Re: [Harp-L] Basic Doubt

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Leonardo Cozendey Crespo wrote:
<I have been caring my amp to rehearsals but I'm  thinking on caring less and
<less equipment.
<
<The question I have is: What to I have to do to connect my bullet direct
<into the mixer and use the studio PA system.
<
<Do I have to buy a DI box or can I put It into a line input?
<
<Do you guys can share your experience on the use of PA...I'm thinking on
<taking the amp only for gigs and start using the PA with the bullet -> FRD1
<-> reverb -> eq. -> PA.

My first piece of advice is this: don't run a bullet straight into a PA.  There are damn few ways to mic a harp that sound worse than a bullet straight into a PA.  You get all the disadvantages of a bullet (like restricted frequency range) and none of the advantages.  

A DI won't help the situation, since just about all DIs are designed not to color the signal going through them.  

If you're trying to lighten your load, any one of the following will sound MUCH better than a bullet straight to the PA:
1)  Buy a Digitech RP and my patch set.  I like this option for obvious reasons (beer money) and less obvious reasons (this pedal will give you a lot of sounds for the money).  But it's far from your only choice.
2)  Buy a Lone Wolf Harp Attack.  This pedal is less expensive than an RP, and if what you want is an overdriven blues harp sound, it'll do the job just fine.
3)  Buy a Harp Commander. More expensive than a Lone Wolf, but a very nice piece of gear.    
4)  For a clean sound with no frills and lots of edge, get an SM57 or SM58 mic (or almost any decent vocal mic) and put that straight to the PA.  If you want an even cleaner sound, get a Fireball V mic.

If, after all this, you still want to run a bullet straight to the PA, then just do it.  The 1/4" input on a PA will work fine.  You don't need a DI unless the cable run is longer than 50 feet. However, I'd be prepared for a weak sound that makes you work twice as hard to cut through the rest of the band. In case I haven't mentioned it, I hate the sound of a bullet into the PA.  HATE it. 

Regards, Richard Hunter



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