Tracking a combo amp from the control room

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Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby a.beck » Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:14 am

For anyone with experience doing this, do you reckon a good DI and a Passive Link is as good or better than the dedicated Radial thing they sell (http://www.radialeng.com/sgi.php)?

Would love for my money to stay in Oz, so I'm hoping it's the better option. I can't think of what that Radial set up would have over using a DI (that I already own) and a reamp box apart from price.

Cheers.
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby walding » Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:48 pm

A good DI is key.

I use my great river pre as the DI, works a treat
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby peat » Fri Jun 17, 2016 4:16 pm

I've used the Al Smart boxes for this quite a bit (obviously not Aus though) they work perfectly.

More often than not I'll actually take the amp out of the cabinet and run speaker cable, bit of a mess around though!
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby waitup » Fri Jun 17, 2016 5:32 pm

How long is the run? I honestly just tie it through most of the time. Buffered pedal in the chain and it seems ok haha. Is that blasphemy?
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby Text_Edifice » Fri Jun 17, 2016 6:27 pm

Good DI at both ends is fine in my experience.

Good DI and one of Rob's boxes would be excellent.
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby a.beck » Fri Jun 17, 2016 9:50 pm

peat wrote:I've used the Al Smart boxes for this quite a bit (obviously not Aus though) they work perfectly.

More often than not I'll actually take the amp out of the cabinet and run speaker cable, bit of a mess around though!


haha yeah, no way I'm doing that. Looking for something super easy. Did you use the Passive Link at DGs much?

waitup wrote:How long is the run? I honestly just tie it through most of the time. Buffered pedal in the chain and it seems ok haha. Is that blasphemy?


Yeah, tried that. It's not crazy long - 5m Mogami snake straight to a 3m 1/4" cable but I think the multicore is wrong capacitance or something. Guitar ended up with not a lot of tops but lots of noise. Probably could have made it work by making cables with grounds lifted at the correct end and all, but I just want an easy fix that I don't have to think about.

Text_Edifice wrote:Good DI at both ends is fine in my experience.

Good DI and one of Rob's boxes would be excellent.


This is the answer to the question I was asking. Thanks!
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby Text_Edifice » Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:18 pm

These are also a good, cheap, solution. Though without the variable tone knob of a passive link.

http://www.diyrecordingequipment.com/products/l2a
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby peat » Sat Jun 18, 2016 1:24 am

The passive link was perfect! Ended up selling it a while back though.
You could probably DIY a simple passive TFX box but would be a bit of messing around.
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby rick » Sat Jun 18, 2016 10:08 am

I have a little labs itp i think it's called allows you to switch 3 amps or have all three at once and reamp
From protools to any amp anytime , flip phase lift ground
Its about as good as you can imagine

For bass i use the avalon v 5 , its better then you can imagine
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby Linear » Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:04 am

i think rick is talking about the little labs PCP.

we have 2 x little labs STD's which work really well - means you can just use standard tie lines and the electronics are actually in the jack lead so you don't need multiple boxes.

we also have an al smart box and it never really works - not sure why.

i'd recommend the STD - pretty cheap and it just works.

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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby rick » Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:17 am

image.jpeg
http://www.littlelabs.com/pcp.html
Yes pcp it is !
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby tunetown » Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:20 pm

I have the PCB as well. They work excellent. Can't go wrong. "As good as you can imagine" :)
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby a.beck » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:31 am

Thanks for all the suggestions. That PCP looks amazing, but is way way overkill for what I need to do.

Just going to go with my JDV and a Passive Link.
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Re: Tracking a combo amp from the control room

Postby Paul Maybury » Tue Jun 21, 2016 11:52 am

I use a Groove Tube Brick for the DI bit and an impedance converter/adapter at the amp end.
Works great and the signal is balanced at line level until it hits the impedance converter.
I can also hit the amp harder by increasing gain on the Brick.
Can't remember the brand of adaptor/ impedance matcher thing, it has a hi/ lo impedance switch and sounds better than some of the cheaper ones I have used.
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