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"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Nope, not as good as micd amp (especially now I've got the mic in a good spot) but it's a good way of getting ideas down.
As you're aware more than most, the difference between say, a Ragin' Cajun and a Jensen P10R at gigging volume is night and day, not just a matter of broad frequency changes and can't be replicated at the desk, unless you have a very special knob indeed.
Half of your own posts on here are speaker-related, does say, the V30 work well with that amp, is that Eminence too shouty, or does the bottom end on this Jensen mush out?
Why bother with all that palaver if you just intend to bypass the whole lot with a 50 quid box the minute you're in front of a paying audience?
I don't buy the "Mics are always in the way and I won't trip over a DI box" argument either, half the guys on here gig with pedalboards so long they have a Burger King halfway along them, so a little cab mic looped through the amp handle isn't going to cramp the throwing-of-shapes-while-making-a-pouty-face action too much.
I used to have a Diago Tourman completely filled with individual pedals, and a Musicomlabs EFXII. It lasted four gigs before I got pissed off with the weight and complexity. Also had the added bonus of making me feel like a jukebox rather than a musician! There was no challenge to the playing. Anyways... that's all off-piste.
I think microphones make such a massive difference to the live sound. Unfortunately in the kinds of venues we play, most of PA's are shit... so you're fighting a losing battle whether you mic it up or DI it. You're way better just focusing on the drums for microphones and letting the amps do their damn job. A 4x12 and a 100-watt amp fills a room very nicely. Yes... the people at the front are going to have a different sound to the people at the back. It's called LIVE MUSIC!
I do think it's important to start with the best sound you can, which you can spend a lot of time and effort on, but once you've done that, in the average live venue the difference between a (speaker emulating) DI box and a mic is not worth worrying about. And the DI box is definitely easier to set up and less of a nuisance on stage.
It's not a contradiction.
If you're playing Wembley with a pro crew and a state of the art PA, different story again.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I play mainly small venues with my own Mackie PA and monitors, with an amp set just a little over "home" volume, and actually like the flexibility mics give me.
Granted, the brand of mic is not hugely important to me above a reasonable quality level, but placement is everything and is far from subtle or "studio only".
For example in a quiet gig with a sparse mix moving the mic away from the centre of the speaker cone "softens" the sound and reduces the attack in a way I could never hope to replicate with my little mixer's EQ.
DI boxes with emulated outs are great, they're convenient and they really are more consistent than a mic, and in a loud pub band I won't hesitate to use them.
Remember though, one man's consistency is another's lack of flexibility - a single pickup guitar with no volume or tone pots is consistent night after night, but I certainly wouldn't want one.
I have seen protest the hero, intervals and other techy bands loads, and they all use axe FX. It sounds great, and protest are one of the best bands I've heard live.
Then I see trivium, and they've got cranked 6505+s and bugger me if that's not the best live gig ever. Yes, sound is less consistent - but it's good across the board, just different kinds of good, with one or two bad spots.
They mic up, too, because the venues are big but you can really hear the amps, too - it's an incredible experience.
They're running Kempers direct last I heard.
The times I'm referring to are when shogun came out, then the in waves tour (I think they switched during this one). I've seen them at least ten times, only times I noticed no back line was in London last year and download. I think London was last year anyway.
Most times I've seen them were in 1000-2000 people venues and sporting the stacks. Best gig was at Uea Norwich - crikey, loudest thing I've heard, and an amazing gig. Corey met me before the show and let me have a go through his rig
I'm not entirely sure these decisions are being made because they necessarily sound better (or worse). They're obviously good enough to do the job. Maybe more importantly, they're light enough to make the gig affordable?
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein