pickup amp or preamp?

[zackfanning]

So I have a mandolin with piezo pickup and I am trying to figure out how to amplify it best.

Either a Fender® - Acoustasonic™ 30 DSP Acoustic Amplifier or LR Baggs Para DI to PA system. I played with my buddy's crate acoustic amp and didn't notice any noticeable sound difference between plugging straight in and going through the Para DI to XLR. His amp had a selection for Piezo pickups which leads me to believe it was performing the job of preamp in the amp and would be redundant to run the Para and a dedicated amp.

So, basically I'm wondering if I should get a dedicated acoustic amp or an lr baggs Para DI through pa. Thanks!

-Zack

[Mike Bunting]

Using the amp will give you your own monitor that you can control and they can also send the signal to the mains for the house.

[zackfanning]

That's kinda what I was leaning towards. Would you agree that using the Para DI box would be redundant if used with the amp?

[Tbone]

The DI would most likely be redundant, but sometimes the DI lets you shape your tone a bit more.

I'd say it depends on the playing environment. If you're going to be playing with drums and other instruments with amps, then get the amp. I used to play in a country band - drums, elec guitar, etc, and there's no way I could have heard myself through the monitors alone.

But if I'm playing in an acoustic outfit, with no other amps or drums, I'll plug straight into the board.

[mandroid]

AFIK, ... DI is turning Preamp output back down to Mic type signal, to Directly Input , say, a Stage snake remote to a mixer. they have, typically, lots of XLR jacks for a number of microphones on stage. , the 1/4" output to the 1/4" input on the amp is more sensible , rather than the XLR out to the Mic input on the amp, as monitor, leave that other XLR-DI output from the PADI to go to the house Board for the mains..
If the Crate has a Preamp Output on the back of it , that may serve as a signal you can send to the Mixer for the House.

:popcorn:

[foldedpath]

That's kinda what I was leaning towards. Would you agree that using the Para DI box would be redundant if used with the amp?

It would be redundant if you can place the amp fairly close to your playing position, so you can use a short cord to avoid impedance loading with a passive piezo pickup (I'm assuming your pickup is passive). Say, a 10 or 12 foot cord. If you have to run a 20', 30' or longer cord to the amp, it would be a good idea to use a preamp on a short cord nearby, to buffer and pre-amplify the signal.

The Para DI would also be useful if the amp doesn't have a decent parametric EQ or notch control for reducing feedback, but most "acoustic" amps do include this.

[Rob Gerety]

If its me I forget the amp and buy a Baggs PADI and go to the PA. If you need a monitor in addition to monitors provided by the house I would get a powered PA speaker like a Mackie SRM150 or SRM350 or something similar. But, I think I'm in the minority around here on this.

[man dough nollij]

I know zip-diddly about amplification, but I learned something interesting about it. I was helping tear down an electric gig that had multiple bands. The first thing I learned is that a lot of sound gear is HEAVY! Holy cow! The sound guy, out of Bozeman, brought way overkill gear to that show. Very interesting show. It was Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart, and some other big names from Nashville playing in a little park down the street from my house in Livingston, MT. I guess a music producer (Joanne Gardiner?) had moved to the area, and she brought in a bunch of buddies to throw a fun show.

Anyway, the amplification thing I learned is that guitar players don't plug into the PA. The way this was set up, the guitar was plugged into a small amp at the back of the stage, about 2 or 3 feet high. Then a mike was pointed at the speaker, and that signal was run to the board. I asked the sound guy why they did it that way, and he said that the guitar just won't sound good through the PA, that part of what makes an electric guitar sound good is the tone of the guitar amp. Any mandolin players amplify that way?

[Mike Bunting]

Not unless it's an electric mandolin. And I mean electric, no sound unless amped, magnetic pickups.

[jim_n_virginia]

use the DI for close control of the mandolin sound so you don't have to walk back to the amp or bend over during a performance.

When I used a mandolin with a pickup I had my Fishman DI on a small table next to me and my mandolin plugged into that and then a cord that ran either to my amp or a PA system. If we used the PA the amp would be my personal monitor sometimes if there weren't enough wedges.

[Rob Gerety]

Anyway, the amplification thing I learned is that guitar players don't plug into the PA. The way this was set up, the guitar was plugged into a small amp at the back of the stage, about 2 or 3 feet high. Then a mike was pointed at the speaker, and that signal was run to the board. I asked the sound guy why they did it that way, and he said that the guitar just won't sound good through the PA, that part of what makes an electric guitar sound good is the tone of the guitar amp.

This approach is 100% valid if you are talking about electric guitars and electric mandolins. The amp is essentially part of the instrument in that case. But if you are looking for a clean acoustic sound - using amplified acoustic instruments - like most of us here I suspect - you absolutely can and most do plug directly into the PA - usually though a Pre Amp. Amplifiers are NOT part of the instrument in the situation where you are playing acoustic instruments and looking for clean natural tone. It is very rare to see a guitar amp at a contra dance for example. At least that is my experience. You might see an amp used as a monitor - but most around here that I see are using the stage monitors - or a powered speaker as a personal monitor is they need it.