Gallien Krueger MB800 DI

[willgatesbass]

Hi all -

Was wondering if anyone can tell me if the level of the Direct Out on the GK MB series heads is affected by the master volume? This doesn't seem to be specified on any amp I've ever bought.

I currently use a Fender Rumble 200 1x15 Combo for live stuff. I use a separate DI box with it as the master volume on the amp affects the signal that goes to front of house. This isn't ideal for mid-set adjustments in volume e.g. If I decide I need more volume from the amp for monitoring, I can't turn up the master without sending the front of house a load more level too.

The direct outl on my old Genz Benz Contour was unaffected by on-the-fly master volume adjustments, which was very handy.

I had a Markbass combo briefly and I see they've gone down the route of having separate controls for master volume and DI.

Either way, this doesn't seem to be something that amp manufacturers specify, unless there is a name for it that I'm not aware of? This seems strange to me as it's an important piece of info as far as I'm concerned. With more and more bassists relying on small Class D amps, using the direct out in a multitude of different venues with different engineers. It must do engineer's heads in to have bassists adjusting their volume mid-set and messing up the mix they've been trying to perfect for the first few tunes!

The only way I've managed to deduce wether or not a DI level is affected by the master volume is by doing an experiment with the engineer i.e - Get your engineer to watch for changes in input level on his/her desk/ipad whilst you increase/decrease the master volume dial.

I am more than willing to throw my hands up and admit that I'm an idiot but having owned a few amps in my couple of years of playing, I find that the situation varies often.

With my sights set on an MB800 I'd like to find out how it will behave.

Thanks in advance!

[Graham]

I suspect the DI is independent of the volume control, that was certainly the case on the MB500 I had.

[Dood]

It is independent of the master volume.

[willgatesbass]

Thanks guys! That was simpler than I thought

[rOB]

I'm currently struggling a bit with something similar.

I use the boost channel of the mb500 for foot-switchable drive but interestingly the boost volume control doesn't seem to affect the DI volume causing jumps in volume when increasing gain through the boost channel.

Hmmm, might need to experiment with a DI box fed from the line out.