Pirellithecat Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Sound guy wanted to DI my rig at the weekend. However, he raised an issue about using my inbuilt DI out, as he was using the phantom power setting on his desk and didn't want to put 48 volts into my DI Out. He wanted to put my bass directly into a DI box (and then into my amp for stage monitoring). This would have bypassed my effects (Ashdown ABM 600, with Effect and Tuner in FX Send/Receive) which I didn't want - so to avoid hassle I just played without PA support. (Which from my point of view was OK and, more importantly from the audience point of view it, apparently, sounded great. However, the sound guy wasn't happy as he couldn't turn me down!!) So - how does one get around this issue? Thanks from a complete technophobe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 The voltage looks high in the P48 systems, but the power is very small. There are usually only few milliamperes of current in the system. You can have that P48 attached to a dynamic microphone - no issues in the mixer, no issues in the microphone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_c2 Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 (edited) The "putting 48 volts of phantom power into the DI" sounds like a red herring/excuse/Balaerics, because the WHOLE POINT (and why its called "phantom" power) of phantom power is that it DOESN'T affect the signal or device its connected to, except that a small amount of power is available should it need it (eg active box, condenser mic). I suspect the actual issue was that he wanted a direct signal from the bass pre-effects or any tone controls or colouration/distortion from your amp, so that he himself could control those aspects of the bass sound. Are the effects including the amp/overdrive/distortion important to you and your/the band's sound? If so, then he should have been happy to accept a post-amp DI. If not, then by all means direct from bass DI is fine, and is actually better because if your amp loses power or blows up etc, it doesn't stop the show and the signal chain is simpler and more manageable. Of course there is always the option to give both, and he can blend the amp/direct as he chooses for FOH. ETA for completeness, the 3rd option is that he close-mics your amp/cabinet. Edited April 4, 2022 by paul_c2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 There is a possibility that the aound man was worried that as he connected his phantom power to your rig, the initial pulse of power might break something. Rod Elliott has a good rep in electronics circles and explains it here. https://sound-au.com/project152-2.htm David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 It used to be fairly common that DI on amps was a perfunctory excuse for a DI that would indeed pop its clogs with phantom 18v applied. You should see your manual for the words 'phantom power' and 'protected' in the same sentence as 'DI'. In any case there's no reason his DI couldn't have been fed from your DI or your fx loop. I have always found no milage in pub size gigs having FOH for bass. The whole band has to be onboard with low volume everything or you wind up with a hot mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 21 hours ago, Pirellithecat said: Sound guy wanted to DI my rig at the weekend. However, he raised an issue about using my inbuilt DI out, as he was using the phantom power setting on his desk and didn't want to put 48 volts into my DI Out. He wanted to put my bass directly into a DI box (and then into my amp for stage monitoring). This would have bypassed my effects (Ashdown ABM 600, with Effect and Tuner in FX Send/Receive) which I didn't want - so to avoid hassle I just played without PA support. (Which from my point of view was OK and, more importantly from the audience point of view it, apparently, sounded great. However, the sound guy wasn't happy as he couldn't turn me down!!) So - how does one get around this issue? Thanks from a complete technophobe! What amp with DI is it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Ashdown ABM 600. I connect a DI with phantom to one in the studio all the time as my current mixer will only switch the phantom in banks of 8 channels. It's always been fine but this thread got me wondering, I just checked the manual... "unaffected by Phantom Powering on the Microphone input." https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2397/1117/files/abm600.pdf?10890871767480766198 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirellithecat Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 Excellent! Bloody typical for me - the old adage "if all else fails .... read the instructions" strikes again! Thanks very much everyone - everyday is indeed a School Day!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intoutof Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 For some time now I have carried a short XLR to mono jack cable in the event that the engineer has this concern. That way the cable can run from the amplifier D.I. into a D.I. box with any coloration or effects intact. When approaching the engineer with this I usually mention that if they feel that the sound coming from the amp is too fat/thin/dark/waspy then to let me know so I can try to sort it at the source. Each venue is different, much to my inconvenience ; ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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