Marshall SV20 DI .. any good?

I’d like to think you can take a lead from the DI to the mixer and get a faithful tone amplified by the PA, but I suspect you need something in between.
Can someone put me right on this and recommend what I s needed?

 

Hi Chalky,
a cab simulation is the missing part. I recommend a simulation which is based on "impulse responses" (like Mooer Radar) for max variety.

 

Does it( SV20 DI) not require a load box.?
BP

 

Yes, if you want to use the amp without speaker.

 

So you're saying you do need a load box? The Mooer Radar is not a load box as I'm sure you know.
BP

 

There are different scenarios:
1. Amp and cab (for hearing yourself) + DI Out -> Cab Sim -> PA (for the audience)
2. Amp and loadbox (for silence) + DI Out -> Cab Sim -> PA (for the audience) -> Monitors/Headphones (for hearing yourself)

So you only need a loadbox if you want the amp to be quiet!
I'm oldschool: I prefer 1. for directness.

 

For sure. As long as you've got somewhere for the juice to go no problem.
BP

 

To repeat the original question does it sound any good?

 

I say: yes, depending on the cab-IR. I tried following recording chain: "DI-Out -> Audio-Interface -> DAW -> cab-IR VST plugin" and the result sounded convincing. By the way it is easier to try different IRs than microphone positions.

 

In my opinion nothing beats a Sure SM57 for getting a guitar amp's signal into the PA.

 

Yes... and it is no more effort than using a Cab Sim between DI-out and PA. But if you want an adjustable isolated recording track: nothing beats DI-out. And there are some good IRs capturing a Shure SM57 in many different positions before different (Celestion) Speakers.

 

The di is already compensated. Running another speaker sim is not necessary.
Is it good?.... nae, its OK. Playing a small bar or club with your amp, it's good for filing out the sound through the p.a. but it's not super realistic.
If you're running a quiet stage, there are better options, taping one of the speaker backs into an I.R. or palmer pdi09 for example
J

 

The compensation warms the signal up a little. More like the output stage. But it is still to harsh. Not what you hear through the speaker in comparison. Therefore I recommended a cab sim additionally.
Yes, a hardware cab sim like a Palmer pdi09 between speaker out and speaker will also do the trick. But it is not as versatile as cab sim based on IRs.

 

I have experimented with the onboard DI of the SV20H and compared to several other DIs using IRs. There is a huge difference. Not all DIs are created equal, btw. IMHO, using a high quality external DI with IRs will get a much better result. I tried Two Notes Captor, Radial and a Rupert Neve Design RNDI. The Rupert Neve smoked all of them by a lot! The RNDI is expensive but worth it. It also doubles as The Best Bass guitar DI I have ever tried. The onboard DI of the SV20H is compensated so you are really just stuck with that single speaker emulation which is no where as good as a single Impulse Response or the millions of variations available. Even a cheap DI with a cab sim box with IRs will be a much better choice.