Is it a splitter that I need?

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:48 pm

I use direct boxes and different ways to split guitar all the time and usually it works fine. However, my understanding is that a guitar amps input will put a certain load on the guitars pickups, and changing that load can change the tone of the guitar.
I think there are some high priced boxes that allow you to do this correctly, but like I said, I just use regular direct boxes all the time.
I did have a situation recording live where a direct box completely ruined the tone of an acoustic guitar and had to resort to micing the acoustic amp.

MarkG

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:13 pm

thats is my understanding too. The output of a GTR is high impedence, unless it has an active pick up.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:51 pm

Something to me doesn't seem right about the concept of an "acoustic guitar amp".

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:43 pm

nor micing an acoustic gtr amp! lol

Oh to have enough isolation rooms

Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:15 am

Next we know, singers will have 1/4" line outs in their neck and we'll be putting SM57s onto the "Behringer Vocal Amp".

Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:00 am

Keep in mind I said "live" band. If you are hired to record a live band and when you get there you find out that the "best" way to record a particular instrument does not work due to an odd wiring problem, you need to be able to think fast and set up something that works AND does not throw the band for a loop, sound wise.
I could have stood my ground and insisted that he not use his amp, but I belong to an unusual breed of engineers who think that the performance is more important than being technically correct.
By the way, when you plug an acoustic guitar into a mixing board and then into a power amp which is connected to speakers, you have just constructed an "Acoustic Guitar Amplifier".
I know it seems odd, but the crazy people at Fishman have put a mixer, amp and speaker in a box called it an Acoustic Instument Amplifier.

MarkG

Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:30 am

Yeah, more pointing out how stupid it sounds to call something acoustic and talk about using electronics to make it louder.

This is why I like being tied to the Church band - same folks, same gear, generally the same place. You get to learn what to expect from people, instruments and what to do to each part.
Familiarity ==> good.
Except when we went to another Church and suddenly I found more ground issues than I ever knew existed.
We're going back there in May actually...note to self: Get DIs before then.

Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:57 pm

oops, I apologize for my bad memory. I went back and listened to the tracks from that session and realized that we must have taken a line out because it was obviously not miced.
However, that does not change the point of my post. When the acoustic was plugged into the direct box then into the amp, the tone was altered significantly.
My understanding is that the sound of a guitars pickups can be changed by impedence similar to how you can change the sound of a mic when using a preamp with variable impedence. The more load there is, the more high end you lose.
I hope some pros will weigh in on this soon since I am sure that there are a lot of people recording guitar direct, and not realizing that they may be sacrificing some tone in doing so.

MarkG

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