'Yhy Not 'Wye question

[mixsit]

Why Not Wye?
I recently posted this in a thread asking about combining mics to one input.
Fixing to work on me guitar cable I got me thinking- we ward-wire sum our P/U's, and the Rane guide does say don't sum outputs.
So, is there any downside y'ing balanced mics together -Maybe if they're dissimilar types or impedances?
Splitting- I get that isolation is preferred as you can have interaction between two destinations.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

You don't need isolation between two destinations, you need it between two sources as they will each lower the impedance the other is driving. You can split an active output at least several times before problems arise.

Guitar pickups are a special case as they are part of a tone creating system. They are meant to generate various different sounds. A proper mixer is designed to preserve the sound accurately unless you want to introduce an intentional change.

 

[mixsit]

Thanks for that it helped clear it up.
When they say it's better to have isolation splitting mics it's more to guard against ground loops rather than loading issues(?)

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Thanks for that it helped clear it up.
When they say it's better to have isolation splitting mics it's more to guard against ground loops rather than loading issues(?)

I would say that's the main reason to have isolation between legs of a split.

 

[mixsit]

Good, and thanks. Sometimes it's good to have a refresher' in some of the basics!