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Guitars, electric pianos and other keyboards are often connected to the audio system via a DI box. But it can be confusing, because we have to use a mic on some guitars (e.g. acoustics) and you can use a mic rather than DI box on an electric guitar amplifier too. So here are the main ways of doing things.
Guitars, electric pianos and other keyboards are often connected to the audio system via a DI box. But it can be confusing, because we have to use a mic on some guitars (e.g. acoustics) and you can use a mic rather than DI box on an electric guitar amplifier too. So here are the main ways of doing things.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
It might have an electric pick-up/microphone inside.
If it does NOT, you need to mic it…perhaps a nice condenser mic like an AKG451.
If it HAS a pick-up you can connect this to a DI box – probably using a jack-to-jack ‘instrument’ cable - to get the signal to the sound desk. If your performer(s) are happy to play acoustically – without amplification – you are good to go. If they would like some sound reinforcement so they can hear each other etc, you can add the acoustic guitar to a monitor feed using an Aux output of the sound desk. If drums are involved you will definitely need to do this or they will never be heard.
ELECTRIC GUITARS – including BASS
ELECTRIC GUITARS – including BASS
Simplest is to have the guitar plugged into a guitar amplifier/combo on the stage and to put a dynamic mic (e.g. Shure SM57) right in front of the speaker making sure it is pointing at the speaker cone and not a blank part of the pretty mesh grille. This way the guitarist can adjust the amplifier to the sound they like, and half your job is done. (For this method you DON’T need a DI box, just the microphone.)
The other way for an electric guitar is to plug the guitar into a DI box and so to the sound desk. While this gets the sound into the system and we can control it, they can’t hear it on stage unless we send it back to a floor monitor using an Aux output.
ELECTRIC PIANOS & KEYBOARDS
ELECTRIC PIANOS & KEYBOARDS
Some of these have built-in speakers but they are only really for practicing, not performing. So they definitely need DI boxes…. usually two per instrument because they have stereo outputs and we need a DI Box / cable for each channel – left and right. Again, we will need to play their sound back to the stage using an Aux output so that the performers can hear it.
Connections without a DI Box
Connections using a DI Box
Written by PS
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