Headway EDM-1 split output question

[sublro]

got a headway EDM-1 and it seems like it might be a winner. only one problem - I'd like to send the signal out of it to two places through different EQ's

1) my acoustic amp
2) the pa (powered head sits right beside me, so very short cable run)

can I just get a splitter and split the output of the headway? or will that weaken/change the signal in some way?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by sublro

got a headway EDM-1 and it seems like it might be a winner. only one problem - I'd like to send the signal out of it to two places through different EQ's

1) my acoustic amp
2) the pa (powered head sits right beside me, so very short cable run)

can I just get a splitter and split the output of the headway? or will that weaken/change the signal in some way?

[size=2]Hi subiro…

A simple passive Direct Box ($30 or less) will allow you to plug the ¼" output of the EDM-1 into it, then it will have both another ¼" output and XLR output, each balanced for the impedance of the proper input. Even the $20 one will have ground lift in it.

I use these all the time in live situations to feed my guitar preamp signal both to the PA (XLR) and a stage amp (¼"). We have half-dozen mixed brands of these and they are great when someone shows up with a keyboard and expects to plug into the PA, or a guitar without an amp who needs to connect to the PA.

Inexpensive ones do a great job without affecting the tone of your preamp. I have found zero improvement when using the $79-99 ones.

Example of $20 Direct Box - CliCk

Hope this helps…





[//size]

[sublro]

thanks Larry -

good, experienced based advice as usual... still, I hear about signal loss with "passive equipment" and really want to make sure the good effects that the headway preamp is having are passed on down the line. what do you make of this comment to similar question from a different forum?

At the low end of the price spectrum - Radial BigShot AB-Y

Two amps at once, passive, under $100, well-built, works. However, your tone from each amp will probably be different (darker or thinner) because it's a passive design. I would try to budget more to get an active splitter for studio use.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by sublro

thanks Larry -

good, experienced based advice as usual... still, I hear about signal loss with "passive equipment" and really want to make sure the good effects that the headway preamp is having are passed on down the line. what do you make of this comment to similar question from a different forum?

At the low end of the price spectrum - Radial BigShot AB-Y

Two amps at once, passive, under $100, well-built, works. However, your tone from each amp will probably be different (darker or thinner) because it's a passive design. I would try to budget more to get an active splitter for studio use.

Hi sublro…

Try a passive Direct box - it'll only cost you $20. Or buy a split cable and try that too. It's way cheaper than selling your EDM-1 to get a Headway EDB-1 or EDB-2 which already have the dual output option built in.

The original question of using a split cable is a low-tech option which might produce a lower signal output than a DI which you might notice if you plug it into an oscilloscope and compare.

A direct box has a transformer in it, is more durable, easier to wire, has more functionality, and is less likely to breakdown under actual usage. But will it sound better? Perhaps not…

Your challenge question is like asking if expensive cables are better than cheap ones. In the 'real-world' no matter if you use a split cable, or a passive or active DI, once the equipment is inserted in-line, adjusted for the small differences in the 'new' signal, it's a moot point.

If passive Direct Boxes degraded sound noticeably, I would not have been using them for the past 25 years.

It's not like we are working with gear which doesn't have gain/volume knobs and/or tone adjustment to correct for small differences (often undetectable). There is a lot more flexibility with sound gear than people will admit.

And most of us are not setting our gear up in sound-treated facilities with no external influences on the sound we're producing.

There are a lot of very workable options to get solid live sound from our guitars. There are a lot of great pickups and preamps which sound very guitar-like in real-world use.

I'm always mindful that I'm not going to spend more on the solution than I spent on the equipment itself to create differences nobody notices.

[sublro]

Excellent. Thanks.

[Andy Howell]

Originally Posted by sublro

got a headway EDM-1 and it seems like it might be a winner. only one problem - I'd like to send the signal out of it to two places through different EQ's

1) my acoustic amp
2) the pa (powered head sits right beside me, so very short cable run)

can I just get a splitter and split the output of the headway? or will that weaken/change the signal in some way?

Can you not send an un-processed signal from the Amp to the PA?

The Headway is a great piece of kit for such a small and cost effective product.

[sublro]

Originally Posted by Andy Howell

Can you not send an un-processed signal from the Amp to the PA?

The Headway is a great piece of kit for such a small and cost effective product.

I could, but given that it's a low-impedence DI out via XLR, I wouldn't be able to introduce a graphic EQ in the chain between DI out and PA channel input- i'm looking to have individual graphic eq control over the signals sent to amp and PA, as the PA has 12" speakers and a different EQ profile needed vis a vis the amp, to keep tone solid and feedback in check...

make sense?

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by sublro

I could, but given that it's a low-impedence DI out via XLR, I wouldn't be able to introduce a graphic EQ in the chain between DI out and PA channel input- i'm looking to have individual graphic eq control over the signals sent to amp and PA, as the PA has 12" speakers and a different EQ profile needed vis a vis the amp, to keep tone solid and feedback in check...

make sense?

Isn't that sort of thing better handled at the PA itself. For example, by inserting graphic EQs on the main and aux/monitor outputs?

Louis

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by sublro

I could, but given that it's a low-impedence DI out via XLR, I wouldn't be able to introduce a graphic EQ in the chain between DI out and PA channel input- i'm looking to have individual graphic eq control over the signals sent to amp and PA, as the PA has 12" speakers and a different EQ profile needed vis a vis the amp, to keep tone solid and feedback in check...

make sense?

Hi s…
Most of the venues we play have moderately high-end to actual high-end gear, and I have already made my adjustments at the preamp/blender before I send it to the house.

I'm more than happy to have them shape what I've handed off to them for the house, and I'll set my amp.

Decent live sound has gotten easier…
A dozen years ago, I ran a full rack mount side rig for my acoustic guitar. It had ⅓ octave EQ, professional compression, full rack tuner, and a single space mixer to handle multiple guitars.

Getting decent sound was work. I spent about 90 minutes getting the rigs set for gigs, and often went into those gigs still concerned about the sound.

With the advent of the better preamp/blenders, dual source systems, and better PA systems and Acoustic Amplifiers, these days I wheel in with either one or two small gear bags, and do the total setup in 10 minutes…including the soundcheck. And I don't worry about the quality in the house very often.

Anything I can do to the signal, the sound techs can undo (except extreme effects). My guitars sound as good today as they did when I drug all that gear along.

Besides, if I don't have the audience's attention in the first 30 seconds, they will pull out their cell phones and disappear. And they won't care what kind of gear I have, how 'quality' the sound is, or how long it took me to setup.

And if you do have their attention, they still don't care about the 'quality' of the sound in the room…unless it's absolutely horrid (and I've even seen audiences endure horrid sound when the music/artist is great). They just want to hear good music.

Anything I do in the way of sound is for me, and the only thing I have control over is what's coming out of my stage amp or my in-ear system.