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May 2007
Posts: 166
Location: Veedersburg, Indiana | I have a question for the knowledgeable members of this forum. This morning I was going to play in church and plugged my guitar (not one of the round backs or Tak) into a direct box, which in turn was connected directly to the control/mixer board. The pickup in the guitar is a passive system, so obviously, no batter included. This systems works great on my little practice amp at home. Today in church - nothing! No signal at all on the mixer. Ended up having to use a friend's ******. My question is - why didn't my guitar work thru the direct box to the mixer? Any help/suggestions is appreciated. Thanks |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The problem is the lack of a preamp. A direct box converts standard high-impedance outputs so the can be handled by a low impedance input. A passive piezo pickup has an extremely high output impedance, much higher than the input impedance of most DI boxes, so as a result the DI box can't do what it's supposed to do. You need a preamp. The term "preamp" is misleading. In terms of acoustic pickups a preamp's main purpose is to impedance-match the output of the piezo pickup so it will work with most amp or mixer inputs regardless of whether a DI box is in the equation. |
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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 270
Location: Yorkshire, England | There could be a problem with the direct box, or:
Were all the leads OK ?
Does the guitar still work with your amp at home ?
Could you try the guitar straight into the mixer to make sure it's ok ?
Has something happened to your guitar in transit between home and church ? (Has it been knocked)
Are you sure the mixer chanel you plugged into was turned up ?
If you have volume control on the guitar, was it turned up enough ?
Some obvious questions maybe but, similar things have happened to me. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Yeah, there could have been a fault, but either way you won't get anything approaching an acceptable sound from a passive piezo pickup into pro equipment. |
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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 270
Location: Yorkshire, England | Before we all start to get too complicated, you should produce at least SOME response from the guitar when plugged into an amp or directly injected into a desk.
Check that out first. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | agreed |
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Joined:
May 2007
Posts: 166
Location: Veedersburg, Indiana | Thanks for all the responses. In response to Cpt Black: The leads were fine (used the same cable on each guitar), Worked just fine at home on my small amp after, and yes, the volume was turned up. I think probably Paul hit it on the head - lack of pre-amp (I told my wife this very thing this afternoon). I guess in the future when using this particular guitar, I'll be sure to plug into an amp first to run the sound. Again, thanks for the replies. I do appreciate the knowledge and your willingness to share. Isn't this a great place!!!! |
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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 270
Location: Yorkshire, England | Hi Alan - Pleased you got it sorted ! |
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Question About Pick-ups
