Here's a quick demo of the Session DI I made...

[Yamaha Man]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

My question is: When using your amp, have you tried removing the Session DI and tried using your amp's tone controls to achieve a fullness of tone similar to what the Session DI gives you when it's engaged?

Regards,

SpruceTop

Yes of course I have. I've been tinkering around with the amps settings for months now... Could I get the same tone as with the Session ?? No...the Session has a sound of it's own. Like I said it's a very strong signal which delivers a very nice tone. It really brings out the best of the Marshall amp. I tried going back to the amp without the Session, but once you've heard it, you don't want to be without it. What's going to be interesting is running the Venue and Session together, then I'll really get significant tonal change, because I'll be able to shape my tone with the Venue's EQ. Add that to the Session and it should be great... I won't be able to get around to doing that until late tomorrow or Friday....

[steelvibe]

Whatever the case, the guitar playing sure is killer!

[Yamaha Man]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Whatever the case, the guitar playing sure is killer!

thanks...it is what it is....I'm not happy with the sound of the recordings though...It should sound much better....I know the Marshall amp sounds fantastic here but sounds weak in the recordings....the Lyric should also sound better but doesn't, maybe running it thru the Venue will help...for some reason I'm not capturing the rich tone I'm hearing here....maybe I'll try using different mics...

[Yamaha Man]

Okay here's a quick demo of D-35>Lyric Pickup>Venue>Session>Marshall amp>MXLV69ME mic> Sonar>Audition.....

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

It sounds fantastic here...I don't know about the recording though, maybe I need better monitors...

[Yamaha Man]

Here's something to compare the other demo's to....it's the D-35 into the MXLV69 mic...no other amplification...

I think it sounds best of all the recordings...

http://www.soundclick.com/player/sin...&q=hi&newref=1

[Yamaha Man]

So after all these demo's, what's my conclusion ?? The Session and Venue units are great for live applications but for recordings I'll stick with microphones. Maybe it's the Lyric that's giving me a mid range honk that I'm hearing...funny thing is though, I don't hear that honk when played thru the Marshall. Live in my living room sounds better then ever. I really like the sound coming out of the Marshall. But for some reason I'm having problems capturing that sound for recordings.

Oh well, thanks for listening !!

[toner]

My Martin Dreadnaught with the Lyric does sound awful with flat EQ. As soon as I cut the mids it begins to sound awesome.

[Yamaha Man]

That's odd... on one of my demo's I tried adding some EQ in Audition to see what sounded best and a 5db bump at 2k and a 2db bump at 1k and 4k is what came out on top...however on the Venue I cut the mids a little.

In all my demo's I did not add any EQ or extra compression like I would normally do for final mixing. I did boost the volume a few notches because I recorded at a low level.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac

So after all these demo's, what's my conclusion ?? The Session and Venue units are great for live applications but for recordings I'll stick with microphones. Maybe it's the Lyric that's giving me a mid range honk that I'm hearing...funny thing is though, I don't hear that honk when played thru the Marshall. Live in my living room sounds better then ever. I really like the sound coming out of the Marshall. But for some reason I'm having problems capturing that sound for recordings.

Oh well, thanks for listening !!

That "mid-range honk," as you describe it, or mid-range hollowness, as I would characterize it, is what lead me to stop using the Lyric. Although my results, even with the Venue DI, were usable, the Lyric tone retained that hollowness in two different guitars in which I had it installed: a 2012 Martin D-18, and a 2013 Taylor 518 First Edition. I'm thinking possibly the Lyric is better suited to smaller-bodied guitars with less deep resonance but maybe tone is very subjective as some folks say they've gotten good results with the Lyric in large and small guitars.

SpruceTop

[Yamaha Man]

I'm not gonna say the Lyric is bad for recording because when it's blended with a mic the combination of the two sounds really good when properly blended.

For playing thru the Marshall, I found the best sound comes with the Lyric blended with a Shure Beta 57A. However I haven't tried this blending combo with the Session yet...maybe that'll be next on the list for later tonight...I'll be too busy for a while...you know, get all this demo testing done while I have all the wiring and mics in place !!

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac

I'm not gonna say the Lyric is bad for recording because when it's blended with a mic the combination of the two sounds really good when properly blended.

For playing thru the Marshall, I found the best sound comes with the Lyric blended with a Shure Beta 57A. However I haven't tried this blending combo with the Session yet...maybe that'll be next on the list for later tonight...I'll be too busy for a while...you know, get all this demo testing done while I have all the wiring and mics in place !!

I appreciate your demo efforts and for giving us insight on your procedures!

SpruceTop

[Yamaha Man]

Well it's for my benefit too...I want to demonstrate to myself what my gear can and can't do...looking for weak links...now I need to analyze everything...

[toner]

I just recorded a song with the Session where I was singing and playing guitar running it all through my amp and with nice condenser stereo mic in front of the amp. Well....what sounded great to my ears did not sound so good when I played back the recording.

There's just no way to present a demo of the session and have someone listening through their computer speakers be able to tell whether it's a decent piece of gear or not. There are way too many variables involved from pick-up to strings and even the pick or playing style just to name a few.

If I were thinking about buying a session I would rely on peoples opinions first, then maybe try one somewhere. If anyone who lives nearby would like to come over(central VA) and take mine for a spin with your guitar and amp just let me know.

[Yamaha Man]

Yes that's what I'm thinking too, maybe that's why LR Baggs hasn't posted any demo's...I've been pulling my hair out trying to show off what I'm hearing and it just ain't happening for some reason...the closest I could come was showing the graphs that I posted earlier...if you study them you can definitely see a difference...I can sure hear a difference...

Even still I love the sound that I'm getting thru my amp with the Session and Venue !!!

[Vancebo]

Posted some early returns on another thread. Will make some more observations when I have time. I will try the Venue with the session. Should be pretty good results.

I will concur with you MM. It's hard to describe because it is subtle. I know the tone is better with it than without it. As a live performance tool, I don't know if it's a game changer. Is it going to make that much difference in your live rig. If you are already happy and think your live sound is awesome then one might not want to bother with another piece of gear. It may be worth it if your looking for an extra little something to breathe life into your live sound. If you need a DI box anyway and you are not specifically looking for EQ, there are some good useful features in this one.

If they combined the Venue and the Session, I would buy that one. I think that would be an amazing piece of gear.