Monday, September 2, 2013

Connecting Acoustic Guitar to Mixer and PA System?

guitar xlr cable
 on XLR 3 Pin Male Plug to 2 x 3 Pin XLR Socket Splitter Cable 1.5m | eBay
guitar xlr cable image



BurningKoa


My church has a PA system and my acoustic guitar connects to the mixer via 1/4" cable. Is there any difference or benefit of connecting the 1/4" cable to a DI box and running a XLR cable from it to the mixer?
ANY Advantage???
Also, do i use a passive di or an active di???
I am so confused.



Answer
Yes there is a benefit or two, reduced noise is one. This is basically accomplished by changing from an unbalanced (1/4") to a balanced (XLR) output. Impedance matching is another (probably not a factor in your case).
Active is better than passive, in general. They are a pre-amp and can be used for controlling tone. If you get a combination pedal, like the Aphex Aural Exciter 1401 (or a Zoom A 2.1u multi effects for acoustic guitar - this has a usb output also), it will also add an ambience to your sound, if this is of interest to you. These two are specifically designed for acoustic instruments.
If you do get a passive, get the highest quality one you can afford. Passives are all about the transformer and good transformers are expensive.

Note: I added the effects/DI info in case it was of interest. I just found out about these and am an old school, little or no effects, type guy myself. But you might be able to stretch your dollar with one of these, if interested.



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