose solder join was a klark teknik unit, so I guess it happens regardless of brand and quality.
As a side note, I don't really own any gear but i do own some mics that come in handy when doing walk-in gigs where the venue doesn't own good quality, cared for gear. Maybe my next purchase should be a couple of good quality DI-boxes. If only clients would pay me for it....

 

[Rob Dellwood]

Re: Acoustic guitar into passive DI

A few months back, I was scheduled to mix a duo, a singer and acoustic/electric guitar player, at a club using supplied equipment. There was time before the show for a line/sound check, but I simply could not get any signal out of the acoustic guitar which was plugged into the DI. Guitar player said he just used the same guitar that afternoon in the studio, and it worked fine. Guitar player changed batteries, changed the 1/4 cord. Nothing. I swapped DIs, and the xlr out, but still nothing. Mixer channel was fine. I was stumped. I wound up having to mic the guitar with a SM57 (all that was available). Got through the show, but I found out later a wire inside the guitar had somehow come loose causing the problem. Sometimes it's NOT the sound guy's fault. ~~:smile:

 

[Jordan Wolf]

Re: Acoustic guitar into passive DI

...I found out later a wire inside the guitar had somehow come loose causing the problem.

We had that happen at a gig a few years ago, but we did catch it in time. A quick solder job and all was well.

In my gig bag, I keep an Audix i5 and an Audio-Technica Pro49Q gooseneck (both normally used for TB mic(s)). They work great for their intended purposes, but are also very handy for troubleshooting when needed.

 

[Steven White]

Re: Acoustic guitar into passive DI

A few months back, I was scheduled to mix a duo, a singer and acoustic/electric guitar player, at a club using supplied equipment. There was time before the show for a line/sound check, but I simply could not get any signal out of the acoustic guitar which was plugged into the DI. Guitar player said he just used the same guitar that afternoon in the studio, and it worked fine. Guitar player changed batteries, changed the 1/4 cord. Nothing. I swapped DIs, and the xlr out, but still nothing. Mixer channel was fine. I was stumped. I wound up having to mic the guitar with a SM57 (all that was available). Got through the show, but I found out later a wire inside the guitar had somehow come loose causing the problem. Sometimes it's NOT the sound guy's fault. ~~:smile:

I had a very similar situation a few years back with a national at their pre-show ticket winner party. One of the acoustic/electric guitars failed and I had to prove to the promoter and venue owner that my gear was not at fault before I could get paid. As it was, a couple days later we learned their guitar was to blame and the band apologized.

 

[Jeff Babcock]

Re: Acoustic guitar into passive DI

I had a very similar situation a few years back with a national at their pre-show ticket winner party. One of the acoustic/electric guitars failed and I had to prove to the promoter and venue owner that my gear was not at fault before I could get paid. As it was, a couple days later we learned their guitar was to blame and the band apologized.

Stuff like this drives me crazy. Especially when it happens on tight-timeline situations like festival shows. Flaky musician gear is irritating, and often it seems that you have to prove it is not the sound rig before some musicians will bother to start troubleshooting their own gear.

I do both live sound and recording, and as the years go by I am starting to find more pleasure in the more controlled environment of the studio where situations like this are not show stoppers and there is almost always time to troubleshoot issues. They are entirely different animals at times. Ask me in 6 months and my outlook will likely change again.....