Direct Box Question

[Monkus]

In our church band I fill the arranger, player. soundguy, teacher roles (who doesn't?). We have a bunch of acoustic guitar players of varying levels so I put who I can on DI boxes and split the signal so they are monitoring with their small amps on stage and get a clean signal to the board which I fill out a little with some reverb or delay with an effects processor on the mixer side. Cool. I just had the idea to put a reverb or delay pedal before the DI.

1. Tips?
2. Will it be mush?
3. Suggestions?

The reason is we'll be playing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and Canon in D entirely acoustic. Canon is overdone...I know, but its an easy arrangement

 

[Eric]

Why does the playing of those songs require wet effects ('verb, delay) before the DI box?

I wouldn't think it would matter too much, so long as you're not adding in more too much more reverb or delay at the mixer -- I think that could turn sloppy really quickly. Really, the only concerns I'd have would be

1) The signal level coming out of the pedal. I think the pedal output and the acoustic output should both be line level, but I feel like I've had bad luck with low voltages coming out of pedals and going directly to FOH in the past.
2) The gain stages / pre-amps the delay would pass through. You're not going to intentionally add any color to it, but sometimes passing through a bunch of circuitry in a mixer can change things, just because you're re-amplifying so many times (I think). You might want to watch the EQ to make sure the sound stays tight.

Fair warning: I might sound like I know what I'm talking about, but this is almost all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt. Good luck with it -- running stuff at a church isn't exactly easy.

 

[Monkus]

Thinking of not using any at the mixer at all and instructions to the kids not to mess with the pedal levels. I like the natural reverb of the church and the subtlety of a slight effect on the acoustic guitar. I always use reverb subtly. Bearing in mind I'm thinking aloud via posting.

 

[Eric]

Thinking of not using any at the mixer at all and instructions to the kids not to mess with the pedal levels. I like the natural reverb of the church and the subtlety of a slight effect on the acoustic guitar. I always use reverb subtly. Bearing in mind I'm thinking aloud via posting.

So they'd be amplified by their monitors, or not at all? I feel like I'm completely misunderstanding your question -- sorry.

 

[Monkus]

the DI splits the signal (thru) allowing one feed to go to their (small) amps on stage. The other feed goes to the mixer to Church speakers. I let them monitor through their amps, i.e. they don't monitor thru the wedges. So thinking of doing away with the reverb at the mixer side and using reverb pedals before the DI. If that makes any sense. Is that clearer?

 

[NWBasser]

the DI splits the signal (thru) allowing one feed to go to their (small) amps on stage. The other feed goes to the mixer to Church speakers. I let them monitor through their amps, i.e. they don't monitor thru the wedges. So thinking of doing away with the reverb at the mixer side and using reverb pedals before the DI. If that makes any sense.

I would suggest keeping the reverb at the mixer and adjusting the level for the room from that point. As I see it, the problem with having a pre-DI unit is that the level would be adjusted by the player for their own listening position which may or may not work so well for the overall room.

 

[Eric]

Ah, I misread your previous post. I thought you said you were not going to use the mixer at all (as in not even routing the acoustics to the mixer). If that was the case, I was wondering why you were even using a DI box!

I think roughly the same comments apply. As long as you test it out to make sure that you're not making it sound crappy by having it so early in the chain, and adjusting EQ accordingly, it seems like it should be fine. NWB's point is fair, but you mentioned that you wouldn't let them mess with the pedals, so I would think that wouldn't be a problem.

Are you just experimenting, or does your change have something to do with the songs you will be playing?

 

[Monkus]

Just experimenting, I had never seen that done before and was wondering why. Seems like the fubar potential is infinite. I tend only to use effects on solo instruments and very subtly. My rule of thumb is to set it where i like it then turn it down a notch. Thanks for the replies though, been informative.

 

[AudioWonderland]

the DI splits the signal (thru) allowing one feed to go to their (small) amps on stage. The other feed goes to the mixer to Church speakers. I let them monitor through their amps, i.e. they don't monitor thru the wedges. So thinking of doing away with the reverb at the mixer side and using reverb pedals before the DI. If that makes any sense. Is that clearer?

I understand you fine and I would have to say there is no way you should be doing that. What purpose does it serve? Leave the control of the effects at the mixer where they belong in this case