Which di box (active or passive) for my application?

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gee1111

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im plugging an acoustic guitar with batteried pickup into di box, into firewire solo interface, into laptop/daw. please inform me..active or passive di

also do i need to run from the xlr di output to the xlr mic input of the interface, or can i use a xlr to jack cable and connect from xlr di output to jack guitar input of the interface?

much obliged

gee
 
The xlr output on the guitar is designed to go right into the xlr Mic input on the interface. The guitar basically has a built in Di box, so you dint need anything but a Mic cable.
 
thx for your response Farview...im a bit confused by "xlr output on the guitar". the xlr ouput im referring to is the output of the di box...so is this designed to go to xlr mic input of interface. also (second part of question) is it pos to go from xlr output to guitar jack input of interface. i ask this as it might be useful for the recording procedure.

a di box has been suggested/recommended by tech support of the daw im using because im getting a poor guitar sound quality. perhaps you are suggesting this may be resolved if i connect from guitar output straight to xlr mic input on interface...i.e. a jack to xlr cable?

thx
gee
 
Sorry, I got confused with your post. Some guitars have an XLR output.

Anyway, You would use a 1/4 guitar cable to go to a direct box (in your case, active or passive doesn't make a difference), then go XLR out of the DI to the XLR mic input of your interface.

The DI box takes a line or instrument signal and turns it into a mic signal, so you plug it into a mic preamp.
 
p.s. could you also answer the other part?...i.e. alternatively, can i go DI XLR output to guitar 1/4 jack input of the interface?
thx
gee
 
No. but you could try just plugging the guitar into it with a guitar cable.
 
yes ive done that, which is where the poor sound started. If I cant go di XLR to interface guitar input it just means I cant sing and play guitar at the same time...which is an option i wanted.
thx for your help
gee
 
You only have one xlr input?

Now, those acoustic pickups have a goofy sound to them. They do not sound natural at all. The sound you were getting just plugging it in is probably just what it sounds like. Thin and plasic-y.
 
yes only one xlr input labelled "mic"

no...i know it's always beter mic-ed up but i usually get a much beter sound with the pickup (at gigs for eg.)and for now it is a compromise i probably have to make (i.e. using pickup). But it is a Guild 12 string with a fishman pickup. There is clearly something not right and, as i said, i was advised by tech support of the daw (Samplitude Silver) to use a DI box...so im still wondering if i could have the option of DI XLR to Interface guitar jack input. Is this a definate "no" ?
 
p.s. oh, by the way i dont get much beter a sound when i mic up with this hardware/software :)
 
The problem you will run into is that a Mic signal is much quieter than the instrument input expects to see. You won't have enough gain to get a good level.

Are there any other inputs on your interface?
 
What do you connect to at gigs where you get the better sound?

Are you using the instrument or microphone input on the interface and getting a bad sound?

Another type of DI is meant to match the high impedance of a (passive) guitar pickup to the low impedance of a microphone input. If that is what your tech support is recommending, then no, you can't use that with the instrument input, there isn't enough gain. That doesn't seem necessary with an active pickup.

I'm assuming you're plugging the guitar into the guitar input on the front? Does your amp have a preamp output? (Some amps have these, for line level effects) You could try that in between your guitar and the interface

As for active or passive DI, they going to be two means to the same end, passive generally with a transformer, so like most things is a matter of taste.
 
My son has a Turner acoustic with a Fishman active pickup system. That sounds quite good straight into the line input of our A&H zed10 mixer(he prefers the micc'ed up sound, with SM57 no less! But time of day and noises off often preclude this) .

If that guitar sounds really poor into the guitar (i/p2) jack on the AI it could be a fault in the Fishman amp or that the AI is colouring the sound in some way. Have you tried the line 2 input on the back of the AI? That SHOULD be flat!

An alternative is to run the guitar into an EQ pedal first such as the BOSS GE-7. This will give you some shaping and if needed about a 10dB (x3) gain boost.

Guitar DI boxes really have two main purposes. They allow a passive (usually solid electric) guitar's pickup to see a reasonably high impedance whilst presenting a low impedance feed to a mic input at mic level. They are also used to get unbalanced sources, guitars, keys, off stage on long mic lines. The passive DIs also tend to add "attitude" especially the cheaper ones. Active boxes shouldn't but often players have their favourites!

Bottom line: A guitar with a good quality active pickup system should not need a DI or special inputs.

Dave.
 
Hey Dave!
After deliberation/consoltation I went ahead last night and ordered a passive DI so for now Im hoping the tech support man is right. The fishman could be faulty i guess. I get a good vioce sound through the same AI (i presume that is audio interface) so hopefully that means it's ok. if this DI doesnt work for me I will check the fishman elsewhere..then maybe try the eq. will let you know as it's becoming an interesting "who dun it".

Thanks for the input Blue Jinn
 
Hi Dave. You were right about the di box which didnt work but I have found a good sounding set up by placing the mic in the centre and high in larger room...so i have a sound i can work with.
Wondering if you are familiar with Samplitude 11 Silver because every now and then i encounter a small problem on how to operate it. Getting info from the tech support has now become very cumbersome as they want you to run a lengthly test with specific software and then fill out a form etc etc. I cant get much from the manual
Can you perhaps answer these 2:
1. I cant seem to configure it so the click track operates during recording (which is what it's for I would have thought.) It does operates for playback. If you have it can you see if you can get a record click?
2. i read something about the diff between this daw and it's upgrade and it said something about cd's which has left me slightly concerned that there is no way to create a cd with my finished product with silver (the free one). Can you confirm that this isnt the case?
 
gee1111 said:
Hi Dave. You were right about the di box which didnt work but I have found a good sounding set up by placing the mic in the centre and high in larger room...so i have a sound i can work with.
Wondering if you are familiar with Samplitude 11 Silver because every now and then i encounter a small problem on how to operate it. Getting info from the tech support has now become very cumbersome as they want you to run a lengthly test with specific software and then fill out a form etc etc. I cant get much from the manual
Can you perhaps answer these 2:
1. I cant seem to configure it so the click track operates during recording (which is what it's for I would have thought.) It does operates for playback. If you have it can you see if you can get a record click?
2. i read something about the diff between this daw and it's upgrade and it said something about cd's which has left me slightly concerned that there is no way to create a cd with my finished product with silver (the free one). Can you confirm that this isnt the case?
Click to expand...

Metronome: Click "Tempo" on the top bar and you get a menu. Select for play, record or both. You can also set the level.

CD: Burning is not supported in Silver but there is shedloads of free CD burning software about. You have it in Win 7 anyway. Just export the song you want as .wav (16bits and 44.1kHz) . I usually just stick them on the desktop protem.

I still use Nero 6 which came with the first CD burner I ever bought! No doubt peeps will say there is better now but we don't burn a lot of CDs these days. Whatever software you use make sure "Normalization" is OFF!

Magix support? Yes, get crappier. I have been trying for 3 weeks to get Sam Silver activated on a laptop I have bought my son. I have had many very friendly email exchanges with "Ralf" but he does not seem to be able to help me!

Dave.
 
thx for that Dave. Ive got the met working although following your instruction wasnt enough in itself. i wouldnt work untill i put 99 in the box called "precount for recording" I use 99 coz when it was 0 the click didnt work. i changed it to 4 but then it only worked for a very short time. beats me what's going on...cosmic pun init
 
Dave can help me with exporting? I want to export audio tracks to my laptop and then send them to a few people by email. I did one by going to file/export/wav...and it went to me docoments. but 2 things 1. when i played the piece on windows media player or vlc it was very soft with all vol controls on max 2. my email would not attach it. got as far as "uploading" but never actaully did it.
 
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