[sdiy] Direct Injection box?

[Debby and Gene Stopp]

In the larger venues that I've set up for, ALL the cables on stage are mic inputs (balanced XLR) going to the monitor mixer at the side of the stage, and then on to the front-of-house mixer. All of the microphones (vocal, drum, etc.) go straight in to the XLR snakes and end up at the monitor mixer. Usually the amp'ed stuff (guitars and basses) get mic'ed and go into the snakes as well. Sometimes the guitar and bass amps get an additional DI from an aux line out into the board. As for the keyboards, everything is line level there so all of the keyboards go into a local submix (quite often a Mackie 1202 or something like that) and then into a pair of DI's for a stereo mix to the board. Sometimes each keyboard gets its own DI or pair of DI's, if there's plenty of un-used mic inputs and there's enough DI's to go around. This works well for things like Mellotrons so the guys at the boards can EQ and noise gate them. However, it seems like there's never enough DI's to go around, and even if there are, the drum tech will use them up in a hurry! Quick, hide the mics....

One problem with the local submix approach that keyboard players frequently find themselves stuck with, is that the level balance of the instruments is set on stage rather than at front-of-house. The keyboard player usually has no clue when there's a level problem, and the poor front-of-house guy has only a stereo pair to deal with! We usually get the best sound during the show when every instrument has its own DI.

- Gene
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jon Darby 
  To: synth-diy at node12b53.a2000.nl 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2001 9:57 AM
  Subject: [sdiy] Direct Injection box?


  Howdy, everyone,
      What exactly, from an electron's point of view, is a Direct In box? I've had to play through a few as a bass player in some shows, mainly where some professional sound guy named "Smokestack" Jenkins has been hired to do the sound. I've never questioned what it was. Does it just split the signal and boost the outgoing signals to make up for any loss in the split process? What amplifier did the other output go to that required this beast? Do some PA systems run inputs at line level? The reason I ask is I was curious about sending my Theremin's audio out through my Moog Rogue's Audio In to see if I want to clone its filter to add to my Theremins, and apparently it requires a hotter signal to pass the audio through. What parts are involved in building one? It couldn't possibly be more than a slight amplification of the input audio, could it? Could a simple transistor amplifier circuit suffice? Are there any public schematics available? THank you for entertaining this wordy request!

  Your pal,
  Jon Darby
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