Recording guitar with a pass-through?

[Metaltastic]

Alright guys, so here's the deal:

I hate recording my guitar parts anywhere but the control room, and our school's studio has a 1/4" pass-through from the control-room to the studio. However, if I were to run enough instrument cable to get from my guitar to the pass through, and then from the other side of the pass through to the amp, it would be way longer than the 25' limit for an unbalanced inst. cable. So how should I go about remedying this?

 

[hsinn3r]

from what i know, you can use a di on the other side, to clear up the signal (?). don't know if it'll make any difference, that's what i've read though

 

[Trevoire520]

a di from the guitar, into the XLR pass throughs, then use a reamp box before it hits the amp?

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, I figured a DI box had to be involved somehow, but I've honestly never really known how they can be used for anything other than plugging into a console line input. I remember reading an article in some magazine about how a DI box was a great tool for playing live, but the studio seems to be where it would really be needed just for the sake of extending cable. Any recommendations on how to go about doing this?

 

[JBroll]

Tillman's FET preamp.

http://www.till.com/articles/GuitarPreamp/

No questioning, just do it.

Jeff

 

[colonel kurtz]

is there any type of speaker output that passes through the wall?

if so, keep the head in the control room with you...run the speaker cable to the wall, then from the wall to the cab in there

not only do you still have control over the amp since it's right there with you, but then the long cable run is also through the speaker cable, which can handle it a lot easier than the instrument cable can

 

[Metaltastic]

Well the pass through is 1/4", but I doubt it's wired for speaker cable (2-conductor is the main criterion, right?). Is there any kind of length limitation on speaker cable, though? Cuz on the one hand, it's unbalanced AND unshielded, but on the other, isn't it also ridiculously low-impedance? (I mean 8 ohms, that's just ridiculous, compared to the 150 min. of an SM57, for example).

@JBroll, that thing looks really sweet! It still outputs an unbalanced signal though, right, just with more power? So would that mean I could run a longer inst. cable with less signal degredation?

 

[JBroll]

Yeah, I'd honestly build a preamp into a cable, have it powered by your board's phantom powered, and just use that for all guitar tracking. It's cheap as fuck, small enough to build into a plug, and with some good Canare and a pair of Switchcraft jacks you'll never have to worry about it again. It'll take some tinkering - plan on buying about ten FETs and having one or two being in the 'right' range, unless you really like biasing transistors - but the preamp with quality components shouldn't run you more than three dollars.

Jeff

 

[JeffTD]

Amp in the control room.

 

[RKelly]

http://www.radialeng.com/re-sgi.htm

That will fix everything for you.

The way to do it with DI boxes is to use two. One in the CR where you plug your guitar into it and then another on the other to un-balance your signal. With long runs you'll still lose some high-end which is what makes the SGI so awesome is the drag feature.

Another option is to use a super long speaker cable. I have a 50' one that I usually run from the head to the booth.

 

[Metaltastic]

Fuck yeah RKelly, that thing looks sweet, thanks! As for the long-speaker-cable concept, I gather that's the most common solution in big studios, but to reiterate, is there any kind of length limitation on speaker cable? Cuz on the one hand, it's unbalanced AND unshielded, but on the other, isn't it also ridiculously low-impedance? (I mean 8 ohms, that's just ridiculous, compared to the 150 min. of an SM57, for example).

 

[Metaltastic]

Ahem...

 

[2012]

is there any kind of length limitation on speaker cable? Cuz on the one hand, it's unbalanced AND unshielded, but on the other, isn't it also ridiculously low-impedance?

not really. long speaker runs are common. use 14 or 12 gauge for long runs.

you're better off with a 50 ft. speaker cable than even a 25 ft. guitar cable.

 

[Metaltastic]

Thanks dude, just what I was looking for!

 

[colonel kurtz]

yea...speaker cables can run 1000+ ft. without much signal degradation, even without shielding, due to the high voltage of the signal

just think about stuff like large concert venues, football stadiums, etc...those cables have to travel a long-ass way from the amps to the speakers