This may be the wrong site for my post but I thought I would give it a try. My situation is not recording but production. We have been running the electric instrument signals through simple direct boxes with XLR connections back to the snake junction box which runs about 150 ft to the mixing console back up the snake to the main amplifiers located about 20 ft from the large main JBL speakers and subwoofers. This arrangement has worked well for about four years. Recently, we hired a new music leader for my church who wants to place instrument microphones in front of portable instrument amplifier/speaker units for the guitars then run that signal to the snake rather than using the direct boxes and keeping the signal electrical. He says it will sound better.

I am an electronics engineer and operated the sound system for a large rock band in the late 70’s. I have tried to understand how going from electrical to audio back to electrical back to audio again is suppose to sound better. I checked, and speakers are still the weakest link in a sound system. That hasn’t changed in over seventy years. So how can putting speakers and microphones in series within the sound signal path improve the sound quality? And these are not studio speakers costing several thousand dollars either, but the economy speakers usually used in portable amplifiers. It seems to me that it is much like recording a television show by setting up a video camera in front of a television screen rather than recording the electrical signal from the input. The recording will not be nearly as good.

Our goal is not “sound effects” but a good clean signal. If I am missing something that is hindering my understanding, please explain this to me. Thanks.

Well, first off, what instruments are we talking about? Keyboards, bass, electric guitar, electric/acoustic guitar? For keys, bass, and acoustic, DI is probably the best thing. An electric guitar usually sounds better coming from a guitar amp than running it DI, unless you are using a processor of some kind (eg. V-Amp, POD, DigiTech...).

I head up my church's sound systems as well as play bass and guitar. In my opinion, in live sound, especially where volume needs to be under tight control, like in a church worship service, it's probably best to run instruments direct into the sound board when you can. It makes mixes in the monitors easier as well as in the main speakers.

Currently, electric lead, elecrtric bass, and electric drums are being miked through portable amp/spekaer combo units. An old friend of mine who now does studio recording and movie recordings just told me that electric drums should never be miked through and amp.

yeah, it's pretty pointless to mic an amp for electric drums except maybe to use as some kind of effect in a recording situation.