Palmer PDI-09 Guitar Direct Box Demonstration

UDPDATE: Thanks for all the comments so far, everybody. I'd like to mention a few things:

First, I would encourage all guitarists to try each and every approach out there to replicate the sound you hear from your amp into the ear of the audience. Mics, DI's, Solid State, Tube, DIgital-- try it all and use what works best for you. Let's emulate what the artists we admire most did: experiment, take risks, and never cling to one system too dogmatically.

This particular video was created as a demonstration for a sale I was conducting on eBay so prospective buyers could hear the item. I'm glad to say it sold for a fair price and the new owner is very happy. As such, I would have loved to demonstrate the "Warm" and "Bright" settings, but I was also interested in keeping the video short and concise. Those settings offer some nice, useful tonal variations as well.

I intentionally used a medium-gain setting to appeal to as wide a contingent as possible. Some of you may prefer a more distorted tone, some of you like it cleaner. That's OK-- we all have different "ideal" tones.

There is no "Perfect" way to mic a guitar amp for live or studio use. Just as each guitar/effect/amp combination produces different results, each and every microphone, direct box, or speaker sim out there is simply another tool in our box which we can use to reproduce the sound of the instrument in a way that best fits both the needs of the venue and our personal taste. We must be open-minded about how we do this, since each approach has it's own pros and cons.

The Palmer DI offers the great advantage of constancy of sound and reliability which, as any of you who've played clubs, churches, parties, or anywhere the sound engineering was less than stellar know, is a very handy thing. On the other hand, a well-miced cab in a tuned studio, under the care of a talented audio engineer produces inimitably stellar results. Unfortunately, most work-a-day musicians and home studio buffs cannot afford the luxury of such consistently ideal conditions.

Happy gigging to one and all!

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This is a demonstration of the the Palmer PDI-09 direct box, which makes an excellent alternative--and as you'll see, can be far superior--to micing an electric guitar cabinet.
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Category:

Music

Tags:

• electric
• guitar
• home
• recording
• studio
• rock
• music
• musician
• pro
• audio
• direct
• box
• palmer
• PDI
• 09
• religious
• electronic
• indie

[derdude]

so you are using the output of the amp to record the guitar? the signal chain is guitar -> di box -> amp -> mixer (from amp output).. is that right?

thanks!

[freakybuzz]

Yes, the sound created by the power amp is what is what the Palmer send to the board. But the DI is in parallel between the power amp and the speakers. So a more proper signal chain would be: Guitar -> Pre & Power Amp-> // DI -> // Speakers

[asharpminor]

@freakybuzz I'd love to see a video of a driven amp beeing attenuated by 30db just to see how loud it would still go...

[freakybuzz]

@asharpminor The DI only attenuates the level of the signal coming from of the XLR out. It does not alter the volume or tone of the amplifier at all. As a matter of fact, this was recorded straight off a power amp with 30dB attenuation. The volume out of the amp remained the same. If you want to change the volume of the amp while still driving it, you will need an attenuator such as a THD hot plate.

[reversal420]

what kind of xlr cable do i need for this? male or female? thanks

[freakybuzz]

All XLR connections all work the same way: the female end of the cable plugs into the source (Mic, DI, preamp), the male end plugs into the destination (snake, mixing desk, or extension cable).

[Blackopcodered]

nice

[rrrrockin]

groovay....

[TheDriveMaster]

Nice! Can we have a clean sound?

[akaboo69]

humbothsond good i thinkthe real cab was brighter

[derdude]

thanks for your fast answer!

[Xidium426]

I think it sounded muddy as well, but that is probably the tone they where going for.