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Will a Guitar Preamp work with a DJ system?


mikehende

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Hey guys, I run my home DJ system 2-way mono [crown 3600 amps, Ashly 2001 xover, DBX Eq, Sonic dual 18 sub, CV L36 sub and Peavey Sp2 tops]. I get the old school sound and quality I need but I realize that using different DJ mixers give me a different sound and without a DJ mixer connected I get the right sound.

 

Thing is I need a preamp to get full power from the system plus I like having bass, mids and highs control knobs. I am thinking of getting a vintage or old school type Audio preamp which will not alter the sound but almost impossible to find nowadays and I am mainly finding Guitar preamps and wondering if that will work just like a regular audio preamp, like this one BBE 381?

 

http://www.harmonycentral.com/reviews/product/bbe-381-guitar-preamp

 

Also, anyone here had similar issue please?

 

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First off, two way mono is stereo unless you use it vertically by driving a crossover and separate highs and lows. Then its what you call biamping.

 

If you want to use a guitar preamp for guitar, then yes it can drive a power amp and PA Cabs. A two or three way system is not the kind of speaker system you'd normally use for guitar however. Guitar is not a flat full frequency instrument, nor is the gear like preamps used for guitar. You'd have way too much mid frequency and the wrong kinds of highs and lows.

 

The Power amp is fine for driving a guitar cab which has midrange drivers but Horns and low frequency woofers are not want you want for guitar. They are fine for and electric acoustic guitar because those frequencies are needed but not for electric unless the electric is also using amp/cab modeling which can work on a high fidelity system.

 

If your plans are to use this preamp to drive a DJ system and playing full fidelity music like CD's, forget it. First off I wouldn't be using a mono system for that. You loose all the stereo effect essential in modern recordings. A mono system can be used as a PA but again, you loose out on usinggreat modern stereo effects. Second, that preamp is not the right impedance. The input is instrument level, not line level. Third, its input is mono the outputs are split so its only going to have a mono out unless its driving two separate amp channels (not a crossover) and use stereo effects. 4th, you cant run a stereo CD in without a buffer or mixer to combine the stereo mix to mono. 5th, its EQ is voiced for a guitar pickup which is mostly midrange. Its not flat frequency nor is it high fidelity. 6th, The overdrive channel will be totally useless to you.

 

What you need is a Mixer which has line level out and channel/master volumes. This will drive your power amp as hard as you need it. You'll have channel EQ's and you already have a master EQ so you should be fine there. Personally I'd dump using the crossover and run true stereo. If you need to balance the subs with the tops use a passive crossover solution and you'll do as well if not much better. This way you'll have true stereo and the system will actually be useful for more then just being a mono PA system.

 

I have the same power head and run it with a second power head and run three sets of cabs on each side, 18's 15'sm and horns. I use a stereo mixer, EQ, compressor/gate an effects unit and the system will remove paint from the walls when cranked over half way up. The worst thing I could do is use a guitar preamp (I own a half dozen of them for my recording setup) I have a Yamaha GEP 50 which is an guitar preamp effects unit which I tried in the effects loop for awhile and had it set for clean echo's and it sounded awful. The gear simply isn't designed for PA gear its designed to drive a guitar amp.

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If your plans are to use this preamp to drive a DJ system and playing full fidelity music like CD's' date=' forget it. First off I wouldn't be using a mono system for that. You loose all the stereo effect essential in modern recordings. A mono system can be used as a PA but again, you loose out on usinggreat modern stereo effects. Second, that preamp is not the right impedance. The input is instrument level, not line level. [/quote']

 

I see thanks for the info/advice, I had thought that BBE's "Clean" channel option was line level which as you say is what I need. As mentioned no matter which DJ mixer I have tried it alters the sound. So since a guitar preamp won't do then I will have to hope I come across a stereo preamp like what I had years ago, think I had Lineartech, Soundscraftsmen and Crown [the one rack space model].

 

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