Darkglass Element output on stage

Nov 12, 2022
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I recently bought a Darkglass Element, put it in the end of my pedalboard, and using the eq, amp sim and cab sim in it.

I am about to perform on stage with my current equipment, which includes a bass guitar going through effects pedals, with the Darkglass Element as the final pedal in the signal chain. I want my sound at the front of house to have the Element's sound (including EQ, amp simulation, and cab sim). At the same time, I want to hear the sound from the physical bass cab on stage without the cab sim from the Element (but still with the EQ and amp simulation). Additionally, I do not want to go through the physical amp head on stage, only through the cab.

I know that I need to send the direct output of the Element, which is an XLR output, to the PA. However, how can I output the sound without the cab sim to the physical bass cab on stage? The Element has a jack called "instrument out, amp in." Can I use this jack to output the signal without the cab sim to the physical bass cab on stage? I am not quite sure what "instrument out, amp in" means, and by looking the name of it, it doesn’t seems like what I need.

Furthermore, the Darkglass Element manual mentions that "The Element does NOT act as a loadbox! Always make sure your amplifier is connected to a suitable load!" This sentence makes me worried that I might damage my equipment. What does it mean?

This is my first time using this method for on-stage monitoring. In the past, when I used other cabinet simulations, I went directly to the PA and monitored through the stage floor monitors without listening to the physical bass cab on stage. However, my friend told me that using the physical bass cab on stage as a monitor can provide better results, so I want to give it a try. I hope you can help me with these questions. Thank you.
 
I just looked it up to see what it was.

First somewhere in their pictures and description they have something wrong somewhere (at least it looks like it me) they show the pedal board set up and say to use the instrument input but show it plugged into the amp in / instrument out jack.

In my quick search I could find out if what ever is the instrument out passes the fully processed signal or is just a pass through of the input.

The loadbox warning means you need to still use a speaker cabinet connected to you bass amp in one option or another as they show.

For the options using a bass amp with the Element connected to the output of the seems to me like it would defeat the purpose of the amp/cab sim function of the Element.

I would drop your bass amp, connect the Element to the PA via the XLR and bring up the bass in the monitor mixes of who needs to the hear the bass.