wycome5 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I have a small gig next Thursday for which the artist has requested a DI Box. The mixing desk is onstage (about 1m from where the artist will stand). The venue technician/barman has insisted that the jack from the guitar can go straight into the desk and a DI box is not required. Is this the case? Apologies if this is really obvious but Google was not my friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfrog Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Yes, It can - But it's always preferable to use a DI Box if you have one handy. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Depends on the desk, but 98% yes, you'll get away without a DI box for a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundo26 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 The guitar lead can be plugged into the desk but the artist may want to link out to his amp or have another good reason for one so if he has asked for a DI you should supply it, if you don't have one, it's a good opportunity to get one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I'd say it depends on the guitar, not the desk. If the guitar has an internal preamp (if you're not sure, look for a battery compartment) then you'll be fine plugging straight in to the desk with a short lead. If it's just a passive pickup, it needs to see a higher impedance than the line input on the desk will present, so a DI is necessary. It'll make a noise without, but it may not be all that pleasant (although if it's just a piezo pickup, it won't be all that pleasant anyway!) I tend to use DIs as a matter of course, regardless of where the desk is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolley1466 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I wouldn't use a DI box in this situation, all it does is converts the signal into a balanced XLR out. For some reason people think it will make it sound better? When I had my first few gigs I put a guitar straight into the line input and it doesn't really sound any different to a DI. I only use DI boxes now because I have to send it down a long multicore :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 That's not all it does. From Wikipedia: A DI unit, DI box, Direct Box or simply DI is an electronic device that connects a high impedance line level signal that has an unbalanced output to a low impedance mic level balanced input, usually via XLR connector. DIs are frequently used to connect an electric guitar or electric bass to a mixing console's microphone input. The DI performs level matching, balancing, and either active buffering or passive impedance bridging to minimise noise, distortion, and ground loops. DIs do not perform impedance matching. When I had my first few gigs I put a guitar straight into the line input and it doesn't really sound any different to a DI. I only use DI boxes now because I have to send it down a long multicoreMy, how experienced you seem to be at the ripe old age of 17... guess you already know all there is to know, right? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolley1466 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 That's not all it does. From Wikipedia:The DI performs level matching, balancing, and either active buffering or passive impedance bridging to minimise noise, distortion, and ground loops. DIs do not perform impedance matching. And that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmills Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 The DI performs level matching, balancing, and either active buffering or passive impedance bridging to minimise noise, distortion, and ground loops. DIs do not perform impedance matching.And that.... Which means exactly what it says! Nobody uses matched impedance (power transfer) coupling in audio any more. That is not equivalent to saying that a DI may not perform an impedance transformation, and indeed most do. A typical (active) example in instrument mode will have Zin be somewhere between 100K and a meg, and Zout will be of the order of a few hundred ohms, for a passive example you might be looking at an impedance transformation of say 100 times. which into a typical mic input stage (say 2K2) would give you around 250K at the input (in parallel with whatever the winding capacitance is), and would attenuate the voltage by ten times. A typical line input on a cheap desk will manage maybe 10Kohms input impedance by comparison. And, yes for guitar (especially piezo pickups) it matters. Regards, Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 When you say you're connecting a guitar into a desk..do you mean a guitar pickup..or a guitar and its amplifier? (guitar amp heads have the output at speaker level for connection to a suitable speaker..and combo amps have a speaker out/in jack jumper). If it's just the guitar on its own, go right ahead, if it's the guitar plus amp..a DI box is necessary unless you have a very modern amp in which case they usually have a line-level output as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 The guitar lead can be plugged into the desk but the artist may want to link out to his amp or have another good reason for one so if he has asked for a DI you should supply it, if you don't have one, it's a good opportunity to get one! - my bold. This says pretty much everything. Yes, you can sometimes get away with it but WHY? the DI100, the Studio spares models, and various others around the same price are great value for money. If you have a bit more to spend have a look at the KT DN100, a personal favourite of mine for general use. If you rarely need one then I'd consider either purchasing a value for money model or hiring one from a local company if it makes practical sense. For example, if someone who lived 5 or 6 miles from me used a DI box say, 10 times per year, they'd hire a DN100 from me at £1 per day rather than buying one at £90-£100. It is all irrelevant anyway, you NEED a DI box because it has been requested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wycome5 Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 Appreciate we would normally supply one as it has been requested but neither myself or the artists management were sure what to do as the sound desk was very close and the barman was convinced it wasn't required. We are just coming straight from the guitar pickup. Due to the mixed opinions I think I will get one just incase. It's a sold out gig after all so a couple of quid won't break the bank! The artist is Mitch Benn at F&M Bar in Northampton on Thursday 26th Feb if anyone's interested. PM if you want full details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lee Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I'm glad you decided to supply it, after all, the artist has requested it so you should supply it, simple. "the barman was convinced it wasn't required." is not a good reason to not supply what is on the rider. He may be right, but it is the artist on stage and going to suffer the heckles if it goes tits up so give him what he wants. Mitch Benn is very funny on the Radio - should be a good gig. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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