Need Audio Advice!

[TDunbar]

Hopefully someone can lend me some advice for a small problem I've encountered. Here's my setup:

1 Korg Extreme
1 Mackie SRM450

Now, here's the dillema. I take a TRS from my keyboard's L/mono out to a male XLR that goes into the INPUT of my Mackie. So far, so good, monitor works well, etc...

When I use the THRU put is when I have problems. I'll take a female XLR from the THRU to a TRS on the other end that I attempt to feed the house. When I connect though, I get no signal out of my Mackie and the house doesn't get anything either.

Last night I did this same setup except on the THRU I took a female XLR to a male XLR to my mackie mixer. Horray it worked! But I really don't want to haul my 12 channel mixer around just to make this work. I'm not positive, so here's my real question: If I used a direct box immediately after my keyboard, would this solve my entire problem?

[ChrisMcCoy]

Yes the DI box will save you the hassle of dragging a mixer to a gig.

Do you already have a DI box?

http://www.whirlwindusa.com/dirbox.html
I have the IMP 2 and it's worked great for gigs.

C.

[jeebustrain]

I guess it depends on the venue, but most places I've been w/ a house sound guy have always had direct boxes that I could hook up to.

I don't know what help that does for you though :p

[ChrisMcCoy]

hehe, Actually, I use a single DI connection from the master out on my Behringer 1602 to get into the house mix. Since I carry a midi rack anyway, it's one more space in the rack...so I have the di box mounted under a shelf and covered with a rack spacer just below the rack mixer. I usually take a single xlr cable from the house sound eng. and connect it to the DI. They get real happy when I tell them I'm only going to eat up one channel for keys on the board even with the full rig setup on stage :)

[jeebustrain]

hehe, Actually, I use a single DI connection from the master out on my Behringer 1602 to get into the house mix. Since I carry a midi rack anyway, it's one more space in the rack...so I have the di box mounted under a shelf and covered with a rack spacer just below the rack mixer. I usually take a single xlr cable from the house sound eng. and connect it to the DI. They get real happy when I tell them I'm only going to eat up one channel for keys on the board even with the full rig setup on stage :)

yeah, my old mixer (the behringer 2442) had xlr (& TRS) outs that I would give a stereo feed of all my gear to the sound guy... Hmm... Now that I've got a 1602 (thanks you your advice), it might behoove me to pick up a couple DI boxes myself to throw in my box. Just in case.

[Omega Monkey]

If you only have one keyboard, what is the point of having a mixer? Just get (or use if available) a DI box (or 2 for stereo) and be done with it.

[ChrisMcCoy]

My thought exactly ! :)

[TDunbar]

Hey guys thanks for the advice - it really helped me a lot! To answer your question Omega Monkey, I have a mixer because when I record at home with multiple keyboards and a guitar, it's easier to record. I can leave everything setup all the time. I take the tape out off the board into my computer and record with Cakewalk HS 2004 XL.

[Omega Monkey]

But what does recording at home have to do with playing live?

[TDunbar]

Dude, if you read what I wrote you'd see that I was trying different things out to make it work with what I had to work with.

[Scrap]

Omega Monkey is a known Fucking Meathead. Don't listen to anything he says. :P

[Omega Monkey]

Right, thats why I am probably one of THE most helpful people in the entire gt section. Because Im a (wtf?). I give people excellent, detailed advice because I am a "fucking meathead" (who talks like that?). Exactly what are you basing this on anyway, and whats with the fucking hostility out of nowhere?

[Piranha]

Calm down now, girls.