View Single Post
  #10  
Old 06-16-2011, 12:30 PM
lschwart lschwart is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 2,796
Default

Slightly different version of the advice you're getting:

Yes. All you need to play a small gig in a small, relatively quiet place is a decent amp with at least 50 watts of power (that's merely a rule of thumb because wattage itself is not always an accurate indicator of how loud an amp can actually get and how good it sounds loud). The usual suspects in the $400-$600 range are all good (the Ultrasound DS-4, the Genz Benz 60lt, the Marshall AD50D, the Fishman Loudboxes or performer amps, etc.).

You only need a DI box if you plan to got directly to the mixing board at a venue without going through your amp first. An amp like the DS-4 or the 60 LT will act as a DI box for you (you plug your guitar into the amp using a regular 1/4" instrument cable, and then connect the amp to the mixer with an XLR cord going out of one of the DI outs in the back). This has to do with the impedance match between your pickup and the PA's mixer and with something called "balancing" but a definition of these things can wait.

What several people here were suggesting is not a DI box per se, but a combination DI box and preamp. Whether or not you need one of these will depend on what sort of pickup you have in your Songbird. If it's passive, you may need an external preamp to give it enough juice to plug into a mixer so that the preamp on the mixer can send the signal to the system's power amp and then out its speakers. Again, an amp like a DS-4 or a 60 LT, etc. has a preamp in it, too, so it will act as BOTH a DI and a preamp for you. It will also send its own signal to its own internal power amp and out its own speaker (this is what happens when you use the amp at a gig as your only amplification), but it will do that AND send a signal to the PA, too, so you can also use it as a stage monitor. The master volume only effects the signal coming out of the amp's speaker and not the signal going to the PA, if you send one.

If you have a passive pickup, a separate preamp unit might also be useful for you to have even if you're using an amp like the DS-4 or 60LT, but that depends on the pickup. The sound of some is improved by a preamp even going into combo amps like these, and many DI/preamp boxes also provide other useful onstage functions like tuners, FX loops, more elaborate EQ sections, volume boost buttons, etc. It will take some experimenting to see what will be best for you.

You need to try out some amps and maybe some preamps, too, to see which is best for you. What kind of pickup do you have in your guitar?

The other suggestion is the small PA route. This has some virtues, too, although it's a more elaborate set up and more money if you want something with some quality. These also have the virtue of introducing you to how a PA works--a skill you may eventually need. Take a look at them and try a few if you can. Also consider putting your own together from a small mixer and a powered speaker. This is less convenient and might be more expensive, but can sound better if the items you buy are high quality and compatible.

And then there are the sort-of-like-a-PA/sort-of-like-an-amp options like the Fishman SoloAmp and the Bose systems, but these are going to get you up toward and then well over $1000.

In most of the gigging situations you will encounter just starting out, a good and reasonably powerful small amp is a good start that is going to be pretty portable and pretty flexible for you as you learn more about performing and about sound reinforcement. You're not going to need to haul your own PA to open mic nights, for example. A good little preamp/DI unit might also be useful, but only depending on what your pickup requires to sound its best going either though the amp or direct to a venue's PA.

Beyond that, for now all you need is a mic stand and the best vocal mic you can afford. Most of the good ones start around $100. The Shure SM58 is a classic that sounds good on a lot of voices, but the fit between voice and mic can be very variable, so you need to pick a price-range you can afford and then try lots of different mic in that range until you find one that you think sounds best for your voice.

Louis
Reply With Quote