Getting the best signal to FOH?

cander328

cander328

Inspired
How do you get the best signal to FOH? I am going out of output 2 to a high quality passive DI box that them goes to the board via mic input. The gain staging is just not right and I am either cranked up to 3/4 with the input trim on the board dialed all the way down or the signal distorts and gets thin. The direct signal from the Axe to my CLR sounds great out of output 1.

Is there a difference between output 1 and 2 - should I be using 1 to go to FOH? I always thought of DI boxes as taking a direct guitar level signal and getting to to mic level to go direct into a board. Is a passive DI the right thing to use or is there something that with take the line level output of the Axe and convert it to mic level that is more appropriate.


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I'm using output two for my eventide so what I'm going to do is take a feed of my speakers xlr outs. That should work very well!
 
markmusicman said:
I'm using output two for my eventide so what I'm going to do is take a feed of my speakers xlr outs. That should work very well!
Click to expand...

That would work, but it doen't give you independent levels controls for FOH and monitor.
 
I connect an XLR from FOH directly to Output 1, no DI. Works great! Output 1 is 6dB hotter than Output 2, since it's balanced.

Terry.
 
yek said:
That would work, but it doen't give you independent levels controls for FOH and monitor.
Click to expand...
Since my output 2 is tied up with an fx unit do you think iT would be better to run an xlr To the board from the back of my two frfr speakets or should I use the 2 unbalanced 1\4 outputs from output 1 to the board.
 
I use balanced XLR cables to FOH (line level input on the mixer) from Output 1 (no DI required). Output 2 goes to my Matrix GT1000fx to Q12's for monitoring or a guitar cab. I made the 30' XLR cables myself saving 2/3s of the cost. You can use the unbalanced ok You only need the balanced for an extremely long cable run that may be susceptible to picking up interference.
 
The best solution would be going into a line level input on the board. The challenge is that the board does not have line level inputs only mic inputs and the line level is over loading the input.

Question: By simply dialing back the input trim on the mixer channel is the signal to noise ratio off?


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I know you said "high quality passive DI box", but do you mind telling exactly which one. I've got a lot of experience with DIs and many aren't as great as you may think.

I think you're smart to use the DI. You can use the XLR outs as many have stated but it's easy to overdrive the mic pre in the console when it's your only way in (common). Also, on most consoles the line level input is post gain control as the gain control is part of the mic pre circuit. In that scenario the engineer wouldn't have control over the gain structure hitting the console and would be relying on you to provide the best gain structure. It's workable, but not ideal. If the console has decent mic pres then hitting it with a good passive DI is going to be the best scenario IMHO. Also, the transformer adds an extra level of protection from the phantom power circuit (not a problem in current AxeFx models but something I'm always wary of).
 
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I've just always used xlr's from output 1 and never had any noise issues! have to use output 1 since i have output 2 going to my 2 stacks.
 
Seems like the consensus is to not use a DI box and to go direct to the board via balanced XLR and have the engineer adjust the input gain to avoid overload.

Question: for those who do this going into a mic level input how low is your output set on your Axe?


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markmusicman said:
The volume can be controlled with mixer by the sound engineer.
Click to expand...

Indeed. What I meant is that when you turn up/down the volume on the Axe-Fx, the FOH is increased/decreased too.
But as your Out2 is already tied up, I see you have no choice.
 
cander328 said:
Seems like the consensus is to not use a DI box and to go direct to the board via balanced XLR and have the engineer adjust the input gain to avoid overload.

Question: for those who do this going into a mic level input how low is your output set on your Axe?

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Click to expand...

There's no fixed position, because it also depends on the preset level and global gain levels.
Just warn the soundguy that you're sending a "hot" line level signal, and adjust the level to avoid clipping the mixer.
Then adjust Input and Master on the CLR.
 
If you have only mic level inputs on the board you can reduce the output level by 12dB (!!!) on the output1/2 tab.
That with the front panel knobs will ensure you'll never clip mixer's input.
 
I forgot that it was also mentioned to have the engineer engage the pad on the channel if available.


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