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knirirr

PA without line out

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I've got a Vox VX50 GTV(*); this is very small and light and therefore good as a practice amp, but if turned up(**) is capable of being loud enough clean to play at a local jazz jam, which is not bad for a small combo with an 8" speaker. But, it's sometimes difficult to find a good place for it so that everyone can hear clearly and I wonder if it would be worth plugging into the PA as well. But, of course, there's no line out on this amp.
It does have a headphone and also a USB socket, but I don't know if anything useful could be done with those.

If I understand https://www.thomann.de/gb/millenium_die_dibox_passiv.htm correctly, could this be used to send the guitar signal to both amp and PA? If so then presumably the signal the PA receives won't have the amp's effects, modelling etc. applied.
Could the amp perhaps be omitted entirely and some sort of pedal used to connect to the PA (if so, what might suit?). If there's a similarly light/small/loud/clean amp with line out that might be worth getting instead.

 

(*) https://voxamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/VX50GTV_VX15GT_OM_EFGSJ1.pdf

(**) Power on full 50W, gain on half, volume a little over half, usually does the trick.

Edited by knirirr
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Most DI box will take an input and split it, or take the output from a valve amp before it gets to the speaker and route it to another speaker option or to PA as well as back to the main speaker.

Your only option with your VOX is to input your guitar into the DI input (which will send a clean, un-effected signal of purely your guitar output and put it into PA) and the other output is a continuation of your normal setup which then connects to your amp input. Unless you want a sterile clean sound going to the PA, it probably isn't much use. You could output the headphones into the PA with a long enough cable, but this will likely mute the speaker too which makes the amp useless on stage, but you could just use the monitors that they already have to hear yourself. Ideally you would want an amp such as the Roland Blues Cube, various Blackstar models, Peavey Bandit 112 or DV Mark Jazz that already have the DI out on the amp itself, or just use a floor pedal for all of your effects and then use the output from that into the DI box, but just use your amp totally clean to amplify what your floor pedal is doing. There are amp simulator pedals which will do this (such as this https://www.amazon.co.uk/JOYO-Simulation-Amplifier-Effects-Electric/dp/B07S88W8M4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3EEZVVD0T2JDT&keywords=amp+simulator+pedal&qid=1704206665&sprefix=amp+simulator+pedal%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1), but there are several low cost multi effects that would do the trick if you aren't worried about complicated channel switching etc.

If you wanted multiple floor based pedals this becomes more complex.

 

Or just mic up your amp and then you get both options.

 

My own solution (not jazz, but clean-ish blues) is having no amp at all and just using a multi FX which has 2 outputs and then either rely totally on the PA (my own system) for volume or use an active speaker as well to amplify myself on stage.

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Thanks for the pedal link - I might look into something like that.

A Roland Blues Cube would be great, but is 3.5x the weight and rather expensive. That DV Mark amp is only 2x the weight, though... Perhaps something to consider in the longer term.
Micing up the amp might be a possibility as I do actually have a microphone and stand.

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Following on from this, I have found that Vox do a very similar amp called the Clubman 60. This has a line out.

It also lacks or simplifies some of the effects and doesn't have the various emulation (inc. distortion) settings, being designed for a clean tone with (semi-)hollow guitars. It sounds ideal, if I can sell the VX50...

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Easiest option for a small venue is to place the amp on a stand to allow it to throw the sound forward by being clear of the floor (orstick it on a decent chair providing it is secure on there, bit of gaffer tape helps).

 

Failing that, to go into a PA and have your effects be part of things, it's easier to just mike the amp and go into a PA via that. The obvious choice for doing that is a Shure SM57 and a mike stand for it.  Be sure to have some spare leads and such to ensure you have enough cable length. Don't do what I see a lot of idiots doing, which is to drape the mike over the top of the amp so the mike is hanging over the speaker; an SM57's cardioid pickup pattern means it needs to be aimed at the speaker to amp it up properly without picking up extraneous noise from other sources, which is why you need a mike stand for it to achieve that.

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