DI input on a harp amp?
Hi David,
I have an amp coming my way and it has a DI input. Not something I was looking for specially but it's there.
Anyway I don't recall this mentioned in the many videos on amps. Could you share any thoughts on this and the potential use of this feature?
Andrew
Hi Andrew.
What’s the make and model of the amp?
Without that info, and like David, my knee-jerk would be to wonder if what you had was really a line out... just because those are more common. However, there are some amplifiers with direct inject inputs where you can connect a low impedance microphone, or a line level signal depending on the gain staging of the input. These inputs can also be labelled something like Lo-Z or Mic/Line.
I think that would be a nice feature to have on a newly-designed, dedicated harp amp considering all of the the modern low impedance microphones available for harmonica. And with a line out as well… that would be way cool!
For those that like a lot of options and might use the same amp live, for home practice and for recording, it would eliminate the need for several aftermarket items: impedance matching transformer, power soak, and reamp. That’s a lot of dough….
Thanks for all the information.
Looking at some information I have it looks like I described it incorrectly. It is a 'Line Out DI'.
The amp is a 1950's Stromberg-Carlson 20 that was rebuilt by Dale Laslie with his WEZO ME-18 circut.
You can see pictures and a description of some of its features on his FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1053112864746683.1073741915.12...
Thanks again for any additional clarification.
This is so you can send a signal to the board (house mixing console or recording console) with a standard instrument cable instead of using a microphone in front of your speaker. This is a good option if you are lacking an extra microphone at a show, but we generally prefer to mic the amp so that we get the head, cabinet and speaker sound summed.
mystery solved. Thanks!
Looks like a great amp, with a lot of cool "extra" features like an aux in, line out, hi/low inputs, and speaker impedance switching!
(even if it aint got a low-z input...)
;-)
Enjoy!
Hello Andrew. A DI "unit" is a device typically used in recording studios to connect a high-impedance, line level, unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance microphone level balanced input, usually via XLR connector. DIs are frequently used to connect an electric guitar or electric bass to a mixing console's microphone input. I have not heard of a "DI input" on an amp. I'll drop a note to professor John Shirley and see if he has any input for you (pun intended :-)