Bass Amps

The standard three band equalization system has long been a mainstay of mixers and guitar and bass amplifiers. Even minor adjustments to an amp’s bass, midrange, and treble controls go a long way in shaping your tone. These EQ controls, sometimes called Low, MID, and HI on mixers, are very common, intuitive and effective. However, in a dense band mix, some extra flexibility may be needed to dial in your amps tone or fit each player in their spot for a cleaner mix. Many guitarists can quickly address these issues by engaging an equalizer pedal or toggling to a different pickup. However, using and understanding an amp or mixer with a mid sweep can open new doors of tone shaping without having to add any additional components to your setup.

If you’ve been around a mixing board, recording interface, guitar amp or a PA system, you’ve probably dealt with balanced and unbalanced inputs or outputs (although you might have not noticed the differences immediately)! This article will discuss the basic differences between the two connection types and what they mean for your pro audio rig.

A Direct Box, or DI Box may not look like much, but it is an indispensable tool for both the stage and studio. Its primary function is to convert unbalanced signals to balanced signals. Common instruments like electric guitars, basses, keyboards, and many instrument amplifier line outputs are unbalanced outputs that accommodate your standard quarter inch cable. The signals from these instruments can be susceptible to buzz, hum, and interference, especially when running these cables long distances. This is not always avoidable, as it often occurs that the mixing console or your amp is far away from where you’re standing.

As a working musician, you spend a lot of your time and effort moving your equipment around. It’s a labor of love-- you want to sound your best and have the equipment to do it, but getting it in and out of venues night after night can be a taxing affair. Even if you’re the guy in the band who travels light, it often happens that the parking situation at the venue is less than ideal. Getting any sized rig or speaker setup from your car to the stage may pose some problems as you’re stuck lugging all your gear three city blocks.