Roland Galindo Glad to hear that. If you can understand this sort of thing you are no dummy, you just need a teaching approach that is simple and step by step ;)
I guess im asking the wrong place but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb lost the password. I would love any tricks you can give me.
I'm a old musician and use music gears since a few decades... Today you give me the answer to my interrogations since all these years : - What is balanced/unbalanced, - What is a DI box - What is this hum sound in my speakers (ground loop) - Why i'm hearing people and phone calls in my monitoring speakers Your channel is a golden pepite, very helpful, even for a french, because you're speaking clearly, slowly and it help :) Thanks for that !
The series of lessons on DI boxes you've showcased is very advanced and interesting to watch. I have already subscribed to your channel some time ago, and every video I watch of yours gets alike without fail. Thanks for sharing your high-tech engineering tutorials.
Thank you so much for this video series. You are an excellent narrator and have explained things so succinctly, with a clear voice, good recording, and thankfully NO BACKGROUND MUSIC. I had ordered a second Radial Pro DI by mistake but after watching this video I realized that I can use it for my Martin 000-16E Granadillo acoustic-electric guitar as well, not just my passive Stingray by Music Man bass. Thank you. :)
I want to gladly add to the noise on here and just say thank you! We are using DI Boxes at our church, and as we are a mobile church, we set up and tear down each Sunday. I am taking some inventory on equipment right now and needed to know why we even use these! This is great and God bless you!
Fantastically broken down and covered all bases of questions I had, and then the questions I had as I was listening. Thank you for such a well crafted video!
I work on stages, and I really like how you explained the DIs. Everyone uses them, but i don't know how many know how they actually work. It seems that the DI is something you need to have because it makes you look professional. Thanks again for your videos!
Very easy to catch up your explanation and so clear to follow.. I like your videos. And one thing i request is Can you have Behringer Multicom PRO-XL MDX4600, about its conditions, advantages... Or about your suggestion on this product. If you agree I will be so pleasure...
I've been trying--without much success--to understand this stuff all evening (by reading explanations on various web sites and message boards). Finally, a presentation I can grasp. Thank you, sir.
I'm a professional songwriter/performer/teacher and have tried to explain to my students the function of a DI box. Until watching your video no-one had managed to explain to me (or maybe even tried) the ground lift function, and although I knew what high impedance meant I didn't *understand*. The 'third' function was the 'main' one I taught students, since at our college the practice is 'DI the amp or mic it' - no-one except keys and acoustic guitars gets a DI box. For this, thank-you; however, there's another thing I want to thank you for: Low-end hum has been appearing on my passive acoustic guitar pickups - they're all the same but don't suffer to the same extent. Here's my signal flow: passive piezo - short lead - belt preamp with EQ - 5 foot trs lead - then either desk, or Vocalist 5 pedal/through on trs to desk. I also normally use an external mic which is 'suckered' on the shoulder of the guitar. The buzz stops (or is at least reduced to an acceptable level) by putting my bare foot on the metal casing of the Vocalist 5. The buzzing happens more in some venues and not at all in others, leading me to the conclusion that dimmers might be the culprits. I'm going to try using my behringer DI box in the signal chain and using the ground lift as you illustrate. I'm also seriously considering two cheap radio systems for the guitar('s') pickup and mic. I'll let you know about the DI box solution, but do you think the radio systems would also solve the problem? Thanks again - is there a donation option? Cheers Dan Plews
danplews Hi Dan, thanks for getting in touch, and I'm glad that you and your students were able to benefit from the video :) The first thing to do is to determine whether you are dealing with buzz or hum: Buzz is noise caused by things like lighting dimmers, ballasts, poorly designed power supplies etc. Hum is the sound you get from ground loops, and is always at 60Hz or the harmonics thereof (I assume you are in the US - in countries with 230V systems it's often at 50 Hz). Lifting grounds will help with hum but will often make buzz worse. You say that the noise is reduced when you put your foot on an metal object which is grounded - this suggests that you have a grounding issue rather than a group loop issue - ie lack of a ground rather than too many grounds. In this case, lifting grounds may not help - however by all means try it and see, because these factors often interact in unpredictable ways. How is the Vocalist 5 grounded? Does it run on battery or get its power from an AC adapter? Seeing as your set up is quiet is some venues and noisy in others, it may be worth experimenting to determine the cause of the noise - turn lights and circuit breakers on and off, try different power outlets and see if one particular switch or circuit causes the noise. This will all help us to solve your problem. Let me know how you get on :) I don't actually have a donate button, helping people is a reward in itself, and in any case I teach paid classes in Singapore where interaction and communication are easier.
Best explanation I've heard so far. Especially useful for a dummy like me! Is one DI box sufficient or do you need to get one with eg 4 ins and outs to cover all the instruments going into the PA?
You need one DI box for each signal source that you are going to DI. So in a typical band you would need one for bass, one for each keyboard and one for acoustic guitar. Electric guitar may or may not be DI'ed depending on the player's setup and preferences.
I normally play electric or acoustic guitar and sing with backing tracks, all going straight into the PA (usually via a TC Helicon Voicelive 2 for vocals and a TC Electronic Nova for the electric.). Hopefully one should do the job, if my understanding is correct. Thanks for your prompt reply.
You're welcome. Yes the Voicelive has a balanced output so it doesn't need a DI box. For the Nova you'll need to decide if you want a mono or stereo DI box, I recommend the latter so that you can have stereo effects in the PA system.
Just watched your 2nd video and it was extremely helpful. I realised after watching it, that my Voicelive 2 actually has a ground loop button on it. Also my Nova goes into the Voicelive 2 and comes out the through to provide chords for harmony. I'd forgotten that the lines out were balanced on the Voicelive 2. The Nova has left and right out, but I'm not sure if it's balanced. Both go into a little behringer mixer which I now realise has too low gain - as in your example at the end of Video 2. From that I take the output of the mixer into a Zoom UA-3 audio interface for streaming. I've got my son's passive behringer DI box somewhere, so that might do the job. I'm a bit concerned as to why my gain is so low on the mixer master. You see, I really am clueless.:-)
Thanks for this! I have to mic up a set on my own as part of an assessment tomorrow and I've been watching your videos to re-jig my worried mind. Thank you so much! Really helpful mate 👍🏻
+kujawat Does she like it in the input or prefers the in the output, Or she does she prefer input the most and prefers the output for the happy ending before shower the bed. :D
Simply awesome! You are a seriously good teacher.... You explain things perfectly so I could understand. I have listened a few times to others about DI boxes and really did not understand fully. Thank you!
Great video! High quality and very informative. If you could, I'd like you to help me with a somewhat unique question: I want to know how to mic an amplifier, convert it to an unbalanced quarter-inch, then run it through my time-based (reverb, delay, etc.) guitar effect pedals, convert it back into balanced xlr, and finally run it into the snake. I am an electric guitar player and I use a pedal board with several pedals for all my effects. For my style, time-based effects like reverb and delay are important. As a general rule, most guitar players run their reverb and delay last and the whole signal chain comes through the amp and is then miked. The inspiration came to me one day, while reflecting on studio experience, that when you mic an amp in studio, the amp is kept completely dry and reverb/delay is added in post, so I thought, "Why can't I do that live?". My thought was that I would either need a small line mixer or an all-in-one direct box that has both in/out for .25in and in/out for xlr to do the conversions. The whole point, to finish, is to create a more natural spacious sound, since in real life, echoes of reverb and delay come after the sound exits the speaker cone and bounces off of walls and other surfaces; the standard live setup (reverb/delay thru the speaker, then miked) actually does this inside out. I'm sure some famous guitar players (like the Edge) and others do it all the time; I just don't know how.
Jacob Morris Hello Jacob, thanks for getting in touch. As you know, the process that they use in the studio is called re-amping: the signal from the amp is recorded dry and then the recorded signal is sent from the recording equipment back through the amplifier and re-recorded with effects added, hence the name re-amping. If you are doing this live, you will need two pieces of equipment: 1. A line matching transformer to convert the balanced, low impedance signal from the mic in front of your amp to an unbalanced, high impedance signal which can be run through your pedal board. For this I would recommend the Shure A85F: www.shure.com/americas/products/accessories/microphones/microphone-problem-solvers/a85f-line-matching-transformer 2. A quality passive DI box to convert the signal at the end of your pedal chain to a balanced, low impedance signal that can be run into the mixer. For this any good quality DI box will do, although I personally use and recommend Radial DI boxes. Hope this helps. Note that you may need to adjust the settings on your pedals when using this method, as the signal from the mic via the transformer will not be exactly the same as the signal out of your guitar.
I was thinking of not using this gear until I listened to your video. I have also saved it for later. I am going ahead with the purchase. Thanks for helping out.
Made a lot of sense! 9:25 with the diagram. Explained What a ground loop actually is really well. I left this video with a better understanding. Thanks!
Incredibly helpful information. I'd basically already figured out the information in vid 2 on my own through trial and error, but this first vid explained a few things about DI's for me on the ground level. I really appreciate this upload.
Hi GLB, I could not pass by without leaving a word to thank you very much for your lecture. I didn't expect to watch the whole thing in its entirety, but I DID watch it all. It was so informative, so clear and useful. Understanding the purpose of these boxes make people use them better. Thank you again and I have subscribed, even though that was the only info I was after. I am going to watch others of your videos for the sake of "learning". Thank you!
You're welcome Renes, very glad the video was helpful. I suggest that you watch the entire series on DI boxes as there is lots of useful information there :)
I'm going for my fifth year in teaching Mathematics and Science for high school students. It's always a challenge to me to explain simply yet accurately, but you do it well !!! @@GLBProductions
Thank you so much, I am a newbie to amplified music and its so daunting to look at all these pieces of equipment with all these fancy names for components and you explain things so eloquently. "tip of the hat to you sir!"
One additional detail about utilizing an instrument cable that’s =/> 5 meters in length is the increase in capacitance. As capacitance increases, a guitarist or bassist will notice a loss in the high end content of their signal. This is especially a nuisance when one insists on having their pedalboard populated with only “true bypass” effects pedals. When the input cabling to the board, the linear run of the cabling on the board and the output cabling from the board to the amplifier are summed, significantly exceeding 5 meters of instrument cabling is more often the case than not. A line buffer is the solution.
Hail GLB Productions, thanks for your very good explanations! One rarely finds such a precise guiding! But I've got a problem that my (active) DI box doesn't fix. When I plug my (passive) Strat through my amp (Blackstar 45 Series One), or in my Line 6 amp, I've got an extremely annoying high "whistling" noise omnipresent. When I try to record my guitar from the amp emulated output through my recording interface (TC Impact Twin), that "whistling" noise is recorded too. My house is relatively a new construction and I've asked the builder to put good ground and four different main sockets in my music room. In fact, I discover now that this noise is generally present even with my amps turned off, so from my hi-fi system too if I turn the volume to max! I didn't have such a noise before months, so it must come from something added? That drives me mad and I just don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
Yes that would suggest it is a power issue. You need to find out what was added around the time that the noise started - lights are prime suspects, as well as anything IT-related. Get a wiring diagram of your house and see what else shares the same circuit as your music gear. Then start turning off/unpluging things until the noise goes away.
I have been putting together a bunch of videos from different aspects of gear and studying them and writing notes and studying some more :) The band will be quite impressed with me :)
Ok, off topic a bit, but In the diagram showing the guitar splitting at the di box. One going into the amp and the other into the mixer is a bit confusing. Why would you run a clean guitar signal straight through the di and into the mixer without going through the line out on the guitar amp where you would benefit from the amp settings, gain..etc.before recording . ? Your videos are very professional and well explained. No wasted time on stupid music and intros..5 stars!!
That's a good question Shaun. This signal path is intended mainly for live sound and mainly for acoustic and bass guitar as well as keyboards and other sources where the sound engineer needs a clean signal. The reason for this is that the sound that the musician likes to hear on stage is often not the best sound for front of house. In recording, this signal will often be supplemented by additional signals taken from the amplifier and/or from the musicians' effects. Hope that helps!
Love your explanations on your whole series of videos. I only have one small issue and that is that you constantly refer to 1/4 inch barrel type connectors as Jack type connectors. Having worked in the electronics industry since the early 1970's I have never really heard them described as this. I have always heard and referred to them as 1/4 inch Phone type connectors. A jack was always the female of any type of connector. I understand in the UK the term Jack and Jack Socket are used well I find many terms used in the UK unnecessarily confusing. 1/4 inch Phone is the term used most by the manufacturers when describing their product so I tend to agree with them on the most commonly accepted terms especially since it benefits them to use a term that would not restrict sales. I would suggest using the term 1/4 inch Phone Plug or Jack as this would lead to the least amount of confusion.
Yes there are many names for this type of connector, probably more than any other type used in pro audio. You're correct, I should have used the term jack plug for the male or jack socket for the female, or just avoided the word jack altogether. Nowadays I use the terms quarter inch, TS or TRS. Thanks for watching!
It depends on what your requirements are really. I see from your channel that you're a keyboard player, so something like the Radial ProD2 or JDI stereo would work well.
+shekhar arora You're welcome, thanks for watching! If you would like to support the channel please consider signing up to become a patron at www.patreon.com/glbproductions?ty=h Every little bit helps!
ok, so I have active bass and I am home recording using a well known audio interface/device. I've questioned the issue of plugging a active instrument in this particular audio interface. They say the audio device can be damaged by plugging an active instrument directly into it. I've looks at a few DI boxes online, one of which actually tell you whether they a re suitable for home recording and more importantly how to connect between an instrument and the audio interface.
I currently lecture part time but cut my pedagogical teeth teaching secondary school when I was younger, whilst doing live sound on the side. There are not many sound engineers out there who are also trained teachers, which definitely helps with producing the videos. Thanks for watching!
Fantastic video, maybe you or someone else can help. I’m currently using a shure sm57 connected to a simple impedance matching adapter to connect to a few guitar pedals. I have up until now been using a 1/4” ts cable out of the pedal chain to connect to a 1/4” channel on my behringer 1204 mixer and then into a Focusrite. Would it make sense, and if so, be preferable to connect the 1/4” output of the pedals to a DI box and then use the xlr ouptut on the DI to connect to a xlr mic input on my mixer so as to take advantage of the mic preamp? I realize another solution which would not require a di box or an adapter would be something like the Radial Voco Loco. I also realize many frown upon using a microphone with guitar amps, but for the kind of music I am making it makes sense.
Good to hear from you again :) In this situation, I would just connect directly to the Focusrite - the mixer in this case really adds nothing to the signal chain, unless you are using it for another purpose not included in your description above. So SM57 -> adapter -> pedals -> Focusrite. And yes, the Voco Loco would be the ultimate solution as it is designed for exactly this sort of set up.
@@GLBProductions ah ya that makes sense, just skip the mixer. I ended up buying a cheap DI, which i guess I could use for playing live or I could use it in reverse for Reamping... Thanks again for the help, your channel is always very insightful.
Good day Guys. regarding your Connector Matching. is it possible to use a cable that has a jack end and a XLR end to eliminate the Di box? for instance when it comes to plugging in your Keyboard to a snake.?
Uve been so helpful to my career, I wish I could enrol if u have an academy to enhance my sound engineering knowledge. All of ur videos I have watched so far has been extremely great
Solid, to the point tutorial with no room for fluff talk. 10/10 in my opinion. However, I do have a question though. What did you mean by "ground reference"? I was never a fan of anything related to electricity in school, so I never paid any attention to those classes haha. Could you help me out?
Thanks for watching Cyril. A ground reference is simply a point in the electrical system that is used to determine what zero volts is, or in other words, the point from which all voltages are measured. Ideally this is a physical connection to the earth itself, typically made through cold water pipes or the lighting rod system.
Do you still need an amp ? what if I connect my stratocaster to a DI box and into a mixer connected to PA system?. Will there be a loss of frequency? . Appreciate your help and this was a helpful and informative video.
It depends on you: some musicians are comfortable listening to their instrument via the stage monitor system, others will prefer to have their own amp on stage. Watch my second video in this series for the answer to your other question 😉
Dude, You explained it in a way that a dummy like me fully comprehended the use of the DI Box.
Roland Galindo Glad to hear that. If you can understand this sort of thing you are no dummy, you just need a teaching approach that is simple and step by step ;)
@Shangrilla _ No they are not - a re-amper or reamping kit consists of two parts, one of which is a DI box.
I guess im asking the wrong place but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account..?
I was dumb lost the password. I would love any tricks you can give me.
@Gage Jerome instablaster =)
@Anders Ronan it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thanks so much you really help me out !
That was excellent. First time I've actually sat and taken notes while watching a RUclips video. Many thanks.
You're most welcome, thanks for watching.
You are the genius! Your explanation is the best then any other videos!
Thanks for watching! Glad the video was helpful.
The clarity of your delivery is perhaps the best I have ever heard. No ifs, ands, ehhhs, or buts. Very well done!
Ah, the power of a good set of notes ;) Thanks for watching!
I'm a old musician and use music gears since a few decades... Today you give me the answer to my interrogations since all these years :
- What is balanced/unbalanced,
- What is a DI box
- What is this hum sound in my speakers (ground loop)
- Why i'm hearing people and phone calls in my monitoring speakers
Your channel is a golden pepite, very helpful, even for a french, because you're speaking clearly, slowly and it help :)
Thanks for that !
You're welcome Eric, very glad the video was helpful!
The series of lessons on DI boxes you've showcased is very advanced and interesting to watch.
I have already subscribed to your channel some time ago, and every video I watch of yours gets alike without fail. Thanks for sharing your high-tech engineering tutorials.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching this series of videos, it's a long one!
Thank you so much for this video series. You are an excellent narrator and have explained things so succinctly, with a clear voice, good recording, and thankfully NO BACKGROUND MUSIC.
I had ordered a second Radial Pro DI by mistake but after watching this video I realized that I can use it for my Martin 000-16E Granadillo acoustic-electric guitar as well, not just my passive Stingray by Music Man bass.
Thank you. :)
You're most welcome, very glad the videos were helpful!
I want to gladly add to the noise on here and just say thank you! We are using DI Boxes at our church, and as we are a mobile church, we set up and tear down each Sunday. I am taking some inventory on equipment right now and needed to know why we even use these! This is great and God bless you!
You're welcome Jacob, thanks for watching!
Fantastically broken down and covered all bases of questions I had, and then the questions I had as I was listening.
Thank you for such a well crafted video!
That's great to hear, thanks for watching and supporting the channel! Let me know if you have further questions.
Nice clear explanation. No waffle, no distracting music. Great job.
Thanks for watching :)
Such a solid video. Thank you very much.
+Ziltoid TheOmniscient You're welcome, thanks for watching.
Outstanding as Always Bruno. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I work on stages, and I really like how you explained the DIs. Everyone uses them, but i don't know how many know how they actually work. It seems that the DI is something you need to have because it makes you look professional. Thanks again for your videos!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
The best explanation ever👍👍👍
Very easy to catch up your explanation and so clear to follow.. I like your videos.
And one thing i request is Can you have Behringer Multicom PRO-XL MDX4600, about its conditions, advantages... Or about your suggestion on this product.
If you agree I will be so pleasure...
Hi Lalchhandama, glad the videos have been useful 😄 I'm afraid that I do not do reviews of Behringer products on this channel.
Damn! that was a lot of information in a short amount of time! thanx!
You're welcome!
Great explanation of DI boxes. Vids like this are what make RUclips indispensable.
+jburtonca Thanks for watching!
also called Direct Input
I've watched a stack of vids on DI boxes. THIS is by far, the best. Thank you.
You're most welcome, glad the video was helpful 😊
I understand finally wat di box for.
Thank u so much for tis useful explaination..
Greetings from Singapore ;)
Joe Fazer Hello neighbour :) Thanks for watching and getting in touch!
As a teacher and lecturer and guitarist I have to say that this explanation was excellent.
As a fellow educator, I appreciate your support 😊
Thanks a lot for the info! Extremely helpful.
This is the clearest explanation I have ever experienced on this subject matter. Congratulations !
MrRdp123 Thank you, and thanks for watching!
This was so helpful thank you so much !
I've been trying--without much success--to understand this stuff all evening (by reading explanations on various web sites and message boards). Finally, a presentation I can grasp. Thank you, sir.
You're most welcome. Feel free to ask any follow-up questions you might have.
This is very helpful stuff keep'em coming please.
- You're welcome, thanks for watching!
I'm a professional songwriter/performer/teacher and have tried to explain to my students the function of a DI box. Until watching your video no-one had managed to explain to me (or maybe even tried) the ground lift function, and although I knew what high impedance meant I didn't *understand*. The 'third' function was the 'main' one I taught students, since at our college the practice is 'DI the amp or mic it' - no-one except keys and acoustic guitars gets a DI box.
For this, thank-you; however, there's another thing I want to thank you for:
Low-end hum has been appearing on my passive acoustic guitar pickups - they're all the same but don't suffer to the same extent. Here's my signal flow:
passive piezo - short lead - belt preamp with EQ - 5 foot trs lead - then either desk, or Vocalist 5 pedal/through on trs to desk. I also normally use an external mic which is 'suckered' on the shoulder of the guitar.
The buzz stops (or is at least reduced to an acceptable level) by putting my bare foot on the metal casing of the Vocalist 5.
The buzzing happens more in some venues and not at all in others, leading me to the conclusion that dimmers might be the culprits.
I'm going to try using my behringer DI box in the signal chain and using the ground lift as you illustrate. I'm also seriously considering two cheap radio systems for the guitar('s') pickup and mic. I'll let you know about the DI box solution, but do you think the radio systems would also solve the problem?
Thanks again - is there a donation option?
Cheers
Dan Plews
danplews Hi Dan, thanks for getting in touch, and I'm glad that you and your students were able to benefit from the video :)
The first thing to do is to determine whether you are dealing with buzz or hum: Buzz is noise caused by things like lighting dimmers, ballasts, poorly designed power supplies etc. Hum is the sound you get from ground loops, and is always at 60Hz or the harmonics thereof (I assume you are in the US - in countries with 230V systems it's often at 50 Hz). Lifting grounds will help with hum but will often make buzz worse.
You say that the noise is reduced when you put your foot on an metal object which is grounded - this suggests that you have a grounding issue rather than a group loop issue - ie lack of a ground rather than too many grounds. In this case, lifting grounds may not help - however by all means try it and see, because these factors often interact in unpredictable ways. How is the Vocalist 5 grounded? Does it run on battery or get its power from an AC adapter?
Seeing as your set up is quiet is some venues and noisy in others, it may be worth experimenting to determine the cause of the noise - turn lights and circuit breakers on and off, try different power outlets and see if one particular switch or circuit causes the noise. This will all help us to solve your problem. Let me know how you get on :)
I don't actually have a donate button, helping people is a reward in itself, and in any case I teach paid classes in Singapore where interaction and communication are easier.
Best explanation I've heard so far. Especially useful for a dummy like me! Is one DI box sufficient or do you need to get one with eg 4 ins and outs to cover all the instruments going into the PA?
You need one DI box for each signal source that you are going to DI. So in a typical band you would need one for bass, one for each keyboard and one for acoustic guitar. Electric guitar may or may not be DI'ed depending on the player's setup and preferences.
I normally play electric or acoustic guitar and sing with backing tracks, all going straight into the PA (usually via a TC Helicon Voicelive 2 for vocals and a TC Electronic Nova for the electric.). Hopefully one should do the job, if my understanding is correct. Thanks for your prompt reply.
You're welcome. Yes the Voicelive has a balanced output so it doesn't need a DI box. For the Nova you'll need to decide if you want a mono or stereo DI box, I recommend the latter so that you can have stereo effects in the PA system.
Just watched your 2nd video and it was extremely helpful. I realised after watching it, that my Voicelive 2 actually has a ground loop button on it. Also my Nova goes into the Voicelive 2 and comes out the through to provide chords for harmony. I'd forgotten that the lines out were balanced on the Voicelive 2. The Nova has left and right out, but I'm not sure if it's balanced. Both go into a little behringer mixer which I now realise has too low gain - as in your example at the end of Video 2. From that I take the output of the mixer into a Zoom UA-3 audio interface for streaming. I've got my son's passive behringer DI box somewhere, so that might do the job. I'm a bit concerned as to why my gain is so low on the mixer master. You see, I really am clueless.:-)
Sorry, ground lift button. This is the same setup I plug into my power mixer for live shows.
This is the first time i have been able to follow and understand all the technical explanations 100%. Thank you!!!!!
That's awesome! Thanks for watching!
Very informative. Im subscribing and pls make more more more more more videos.
Thanks for this! I have to mic up a set on my own as part of an assessment tomorrow and I've been watching your videos to re-jig my worried mind. Thank you so much! Really helpful mate 👍🏻
You're welcome, hope the assessment goes well!
My girl like both direct insertion and direct injection.. usually a bit of the first leads to the latter.. god love her.
+kujawat Hahahaha!!! Ok I'll let that comment stay up for pure creativity ;)
+kujawat best comment I've read in a while.
+kujawat Does she like it in the input or prefers the in the output, Or she does she prefer input the most and prefers the output for the happy ending before shower the bed. :D
duuude :))
Would that be considered Low Impedance.
Simply awesome! You are a seriously good teacher.... You explain things perfectly so I could understand. I have listened a few times to others about DI boxes and really did not understand fully. Thank you!
You're most welcome :)
This is the best tutorial on DI boxes.
Your explanations and information contained in your tutorials are invaluable, not to mention very concise and well explained. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for watching Ness!
Thanks so much! I've been using the term ground loop for a while now, but now I understand why it is an actual loop!
You're welcome Dion, glad the video explained that for you :)
Instantly subscribed. Absolute solid quality video. Nothing unnecessary, no watch-time fishing. Thank you.
You're welcome Elias, welcome to the channel 😊
it's so nice to find someone who doesn't try to bullshit their way through stuff.
I couldn't agree more 😉
Thank you so much for breaking this all down to me. Been hesitant to buy a DI Box but this humming is driving me nuts.
You're welcome! Remember that a DI box may not solve your humming problem if the source of the noise is before the DI.
@@GLBProductions Will keep that in mind, thank you again!
Great video! High quality and very informative. If you could, I'd like you to help me with a somewhat unique question: I want to know how to mic an amplifier, convert it to an unbalanced quarter-inch, then run it through my time-based (reverb, delay, etc.) guitar effect pedals, convert it back into balanced xlr, and finally run it into the snake.
I am an electric guitar player and I use a pedal board with several pedals for all my effects. For my style, time-based effects like reverb and delay are important. As a general rule, most guitar players run their reverb and delay last and the whole signal chain comes through the amp and is then miked. The inspiration came to me one day, while reflecting on studio experience, that when you mic an amp in studio, the amp is kept completely dry and reverb/delay is added in post, so I thought, "Why can't I do that live?". My thought was that I would either need a small line mixer or an all-in-one direct box that has both in/out for .25in and in/out for xlr to do the conversions.
The whole point, to finish, is to create a more natural spacious sound, since in real life, echoes of reverb and delay come after the sound exits the speaker cone and bounces off of walls and other surfaces; the standard live setup (reverb/delay thru the speaker, then miked) actually does this inside out. I'm sure some famous guitar players (like the Edge) and others do it all the time; I just don't know how.
Jacob Morris Hello Jacob, thanks for getting in touch. As you know, the process that they use in the studio is called re-amping: the signal from the amp is recorded dry and then the recorded signal is sent from the recording equipment back through the amplifier and re-recorded with effects added, hence the name re-amping.
If you are doing this live, you will need two pieces of equipment:
1. A line matching transformer to convert the balanced, low impedance signal from the mic in front of your amp to an unbalanced, high impedance signal which can be run through your pedal board. For this I would recommend the Shure A85F: www.shure.com/americas/products/accessories/microphones/microphone-problem-solvers/a85f-line-matching-transformer
2. A quality passive DI box to convert the signal at the end of your pedal chain to a balanced, low impedance signal that can be run into the mixer. For this any good quality DI box will do, although I personally use and recommend Radial DI boxes.
Hope this helps. Note that you may need to adjust the settings on your pedals when using this method, as the signal from the mic via the transformer will not be exactly the same as the signal out of your guitar.
The most comprehensive lesson about DI box!! Thanks!!
You're welcome Gelo, thanks for watching!
I was thinking of not using this gear until I listened to your video. I have also saved it for later. I am going ahead with the purchase. Thanks for helping out.
You're welcome, glad the video was helpful.
amazing, thanks for this, the last part was one of the most important function of the DI.
You're welcome :)
Made a lot of sense! 9:25 with the diagram. Explained What a ground loop actually is really well.
I left this video with a better understanding. Thanks!
+D.J. OGIROD You're welcome, thanks for watching!
+GLB Productions I can only agree with DJ Ogirod. This is the first time I really understand what that thing does for me... Thanks!
Fireforce You're welcome!
Incredibly helpful information. I'd basically already figured out the information in vid 2 on my own through trial and error, but this first vid explained a few things about DI's for me on the ground level. I really appreciate this upload.
Really glad the video has been helpful, let me know if you have any further questions!
Hi GLB, I could not pass by without leaving a word to thank you very much for your lecture. I didn't expect to watch the whole thing in its entirety, but I DID watch it all. It was so informative, so clear and useful. Understanding the purpose of these boxes make people use them better. Thank you again and I have subscribed, even though that was the only info I was after. I am going to watch others of your videos for the sake of "learning". Thank you!
You're welcome Renes, very glad the video was helpful. I suggest that you watch the entire series on DI boxes as there is lots of useful information there :)
Wow , you are a real teacher. Well done video. Thank you.
You're welcome :)
Finally a video explaining in detail! Thanks!
- You're welcome, thanks for watching!
My English sucks but with an explanation like this even I could understand perfectly 👌🏼
Glad the video was helpful :)
Bruno ... this is amazing ... stuff I did not really know ... but you explain it so well. What a good communicator you are!
Glad the videos have been helpful :)
This explanantion is very clear. It has given me a great idea in solving our ground loop problem. The answer: Use a DI box.Thank you very much.
Dear sir.I have just found this video.a superb video indeed.butifull explained,crystal clear.with clarity.this has helped me loads.thankyou.
You're most welcome Stephen.
I finally understand this thanks to your clear and considerate breakdown. Thank you for helping the world!
You're most welcome, always love feedback like this!
I like the way you explain these things. Easy to understand. You are a teacher, aren't you?
Yes, I've been a teacher for nearly 15 years now :)
I'm going for my fifth year in teaching Mathematics and Science for high school students. It's always a challenge to me to explain simply yet accurately, but you do it well !!! @@GLBProductions
This is a brilliant video which all musicians should be made aware of
Thanks for watching!
As I remember we used to hook the di to a DI output of a Bass amplifier.
This is so so well done. You were able to get me throw the few parts I was still not getting. Amazing!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much, I am a newbie to amplified music and its so daunting to look at all these pieces of equipment with all these fancy names for components and you explain things so eloquently. "tip of the hat to you sir!"
Nick M You're welcome, feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions :)
The best video on DI boxes. Thanks.
You're welcome Neil 😊
Incredibly informative and helpful! I'm very grateful!
Thank you for this video. Very well-explained. You answered all my questions as to whether or not I should buy a DI Box.
That's great, thanks for watching and all the best with your music!
Hey, thanks a lot. I’ve watched a few of these videos, but nobody has mentioned the ground loop.
You're welcome :)
A direct box also takes a line high signal and reduces it to a low/mic level signal that a mic put on a mixer may need to see.
Yes, although some older active DI boxes actually output at LINE level, which can be an issue as explained in this series.
Very very good explanation. Excellent elocution of the English language!
- Thank you, glad the video was helpful :)
Cheers for the explanation mate. You made it so simple to understand. Much appreciated!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
One additional detail about utilizing an instrument cable that’s =/> 5 meters in length is the increase in capacitance. As capacitance increases, a guitarist or bassist will notice a loss in the high end content of their signal. This is especially a nuisance when one insists on having their pedalboard populated with only “true bypass” effects pedals. When the input cabling to the board, the linear run of the cabling on the board and the output cabling from the board to the amplifier are summed, significantly exceeding 5 meters of instrument cabling is more often the case than not. A line buffer is the solution.
Thanks for the contribution :)
Thank you for this very informative video! Makes me appreciate my DI even more now. Especially if it prevents my untimely demise!
Absolutely! Safety first as they say.
Man, you are a classy teacher, thank you!
Thank, glad you appreciate the lessons.
Hail GLB Productions, thanks for your very good explanations! One rarely finds such a precise guiding! But I've got a problem that my (active) DI box doesn't fix. When I plug my (passive) Strat through my amp (Blackstar 45 Series One), or in my Line 6 amp, I've got an extremely annoying high "whistling" noise omnipresent. When I try to record my guitar from the amp emulated output through my recording interface (TC Impact Twin), that "whistling" noise is recorded too. My house is relatively a new construction and I've asked the builder to put good ground and four different main sockets in my music room. In fact, I discover now that this noise is generally present even with my amps turned off, so from my hi-fi system too if I turn the volume to max! I didn't have such a noise before months, so it must come from something added? That drives me mad and I just don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
Yes that would suggest it is a power issue. You need to find out what was added around the time that the noise started - lights are prime suspects, as well as anything IT-related. Get a wiring diagram of your house and see what else shares the same circuit as your music gear. Then start turning off/unpluging things until the noise goes away.
I have been putting together a bunch of videos from different aspects of gear and studying them and writing notes and studying some more :) The band will be quite impressed with me :)
Ok, off topic a bit, but In the diagram showing the guitar splitting at the di box. One going into the amp and the other into the mixer is a bit confusing. Why would you run a clean guitar signal straight through the di and into the mixer without going through the line out on the guitar amp where you would benefit from the amp settings, gain..etc.before recording . ?
Your videos are very professional and well explained. No wasted time on stupid music and intros..5 stars!!
That's a good question Shaun. This signal path is intended mainly for live sound and mainly for acoustic and bass guitar as well as keyboards and other sources where the sound engineer needs a clean signal. The reason for this is that the sound that the musician likes to hear on stage is often not the best sound for front of house. In recording, this signal will often be supplemented by additional signals taken from the amplifier and/or from the musicians' effects. Hope that helps!
Bruno, Thanks. That was an extremely helpful and informative video. VERY understandable and made total sense.
You're most welcome, thanks for watching!
You sir, are the gold standard of a teacher!! Liked+sub’d 👌🏻
Thanks for watching JP!
Absolutely love the ease at which you explain things!
Also, charming accent, where are you from?
Thanks for watching - I'm from Singapore 😉
Wow, one of the best explanations I've seen. Great job.
Thanks for watching Isaac!
Thanks for your thorough introduction
You're welcome!
Love your explanations on your whole series of videos. I only have one small issue and that is that you constantly refer to 1/4 inch barrel type connectors as Jack type connectors. Having worked in the electronics industry since the early 1970's I have never really heard them described as this. I have always heard and referred to them as 1/4 inch Phone type connectors. A jack was always the female of any type of connector. I understand in the UK the term Jack and Jack Socket are used well I find many terms used in the UK unnecessarily confusing. 1/4 inch Phone is the term used most by the manufacturers when describing their product so I tend to agree with them on the most commonly accepted terms especially since it benefits them to use a term that would not restrict sales. I would suggest using the term 1/4 inch Phone Plug or Jack as this would lead to the least amount of confusion.
Yes there are many names for this type of connector, probably more than any other type used in pro audio. You're correct, I should have used the term jack plug for the male or jack socket for the female, or just avoided the word jack altogether. Nowadays I use the terms quarter inch, TS or TRS. Thanks for watching!
Love your whole series of videos. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Rich, have a great day!
Thank you for an excellent video, complete concise explanation. A most professional production
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Best explanation of all time. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome taithays!
Thank you for sharing! What DI box would you recommend for weddings, corporate events, etc.?
It depends on what your requirements are really. I see from your channel that you're a keyboard player, so something like the Radial ProD2 or JDI stereo would work well.
Great video!! Filled in the gaps in my knowledge about DI-boxes. Perfectly explained.
- Thanks for watching, glad the video was helpful.
So well explained! And it hopefully prevented me from becoming the ground..
Indeed, that would not be good...
What A GREAT Teacher You ARE.............Thanks a Ton from INDIA
+shekhar arora You're welcome, thanks for watching! If you would like to support the channel please consider signing up to become a patron at www.patreon.com/glbproductions?ty=h Every little bit helps!
offcourse man.
sign up done
ok, so I have active bass and I am home recording using a well known audio interface/device. I've questioned the issue of plugging a active instrument in this particular audio interface. They say the audio device can be damaged by plugging an active instrument directly into it. I've looks at a few DI boxes online, one of which actually tell you whether they a re suitable for home recording and more importantly how to connect between an instrument and the audio interface.
Sorry Chris, did you have a specific question for me?
excellent demo and video , you are so kind and a great teacher , so clear explanation !!!
Thanks for watching :)
Thank You! Very clear and informative! You must be a lecturer in some university!
I currently lecture part time but cut my pedagogical teeth teaching secondary school when I was younger, whilst doing live sound on the side. There are not many sound engineers out there who are also trained teachers, which definitely helps with producing the videos. Thanks for watching!
Fantastic video, maybe you or someone else can help. I’m currently using a shure sm57 connected to a simple impedance matching adapter to connect to a few guitar pedals. I have up until now been using a 1/4” ts cable out of the pedal chain to connect to a 1/4” channel on my behringer 1204 mixer and then into a Focusrite. Would it make sense, and if so, be preferable to connect the 1/4” output of the pedals to a DI box and then use the xlr ouptut on the DI to connect to a xlr mic input on my mixer so as to take advantage of the mic preamp? I realize another solution which would not require a di box or an adapter would be something like the Radial Voco Loco. I also realize many frown upon using a microphone with guitar amps, but for the kind of music I am making it makes sense.
Good to hear from you again :) In this situation, I would just connect directly to the Focusrite - the mixer in this case really adds nothing to the signal chain, unless you are using it for another purpose not included in your description above. So SM57 -> adapter -> pedals -> Focusrite. And yes, the Voco Loco would be the ultimate solution as it is designed for exactly this sort of set up.
@@GLBProductions ah ya that makes sense, just skip the mixer. I ended up buying a cheap DI, which i guess I could use for playing live or I could use it in reverse for Reamping... Thanks again for the help, your channel is always very insightful.
Thanks so much. This information is worth its weight in gold.
You're welcome, very glad the video was helpful.
That was a great explanation on the purpose of a DI box! Thank you.
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Thank you these are extremely helpful. Great job keeping it simple!!
great tutorial. Just one question. Is this setup ok? Fender squire strat- to- multi effect pedal- to- Passive DI -to - Mixer
Yup, perfectly fine! 👍🏻
This was incredible! Please keep doing such superb instructional videos. Your accent rocks, too.
- Thanks for watching and for the encouragement :)
Thks bro
Finally I understand what a Di box is. Appreciate it
You're welcome Pak Peng, thanks for watching.
Good day Guys. regarding your Connector Matching. is it possible to use a cable that has a jack end and a XLR end to eliminate the Di box? for instance when it comes to plugging in your Keyboard to a snake.?
You can do that if your source has a balanced 1/4" output - in such cases there is no need for a DI box.
Uve been so helpful to my career, I wish I could enrol if u have an academy to enhance my sound engineering knowledge. All of ur videos I have watched so far has been extremely great
Thanks for the support Richie.
Wow. This was an incredibly clear and well thought out explanation.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks, for your very clear explanation, I value the time and effort you put in to this video.
You're welcome Richard, thanks for watching!
The Man thank you . Super informative and clear . Only question is does the cable from guitar to di box have to stay short as well ?
Yes - keep that one as short as possible, no more than 5m/15 feet long to minimize interference.
Solid, to the point tutorial with no room for fluff talk. 10/10 in my opinion.
However, I do have a question though. What did you mean by "ground reference"? I was never a fan of anything related to electricity in school, so I never paid any attention to those classes haha. Could you help me out?
Thanks for watching Cyril. A ground reference is simply a point in the electrical system that is used to determine what zero volts is, or in other words, the point from which all voltages are measured. Ideally this is a physical connection to the earth itself, typically made through cold water pipes or the lighting rod system.
Now, I absolutely understand, simple and yet very informative! Thank you
That's wonderful! Very glad the video was helpful 😊
Do you still need an amp ? what if I connect my stratocaster to a DI box and into a mixer connected to PA system?. Will there be a loss of frequency? . Appreciate your help and this was a helpful and informative video.
It depends on you: some musicians are comfortable listening to their instrument via the stage monitor system, others will prefer to have their own amp on stage. Watch my second video in this series for the answer to your other question 😉