Line out questions with keyboard/powered monitors as an amp.

Almy

Almy

Guitar Guy
For gigging and band practice I run my acoustic and electric guitars through my boss gt8 straight into a PA and then monitor from there. I've been happy with the results for a while but I've got a new problem.

Lately when playing at church I've been at the mercy of a less than stellar monitoring setup. What I would like to do is buy an inexpensive keyboard amp or powered monitor and just push my gt8 through that and then from a line out to the church's pa. My curiosity is the line out level from the keyboard amp or powered monitor. If I were to turn up the amp would that also boost the signal the soundboard gets? Can a setup be purchased that lets the line out be what the gt8 sends regardless of the volume at the amp stage?

Edit: Forgot to mention that connections at the stage level are few and far between so I'm really hoping I can get a setup where it's just my gt8 to a monitor/amp and that out to the board, meaning just one input for them.
 
In the past, I've used a direct box with a "thru" function that lets me send the line level to the board and the "thru" output to my amp.

As far as line out options, it's going to depend on the manufactuer. Some have seperate volume controls for the line out, some don't.
 
Yeah I had thought about using a DI but I'd like to minimize what I have to cart around for the setup. Glad to know there are some available that allow for a different volume on the line out. I'll just dig deeper, so far I hadn't found any that looked like they would. Thanks!
 
Almy said:
Yeah I had thought about using a DI but I'd like to minimize what I have to cart around for the setup. Glad to know there are some available that allow for a different volume on the line out. I'll just dig deeper, so far I hadn't found any that looked like they would. Thanks!
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Well, if a DI does what you want, then use a DI. A DI is very small (many are small enough to fit in your guitar case) and takes all of 5 seconds to hook up, and it gives you totally independent control of your stage and PA volumes.

That said, my bass amp has a built in DI and it has preamp and power amp volume controls. Adjusting the preamp volume affects the signal from the DI and changing the power amp volume doesn't. On amps with master volumes and line outs, the master volume usually does not affect the line out volume.
 
I was really hoping to keep things very bare bones. Especially since I don't use or want an amp. The more I look up gear though the more I may just be out of luck. I think I'll just have a buddy help me build one instead. I guess mostly I was hoping I was just missing some perfect example of a bare bones unit that would do just what I was hoping. Darn!
 
Almy said:
I was really hoping to keep things very bare bones. Especially since I don't use or want an amp. The more I look up gear though the more I may just be out of luck. I think I'll just have a buddy help me build one instead. I guess mostly I was hoping I was just missing some perfect example of a bare bones unit that would do just what I was hoping. Darn!
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Well, if you use a DI, you don't need an amp, but if you decide that you do need an amp, you just plug it into the Hi Z out of the DI without changing anything else. If you're going to the trouble of bringing an amp, then the DI is minimal, and it solves all your problems. Building something special for your purposes sounds like a lot more trouble than just getting a DI and being done with it.

But, whatever; do what works for you. You asked for advice, and that's mine.
 
I definitely appreciate it! Didn't mean to sound ungrateful. And there's a really good chance you're absolutely right. It may wind up being more trouble than it's worth. I'd just like to give it a try, rather than have to buy more than what I need.

20 bucks says I wind up just buying a DI and then some cheap amp with more stuff than I want.
 
It's okay, Champ. Take the plunge. The stuff you don't want today is the stuff you'll be using tomorrow. I've been to this rodeo before. :D
 
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