Can the DA5 be mic'd up to a PA with good results? Here's the deal. I already have several amps including a Vox Valvetronix AD50, which I love - great jazz tone. But I want a small, versatile portable amp that I can keep in my car trunk (that's the "boot" for you Brits:) and use it for impromptu open mics and jams. Has anyone done this before? Also, can the DA5 provide decent vocals through the mic input? I tried the DA5 at GC and was impressed with it's clean tones. Your answers to my questions can help me decide whether I buy it. I want to buy it, but I need a good reason to purchase another amp.

Thanks for the suggestion. The only problem is that my car trunk is jam-packed with equipment. I have room only for an amp the size of the DA5, and barely enough room for that! Just want to know if the DA5 would be worth the effort if it can be mic'd up and preserve some decent tonal quality.

what kind of cable would you use going into the larger amp or pa? would a regular guitar cable work, or should it be speaker cable??

i have thought about doing this with a da 20, so that I could do gigs on the street with batteries but then plug this into my 100 w fender bland amp. .

Yes you can mic the amp. In fact that is probably your best bet for sound quality through the P.A.
I always mic my amps in live and recording situations.
I use an AC30CC2 mic'd with an sm57, and have never been disappointed with the sound quality.
Use a good mic though or you will fight to find the right sound and probably not find it.
I would suggest the sm57. (a tryed and true mic by so many professionals and non)
As far as vocals go I don't think that the vocals would sound very good through the amp.
Most modern amps are voiced specifically for guitar and not the frequencies that vocals present.
Some vintage amps have been used and designed to some aspect to be used like that though. Such as the AC30.
It usually had 4 inputs and some used a guitar and vocals at the same time.
Hope this helps a little.
Rob

Actually I found that it isn't the best for recreating the amps actual tone.
A line out is actually a simulated signal. Meaning that it is designed as a seperate circuit made to emulate the sound of the amp, tubes, and speaker.
It is true that it is designed for this use but to most is inferior in sound quality to a miced speaker.
When mic'ing a cab you are getting the actual sound of the amp you are hearing.
Which has a lot to do with the speaker, and in tube amps the tubes.
A line out is like a solid state amp built into a tube amp.
I would suggest you use what sounds best to your ears, but I would guess like many that you will find the mic'd cab a lot better representation of your actual amp.
Rob

Mike1, I did not take you disagreeing with me to be negative in any way.
Everyone has their own opinions and the way I look at it is, that it is just another way to learn something.
My second response was just so I could clarify what I meant in my 1st response.
I can only go by my experiences.
You are correct in that it should be done in the way it sounds best to you.
I should have clarified that I do not have the da5 and I have never recorded with the amp or used it live.
So when it comes to this amp you know more about what sounds best than me.
I was just giving my thoughts on the amps I have recorded or played through live.
I now use an AC30CC2 for the majority of my recording and live playing.
But prior to that I used a Fender Champ quite a bit for both.
The Champ is fairly popular for recording since it can be cranked at decent volumes in a studio. I have also used it multiple times mic'd live in conjuction with a Marshall half stack.
Both were mic'd to the PA.
For vintage cranked tube sound the Champ mic'd gave a much more usable tube saturated sound.
But again no hard feelings at all on my end.
I try not to ever argue opinions. It is much more useful to just share them.
Peace and Great Tone, Rob

The line out is very good for recording. It sounded quite tight in pro-tools the other day.

I am a sound technician. I own a DA5, a recording studio, a tube stack and just recently a VT30. The da5 is still my main amp. YES YOU CAN MIC THIS AMP. I use a large diaphragm condenser or a 57. I also cut a round hole in the back cover to cram a 57 in the back of the cab (don't forget to Reverse your Phase).

Do youself the favor and buy another on of these amps. Two of these can play live with a drum set not miked.

Just wanted to chime in and say that I've done this successfully. When I first got my da5, I was so psyched about all the effects that I wanted to try them on bass, but knew the bass frequencies would stress the little speaker.

So, I ran a regular guitar cord from the da5 line out into my Sunn Concert Slave, which was hooked up to a Hartke 1X15 and a 2X10. Presto, huge sound, and I was able to hear that tremelo + reverb patch thru a big ol' bass stack, without shredding the little 6" speaker.

What's great about this set up is you can still use gain and master volume control (as well as the 'real' master volume on the slave), so you have all the tone varieties you're used to, it just disables the watt selector on the back.

I've answered my own question that opened this thread.

Last summer I gigged with my DA5 without it being mic'd. I was performing at a patio party with a flutist. We were doing mostly bossa nova and jazz standards. The Vox performed very well, even out of doors. I could play clean and still be heard. Because this was an out of town gig, I chose to use the DA5 for its simplicity and portability. It played clean enough to be heard on a fairly large patio with about a hundred guests. As background music, it was quite successful and we received several compliments on our playing. I'm sure a decent mic hooked up to a PA would have worked just fine.

Thank you all for your input.

Hey guys, I sold my DA-5 without stopping and thinking first, now I need one again! But should I get one or get a DA-10 or VT15 instead? I keep hearing awesome stuff about the DA-10's & VT15's, how do they compare to the DA-5?