Mixer going to Guitaramps which are used as PA, Impedance question!!

[timmerman]

Hi there,

Now before everyone here tells me not to try this trick let me explain what my question is about.

Using a mixer for vcls, gtr. and bass. Both outputs of mixer are sent to two guitaramps.

Yes I know there is loss of quality of sound, but it still works and that is the idea.

Now thinking about it, the impedance of the output of the mixer is different from the impedance of a instrumentinput on a guitaramp. A bit like the High Z and Low Z with direct boxes but then different. I have been told that I could use a box the change the signallevel of the mixer so that it will be right for the level of a guitaramp, but not sure what such a box is called.

Been quoted a price for such a box, but the price does not make one happy.

So perhaps anyone of you could give me some alternatives of how I could approach this issue.

Please do not tell me to buy a PA system as this would solve the whole issue, I am well aware of that, but there must be other ways as well.

So far been using this set-up for small gigs where volume is more an issue than the quality of your sound. Yes I know the guitars have lost a little of their brigthness, bass sounded fine, same for vcls.

Thanks for your input,

 

[Farview]

YOu just need to use passive direct boxes backwards. You will need an xlr adapter to plug the output of the mixer into the xlr of the DI box. Take an instrument cable and plug the DI into the guitar amps.

Truthfully, impedance mismatches are really the least of your problems in this setup, but this will work.

 

[timmerman]

Thanks Farview for the idea with the DI boxes, will try it and see how it sounds.

Cheers.

 

[treymonfauntre]

there are (i believe active) boxes called reamps that are made for this, but the price might not make you happy.

 

[mshilarious]

I don't think you are losing highs necessarily because of the impedance mismatch, although that is possible. You just have to consider that the woofers in guitar amps produce almost nothing above 8kHz, because they aren't designed to, because they don't need to, because electric guitars don't.

So it might be entirely possible that you could "fix" your impedance mismatch problem from a theoretical standpoint, and still have a dull sounding PA.

 

[timmerman]

there are (i believe active) boxes called reamps that are made for this, but the price might not make you happy.

Seem to remember that people in the store talked about a similar box, and yes, very expensive. For the price of one of them I might as well get a small PA system.

Cheers

 

[timmerman]

I don't think you are losing highs necessarily because of the impedance mismatch, although that is possible. You just have to consider that the woofers in guitar amps produce almost nothing above 8kHz, because they aren't designed to, because they don't need to, because electric guitars don't.

So it might be entirely possible that you could "fix" your impedance mismatch problem from a theoretical standpoint, and still have a dull sounding PA.

You are probably right, and in time I hope to get a small PA system, but for the time being will improvise a little and just get by.

Thanks