Will this do?

[kingbee]

Pardon me for being dozey, but will this work for connecting my bass combo to our band's PA? (using XLR out to 1/4" jack in)
[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Hall-male-jack-cable/dp/B001GEBD5K/ref=sr_1_20?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1296127145&sr=1-20"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Hall-male-jac...145&sr=1-20[/url]
Our guitarist, who is supremely knowledgeable in such matters, ain't around at the moment.

This cable on Amazon is about half the price of the equivalent in my local guitar shop. OK brand?

Edited January 27, 2011 by kingbee

[Doddy]

What connection is the DI out on your amp?
That cable will work if you have a 1/4" out of your amp as most desks receive the male XLR. If you need XLR out to 1/4" in then it will probably be wrong-you'll need a female XLR.
If you have an XLR output you'd be better of buying a male/female XLR cable

[DanOwens]

What Doddy said:

What is the output on your amp?
What is the input on the PA?

The reason why we've both asked this question is mostly PAs have XLR ins and Bass amps have XLR outs (so we're confused by the '1/4" Jack' bit).

Dan

[kingbee]

Thanks, and sorry to confuse, guys, but remember you're talking to yer typical bassist here - only marginally more intelligent than yer typical drummer.

The DI Out on the combo is XLR. I did ask the guitarist (when I spoke to him a few days ago) what socket I'd be going into on his desk, and he said first "XLR", then changed his mind and said "maybe 1/4" jack would be better". Don't know why, and I never thought to quiz him on the point.

However, this would obviously suggest that the PA can take both XLR-in and 1/4" jack-in. As to which would be better, that's where I'm clueless. Is there a standard assumption here that XLR to XLR is the better way to go?

Thanks again for taking the time to visit / help out.

[razze06]

[quote name='kingbee' post='1104973' date='Jan 27 2011, 12:40 PM']Thanks, and sorry to confuse, guys, but remember you're talking to yer typical bassist here - only marginally more intelligent than yer typical drummer.

The DI Out on the combo is XLR. I did ask the guitarist (when I spoke to him a few days ago) what socket I'd be going into on his desk, and he said first "XLR", then changed his mind and said "maybe 1/4" jack would be better". Don't know why, and I never thought to quiz him on the point.

However, this would obviously suggest that the PA can take both XLR-in and 1/4" jack-in. As to which would be better, that's where I'm clueless. Is there a standard assumption here that XLR to XLR is the better way to go?

Thanks again for taking the time to visit / help out.[/quote]

I think that XLR inputs on mixer desks are meant for unbalanced signals such as mikes, and 1/4'' jack tend to be for balanced signals. I would imagine that the signal coming from the DI output is more likely to be balanced, hence your guitarist's suggestion.

[Tengu]

All you need is a standard mic cable - connect your XLR output to the XLR input of the desk.

That will be a balanced connection and means you can use a longer cable without incurring interference.

The 1/4" jacks on the desk are for plugging in line-level equipment such as keyboards and may or may not accept a balanced cable, depending on the model. For it to be balanced, however, the plug would have to be TRS (Tip, Ring, Sleeve). Most instrument cables, and the one in your link, are TR only.

It is possible that the DI output from your amp is too hot for the desk - I had a Laney combo that would overload the mic preamp with the gain all the way down - so you would need to put a DI box in between to reduce the signal to mic level.

Try the mic cable first though. I think that you will find that to be sufficient.

[kingbee]

Thanks all for the helpful input thus far. Tell you the truth, the cables are so cheap on Amazon I think I'll just order one of each type - that'll still cost me less than buying one cable from my local guitar shop (as much as I do like to support local traders whenever I can, sometimes it just ain't viable).