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Old 12-09-2018, 08:23 AM
Mr Bojangles Mr Bojangles is offline
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Default Behringer AD121 V-Tone Pre-amp / DI box

I need a pre-amp for my acoustic guitar. It has a K&K Pure Mini installed, and I am new to acoustic/electrics. Right now I'm running the guitar directly into my mixing board, and I want to improve the sound. I've been looking at different pre-amps, and spotted this Behringer for $29.99. It has both XLR and 1/4" outs, plus level and blend and a ground lift, along with bass, mid, and treble controls. I was thinking that this would be a good way to initiate myself into the world of acoustic pre-amplification without bending the budget. Some of the other pre-amps that I've been considering are 10 times the price. Is this Behringer a total waist of money, or will it serve the purpose and improve my sound quality?
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:32 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is online now
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It is a very good product. There are so many good and expensive preamp options with strong proponents that we forget that a basic preamp is a very simple circuit that can be manufactured extremely inexpensively (a product like a RedEye would also be $29 if Behringer cloned it) with some compromises to the physical design and a plan for making a lot of them.
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:59 AM
Mr Bojangles Mr Bojangles is offline
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Thanks, I think I'll try one.
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Old 12-09-2018, 10:32 AM
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I have been doing some research into amplification, digital interfaces, and recording gear lately and the research I've done indicates that while Behringer gets a bad rap / negative reviews on some of their products, other things they offer are very well received.

This appears to be one of the latter.
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Old 12-09-2018, 01:02 PM
JakeStone JakeStone is offline
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Good unit and great value.. bought mine a couple years ago.
Hard to beat for under $30 bucks
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Old 12-09-2018, 04:08 PM
CASD57 CASD57 is offline
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Mine works as it was intended and I'm happy with it...
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Old 12-09-2018, 04:31 PM
jricc jricc is offline
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Agree with all the comments above. A good piece of gear for not a lot of money.
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Old 12-09-2018, 04:35 PM
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Hi Mr. B

I have high end preamps, and midline, and a Behringer ADi21.

They all do a good job of tone shaping and preamplifying the signal of passive pickups…and my ADI21 is one I haul in a gear bag for people who show up with a passive pickup and no preamp.

If you step on the button to turn it on, and just crank the blend all the way up (that means you are hearing the preamp-ed signal via the outputs), you're good to go. So set the volume and go.

Three way tone with sweepable mids, simultaneously use ¼" out and XLR out, and there is a ground lift switch.

It is a plastic cased unit which can use a battery, or a wall wart (I always use batteries to avoid line noise). Simple to operate, and pickups sound better with it than without.

And if it doesn't do well enough for you, there are tons more…like the Fishman Platinum Stage $150 which takes pre-amping acoustic guitars to a Pro level of features.

I bought it 'just to see' (hard to believe a $30ish can perform) and have used it happily many times. Have had absolute novices carry one around for the occasional time they need to plug in.


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Old 12-09-2018, 05:37 PM
Mr Bojangles Mr Bojangles is offline
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Thank you all for responding. I just ordered a Behringer ADI21. It's a confusing world of pre-amps out there, with so many to consider. I just played a solo gig with my new K&K mini, and it sounded great in my home studio, but not so great at the venue with no sound man. I thought it was rather harsh and brittle, with too much treble. The audience seemed to like the show, but I really want to improve my sound for the next time (I've been asked to come back by the owner).

I need volume and EQ control within reach. I brought my own mixer board because the house mixer is too far away to access easily. I'm hoping that the Behringer will improve the sound, and I will continue to use my own mixer, which I run into the house mixer.

This has all been an education for me, as in the past I always have used a mic to amplify my guitar. I thought that the K&K would be the end to it, but now I'm thinking that a pre-amp is needed. So much to consider!
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Old 12-09-2018, 07:34 PM
Irish Pennant Irish Pennant is offline
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I've been piecing together a cheep pedal board with new and old pedals for when I don't want to use my good gear. I have a few Behringer pedals on it. This is it so far, Behringer EQ700 Graphic Equalizer > Behringer Vintage Delay VD400 > JamMan Solo Looper > Behringer Ultra-DI DI400P. It's all powered by a BoxKing rechargeable power brick. I've taken this to a few different open mics, I usually use a D-18 with a K&K. No issues plugging into the different amps and PA's. Having the rechargeable power brick has turned out to be real handy.

To the OP, I don't know how you are plugging in your mixer to another mixer, doing so may be the reason for the harshness that you're hearing. I'm not an expert at it but when I use my two Zed mixers I have to designate and setup one of the them as a slave and the other as the master. You may want to think about alternative ways of sending your signal to the house PA.
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Old 12-09-2018, 08:29 PM
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I have one - I don't play out acoustically much so can't really comment on it's quality, although for me at home it's been fine. I've always found the order of the treble-mid-bass control a bit disconcerting, (rather than being bass-mid-treble) It actually threw me at first as I started twiddling knobs, assuming the standard order of things without actually reading the labels.
No reason to not get one, of course.
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Old 12-10-2018, 06:51 AM
Mr Bojangles Mr Bojangles is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Irish Pennant View Post

To the OP, I don't know how you are plugging in your mixer to another mixer, doing so may be the reason for the harshness that you're hearing. I'm not an expert at it but when I use my two Zed mixers I have to designate and setup one of the them as a slave and the other as the master. You may want to think about alternative ways of sending your signal to the house PA.
I was wondering about that myself. The house mixer is too far away from me to access it while I'm playing, so I run an XLR cable from one of the out sockets on my mixer to an input XLR on the house mixer. I didn't want to mess with their house setup (mixer to powered speakers) any more than necessary. How do you set them up as slave and master mixers?
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Old 12-10-2018, 10:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Bojangles View Post
Thank you all for responding. I just ordered a Behringer ADI21. It's a confusing world of pre-amps out there, with so many to consider. I just played a solo gig with my new K&K mini, and it sounded great in my home studio, but not so great at the venue with no sound man. I thought it was rather harsh and brittle, with too much treble. The audience seemed to like the show, but I really want to improve my sound for the next time (I've been asked to come back by the owner).

I need volume and EQ control within reach. I brought my own mixer board because the house mixer is too far away to access easily. I'm hoping that the Behringer will improve the sound, and I will continue to use my own mixer, which I run into the house mixer.

This has all been an education for me, as in the past I always have used a mic to amplify my guitar. I thought that the K&K would be the end to it, but now I'm thinking that a pre-amp is needed. So much to consider!
Hi MrB

Call me a minimalist. I run guitar-->preamp-->XLR out to the house mixer. I'm as concerned about the sound in the house as much as anybody, but ganging together mixers is not going to improve the sound.

The last person/equipment in control is the guy on the house mixer…if he can screw up the sound from my guitar--->preamp and XLR straight to him, he can mess up my mixer adjustment too.

If I need a stage monitor, I bring an acoustic amp (small) and go guitar to preamp and split the ¼" out to the stage amp, and the XLR to the house. And that isolates my amp from the mains! Means I can at least set the stage amp settings up to my liking without affecting the house. And if I adjust the amp during the performance it doesn't mess with the house mix (messing with the house mix often upsets sound techs…and it should).

Running a mixer to the house mixer is just asking for complications, trouble (or trouble shooting) and is not going to improve the sound in the house mixer.

I find a K&K (or other simple pickup) run through a preamp, and then to the house sounds good (or can be made to sound good) with very little effort…even with inexpensive sound systems.

And if audiences think we sound 'good' when we think the sound quality is why they come to listen, then we need to remember…audiences come to hear music, not gear.





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Old 12-10-2018, 12:26 PM
Mr Bojangles Mr Bojangles is offline
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Thank you Larry for your suggestions. I've started playing at a new venue which has a large, noisy room and no sound man. The house mixer is located behind the stage and is not handy for a quick volume or EQ adjustment during the performance. I have to set it myself and am stuck with those settings once I start playing.

I think that the addition of a pre-amp (which I have on order) will be a big improvement, and I already have a stage monitor that I use, which I can access between songs. My concern is being able to adjust volume levels and EQ without having to walk around to the house mixer. The new pre-amp should help with this, but I still won't have control over the vocal mic volume.

I do plan on eliminating my personal mixer, which I think is probably destroying the sound quality by running it into the house mixer. Is there a device that I could use to have control over my mic volume level before it goes to the house mixer?

Again, thanks to everyone for their input and helpful advice. I just recently have gone to performing solo, and although I have been playing music for many years, it was always with a band and I didn't have to concern myself with all of these logistics.
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Old 12-10-2018, 01:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Bojangles View Post
…I do plan on eliminating my personal mixer, which I think is probably destroying the sound quality by running it into the house mixer. Is there a device that I could use to have control over my mic volume level before it goes to the house mixer?
If I find myself in those situations I set my own mic settings during setup, write them down on a post-it note and stick it to the front of the board, and live with it.

If it's an open mic, hopefully the vocal mic is a shared mic and the settings that work for me are often generic enough they will work for everyone. And we are all using the same system.

You have to be careful you don't work yourself into the job of being the sound tech at such venues - unless that's a responsibility you are willing to take on…willingly…regularly…and even when you don't have anything on the docket for a particular night (because they are relying on you). Only made that mistake once…

They told me I could just do it the nights I was coming, but then they started telling me about my indispensability, and I had become friends with the owners and it was hard to say "I won't be doing sound anymore…"


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