So my recording studio, Blanket Fort, consists of a Solid State Logic SSL2 audio interface, a bunch of mics, some blankets, and Ableton. Rather excitingly, I am about to add a ts-to-XLR cable, and a dual ts-to-ts(f) y-cable. Why is this rather exciting you ask? It is exciting because it will allow me to test the following batshit idea.

The SSL2 has only two mic pres/XLR ins. So, I am going to plug a dynamic mic into one of the pres, and point it at my guitar. Then, I am going to use the aforementioned ts y-cable to bridge the monitor outs of the SSL2. Then I am going to run a cable from the bridged monitor outs, into one of the inputs of my bassman (1990 TRI). Then I am going to bridge the channels of my bassman. Then I am going to run the aforementioned ts-to-XLR cable from the remaining output of my bassman, and into the second mic pre of the SSL2. I shall control the levels with the monitor and channel controls on the SSL2. I shall guard against picking up the speaker-bleed from the bassman with a cunning mix of mic-nulls, and blankets.

Behold, my home made tubey mic path.

What will happen?! Will it be tubey goodness?! Will it be hum?! Will it be deafening feedback and a flashbang?! Will it be worse than the heating chair?! No one knooooowsss.... I am going to try my little all-octal amp as well.

Stay tuned for exciting updates. Watch this space.

Anytime I've plugged a tube head into a recording input, the 'tube magic' usually translates to a fuck ton of treble to roll off/low pass.

Blanket Fort is a good name.

I'm extremely confused at the signal flow here. Are you plugging the speaker output of the bassman into a mic preamp? I'm lost, but mostly asking "why".

I have so many thoughts for this:

Support: plugging things into things, and doing weird things is generally a great way to be in your home studio, except of course......
Caution: make sure you're not going to blow up anything you care about (i.e. a transformer on a guitar amp because the speaker out is connected to the wrong impedance)
Curiosity: explain what happened
Skepticism: I've found the general rule of thumb that tube driven audio gear is better has overextended many people's thinking to believe that any audio hitting a vacuum tube in anything will somehow make it a measurable light year 'better', but alas it isn't so
Support (again): have fun, plugging in shit is fun

Thanks all!

The required cables should be here this week, and I shall report back as soon as I have something to report. There is no speaker/line out on the bassman, so I am going to run a lead from one of the bassman's regular instrument inputs back into the second channel of the audio interface. Like Hendrix daisy-chaining his marshall's. I have no idea if the signal will pass through the bassman's EQ circuit or not.

I shall nudge levels up on everything very, very slowly

This won't work. You'd need to tap the signal somewhere after the bassman preamp section, not just at the input jack. The input jacks are in parallel, not series.

You're going to get the same signal that's present at the other input, minus a few dB in level due to the extra resistors in the path.

What is the end goal of setting up this way?
Is this due to a limited number of mics, or lack of DI box?

If I have correctly understood the signal path you described, you're going to have some kind of impedance mismatch at every point.

Nate Dort wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:06 am This won't work. You'd need to tap the signal somewhere after the bassman preamp section, not just at the input jack. The input jacks are in parallel, not series.

You're going to get the same signal that's present at the other input, minus a few dB in level due to the extra resistors in the path.

Yeah, I'm really not sure what you are trying to achieve, but I'm pretty sure what you are describing is not how to do it. The Bassman inputs DO NOT behave as outputs as well. If they are in parallel, you might as well just plug directly into the interface.

Ah bummer,

The input facts are a bummer. I was hoping to run the mic signal through the circuit of the bassman just to see what it sounded like. The end goal is mere discovery. But it sounds like there is not really anything there to discover with this particular path.

But fear not! I can still feed the bassman and stic a mic in front of it. I also have one of the weird little tap/load boxes from Vintage 47 but I have never had any luck getting a usable sound with the thing.

Post-Neve vibes await. You just wait and see. This will change everything. They will interview me in Tape Op.