portable PA question

[Gullplayer]

If using a portable PA system like a Bose, Fishman, or JBL, is it necessary to run the acoustic guitar through DI to match impedance like it would if you ran used a house PA system? Or can you just plug directly into these portable systems and sound fine?

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Gullplayer

If using a portable PA system like a Bose, Fishman, or JBL, is it necessary to run the acoustic guitar through DI to match impedance like it would if you ran used a house PA system? Or can you just plug directly into these portable systems and sound fine?

Plug-in directly, although a small, outboard mixer plugged into one of a small PA's inputs will give you more input options such as more inputs for instruments and vocals and more comprehensive EQ and Effects. In the case of the JBL EON ONE, a small outboard mixer or preamp will enable an increase in the gain of your instrument before it enters the JBL's somewhat anemic instrument-input's gain structure.

[Captain Jim]

Originally Posted by Gullplayer

If using a portable PA system like a Bose, Fishman, or JBL, is it necessary to run the acoustic guitar through DI to match impedance like it would if you ran used a house PA system? Or can you just plug directly into these portable systems and sound fine?

I think it depends on what you are using for a pickup on the guitar. With passive pickups (the K&K is popular around here), you will likely need a DI or something that allows more EQ, compared to an active pickup. I use almost all active pickups with the guitars that I use with my Bose L1C, and they sound fine.

With the LR Baggs Element, it is nice to have some additional EQ, but no need for any lift. With others that I use (Taylor ESv1.3 and v2, B-Band, Fishman Prefix+T), the EQ on the guitar is enough.

If you can, it would be best to try the guitar(s) with the specific PA.

[Methos1979]

Most portable PA's I've dealt with have very basic inputs, usually only 2 inputs (a third being Bluetooth or 1/4" input for a mp3 player of some type) and very limited EQ and tone control options. Unlike a dedicated acoustic amp which typically has a lot more EQ and effects options, the 'naked' portable PA's seem to offer only barebones inputs.

That said, you can get away with that minimal input with a little bit of extras. If you're guitar has an active pickup system with some onboard EQ options then you can squeak by with that. In my case as someone with guitars that have K&K pickups I need at a minimum my little belt clip K&K preamp. Same with vocals. If the portable PA has at least a little bit of reverb and EQ you can get away with just a mic.

We recently bought one of the Bose S1 Pro systems. I can get by with just my guitar, the K&K preamp and a mic because the Bose has onboard reverb, high/low EQ and a little bit of their ToneMatch technology in the form of a three-position switch for flat, guitar or vocals. We can get by and get a decent tone with just the guitar (with preamp), a mic and the Bose. Makes for an excellent sound source with minimal carry/footprint.

But since our typical gig requires a second mic for me we run through a small mixer and a few other toys which gives us much better control over our overall tone. I've got a review for this system below (click link in sig) along with a video that demos the Bose with the mixer set up and then also with just naked guitar (with and without preamp) and mic. Other portable PA's I've tried (Bose L1C and Harbinger line arrays) have been pretty much the same.

[M Hayden]

I’d suggest using a DI, because small portable PA heads often don’t have great preamp sections. With a preamp/DI like a Baggs PADI or Fishman Platinum, you can dial in your sound a bit better, and you’re not at the mercy of the sometimes limited EQ of the PA.

[varmonter]

if this is your pa i would just experiment.
i for one would never plug directly into
any pa with an acoustic guitar. not even an amp.But i am fussy
about my sound. generally there is a huge
impedance issue and never enough eq on the
board/amp to overcome .. so i at a very minimum
would use a di. better to use a preamp with
some eq and xlr outs. Just gives you a jump on tone and headroom.
plus your limited in how far you can be from the plug in point.
with hi z your signal degradation increases exponentially
with distance. so your 10 ft guitar cord limits you.

[martingitdave]

The answer is specific to each model. If the unit has controls with settings for acoustic guitar (usually a switch or icon on the mixer section) then it should provide a high input impedance. Fishman products, the Bose compact, and many others include this. However, some of the units do not. These will cause some consternation when plugging in directly, with some pickups. Most active pickups in acoustic guitars are fine with low input impedance. Most passive pickups need between 1 Mohm and 10 Mohm. It's a good idea to read the technical specifications for an amplification product before you buy it. They are all slightly different.

[Foss38]

Originally Posted by Gullplayer

If using a portable PA system like a Bose, Fishman, or JBL, is it necessary to run the acoustic guitar through DI to match impedance like it would if you ran used a house PA system? Or can you just plug directly into these portable systems and sound fine?

The Maui 11 G2 has a Hi-Z input for guitar. The Maui sounds pristine.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-a...lumn-pa-system
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