EH pre amp hum

  • Thread starter Thread starter Walter Tore
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Walter Tore

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I sent Joel a private message on this, but figured I would post it here as well- I am anxious to try the xlr hook up. I searched the threads here, and couldn't find the solution. Thanks Walter

Hi Joel: Sorry to bother you again. I went out and bought a few XLR(f) - 1/4" phone balanced cable, but it is humming like crazy with all volumes at 0, and the output dial doesn't work with the xlr plugged in. I remember reading a post here, when these pre's first came out, about this. Any advice? THanks Walter

I am running the EH into a delta 66 soundcard. I have a 1010 in the box, waiting to go(if that will help with the solution).
 
I just got one of the EH tube pre's. Been testing it w/various mic's and it's been working well going from the XLR out into a balanced input... no noise to speak of. It's quite a nice pre.

Tim
 
I have had the same experience, when going from the 1/4" out, but Joel told me this was only touching the surface of what this pre can do. What kind of sound card are you using? Are you running xlr-xlr? Thanks Walter
 
Mine's good, I go xlr out to xlr in (Delta 1010LT).
 
What kind of sound card are you using? Are you running xlr-xlr?
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I used it with a Digigram VXPocket PCMCIA card in my laptop - XLR balanced input, and also with a Lucid 9624 converter, also an XLR balanced input. If you're getting severe hum I'd guess it's a bad cable or the input isn't balanced - but the Delta 66 has balanced in's, right?.

Tim
 
Timothy Lawler said:
I used it with a Digigram VXPocket PCMCIA card in my laptop - XLR balanced input, and also with a Lucid 9624 converter, also an XLR balanced input. If you're getting severe hum I'd guess it's a bad cable or the input isn't balanced - but the Delta 66 has balanced in's, right?.

Tim
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THanks for the response. I am gear ignorant. THe inputs are 1/4" on the delta 66, but I don't know if they are balanced or not. I bought 3 cables, and they all hum. THanks! Walter
 
Walter, are you sure the XLR to 1/4" cables have TRS plugs at the 1/4" end, and that they're not adapter cables that end in 1/4" unbalanced-type plugs? Does the 1/4" plug have 3 sections to it? And you might want to check the soundcard manual to make sure its in's are balanced.

Tim
 
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Hi Tim: Thanks for helping! I am not home, but if you look at my first post, I copied off the cord box, what it is. I think It has more rings than a guitar cord does, if that helps. I can check for sure tonight. Thanks! Walter
 
have you thought of using an isolation transformer of some sort. i have heard varying reports about that EH pre.
 
Walter Tore said:
The 66& 1010 I have, has only 1/4" inputs
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Ins 1&2 on the 1010LT are xlr. They can be used as mic preamps or set to line level (which is what I do).

Seems like the EH neg rep drama queen is back? :rolleyes:
 
Timothy Lawler said:
Walter, are you sure the XLR to 1/4" cables have TRS plugs at the 1/4" end, and that they're not adapter cables that end in 1/4" unbalanced-type plugs? Does the 1/4" plug have 3 sections to it? And you might want to check the soundcard manual to make sure its in's are balanced.

Tim
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Hi Tim: I am home and looked at the cables. The 1/4" phone balanced (male), on the xlr (female) cable, that connects the EH to the delta, has 2 rings. The delta 66 manual says the breakout box inputs are 1/4" TRS and is compatible with 1/4" TRS (balanced) or TS connections.

Walter
 
So the 1/4" plug looks like this? If so, then hell, I dunno.

In a cable with XLR and TRS plugs, do they ever vary in which pins of the XLR goes to the tip, ring and sleeve? That's the only other thing I can think of.

Tim
 
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Timothy Lawler said:
So the 1/4" plug looks like this? If so, then hell, I dunno.

In a cable with XLR and TRS plugs, do they ever vary in which pins of the XLR goes to the tip, ring and sleeve? That's the only other thing I can think of.

Tim
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that is what they look like. I hooked up the delta 1010 I just bought, and it worked fine. Like I said earlier, I am not a gear head, so I am not one to wonder why. Thanks for all your help. I owe you a lunch! Walter
 
I figured out the nasty hum. The delta has 2 volume/imput settings +4 and -10. The +4 makes the worst hum you ever heard, and the -10 makes it quiet as heck. Anyone know why? thanks Walter

PS: the XLR out makes these preamps sound better than I could ever imagine! Thanks Joel
 
That's great, Walter. I'm liking the sound of mine as well. I haven't owned a good tube pre before so I'm steeping myself in the "tubeness"... recording with lots of preamp gain - just barely avoiding the pre's overload light. Man, what a rich thick sound. It tends to smooth out transient levels but its smoothness isn't the muddy masking that the tube circuit in the Presonus Bluetube tends to have. Tried it on nylon and steel string gtr w/budget and high end mic's. The only thing that didn't like it was my M160 ribbon on a quiet source at 3 ft... just not enough silent gain. I've noticed that it does especially nice things to the all-too-easily-brittle highs of the V67 and 603s. So yeah, thanks Joel for talking up the pre.

Tim
 
I am glad you guys are digging that big guy in a little package.
I really believe in that thing. I have absolutely no reason to care about a "budget" pre because I work on stuff that costs like 900 times that EH pre per channel EVERY DAY! I only say that because it qualifies this statement: Thet EH pre rocks, and those of you that miss out on it are gonna be bummed when they are called classics in the years to come.

The fact is this: that pre stands up to almost any pre I have ever tried when used with a great mic like a C12 (for AC gtrs) or with any of the burly mics i get to use these days. Using the XLR out, you simply get GREAT tube pre goodness! (the 1/4" out is buffered with IC's, the XLR is NOT! Totally discrete tube greatness in a little box! amazing).

When I first tried the prototype, I thought it was going to cost like 1000 dollars (seriously) for a two channel design or something, which I STILL thought was going to be a deal! I thought it had just been built into a tube zipper or hot tubes box out of the need for easy revisions.... NOPE that was the whole deal, and it is cheap!

Nothing else in that pre's price range even comes close. The fact that it is completely discrete, REAL tube gain, and you can "voice" the pre however you want with any 12a""7 series of tubes is amazing. Try 'AX7's in there from an old guitar amp, you will be amazed at how much the overall color of the thing changes. That lets you know that the gain is REALLY coming from tubes and nothing else. Look at the circuit! Nothing in there except tubes! Amazingly simple, elegant little box. I need to get a few racked and in my "carry with me" rack of stuff I love to use no matter what studio I am at!
 
speaking of racked, does anyone know if they have plans for a rackmountable version??
 
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