Im new You're gonna hate me lol RE: cables

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Simplicity2202

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Basically i can;t get my head round using balanced and unbalnced cables.
i use a yamaha dgx 620 (keyboard) which has a line out/phones connector on the back. i use it to record into my presonus firebox which obviously goes into my comp.
i use cubase sx3 but i still can't get the crisp clarity i need. is it my cables and what should use to get the best sound.
i take it phones is a stereo signal but a differrent kind than other stereo connections is it possible to switch it somewhere on the keyboard to line out mono (i know that m9ight sound incredibly stupid lol).
im recording it as a mono track it gets me down lol. i think at the moment i am using an unbalanced TS cable.
also for recording with my acoustic guitar i use mics but also cable. im pretty sure that one should be unbalanced but again i just can't get my head round the basics. its mad i know any help appreciated.
Ben
 
I cant speak for the gutair because Ive never used them.

But for the keyboard I would use unbal, and I actully record being plugged stright into the computer
(that seems to give the the crispness, and the highs I like)
but then again It might depend on the type of keyboard you are using.

You might even try midi out if you have it.
 
tanks

yeah i do use midi with reason 4 and hypersonic when im at me mates but i can't afford that yet.
i do like working with real audio and im trying to improve my technique. but thanks for the advice. i get a nice piano sound form the keyboard it has a very good piano sample on there its just i get a background hiss (very slight) even when i gate it it is still there above the notes im playing. i know using unbalanced can cause that but the cable is only 10ft i think so shouldn;t really be a problem oh well.
thanks again
:)
 
Simplicity2202 said:
Basically i can;t get my head round using balanced and unbalnced cables.
i use a yamaha dgx 620 (keyboard) which has a line out/phones connector on the back. i use it to record into my presonus firebox which obviously goes into my comp.
i use cubase sx3 but i still can't get the crisp clarity i need. is it my cables and what should use to get the best sound.
i take it phones is a stereo signal but a differrent kind than other stereo connections is it possible to switch it somewhere on the keyboard to line out mono (i know that m9ight sound incredibly stupid lol).
im recording it as a mono track it gets me down lol. i think at the moment i am using an unbalanced TS cable.
also for recording with my acoustic guitar i use mics but also cable. im pretty sure that one should be unbalanced but again i just can't get my head round the basics. its mad i know any help appreciated.
Ben
Click to expand...


For the keyboard, get yourself a 'Y' lead, with a TRS connector splitting to two TS plugs.The TRS end goes into your keyboard headphone socket, and either (or both) of the TS ends goes into the firebox. Use both if you want stereo, or just one if you want mono. Note that you will have to juggle with the output level on the keyboard and the input level of the Firebox to get the cleanest sound. Headphone to Firebox isn't an ideal direct connection, and through a DI would be better, but it should work ok, and yo should even get reasonable results just using the TS cable.

For the microphone, use an XLR cable (which are balanced) to go from mike to Firebox.
 
cheers

that makes sense cheers. im limited to four inputs at the moment (money money money). but that sounds great thanks.
i though that was something that i needed to do to get the stereo connection. might have to look at a direct box balancing the signal anyways. i really want to get a good sound but as you said recording from phones out isn;t the best
 
"Im new You're gonna hate me lol RE: cables"

no hatin here man.....



C'mon....
Group Hug!


:D
 
the reason the headphone jack doesn't work that well has to di with the fact that it's an amplified signal... much hotter than the regular outputs on most boards (refered to as line level)... so you're going to have to dick around withit to find a usable setting... what i would do is set the channel on the interface at it's minimum gain... then bring up the keyboard slowly till just short of clipping... also if your metering allows for it use the peak hold function so you can tell if it was too hot... as often you play harder than when your setting things up... make sense???
 
dementedchord said:
the reason the headphone jack doesn't work that well has to di with the fact that it's an amplified signal... much hotter than the regular outputs on most boards (refered to as line level)... so you're going to have to dick around withit to find a usable setting... what i would do is set the channel on the interface at it's minimum gain... then bring up the keyboard slowly till just short of clipping... also if your metering allows for it use the peak hold function so you can tell if it was too hot... as often you play harder than when your setting things up... make sense???
Click to expand...

cheers that makes more sense. i'll have a play later when i get back from work.
all comments are a ppreciated so cheers
 
dementedchord said:
the reason the headphone jack doesn't work that well has to di with the fact that it's an amplified signal... much hotter than the regular outputs on most boards (refered to as line level).
Click to expand...

Actually a headphone output will often be lower voltage, but possibly lower source impedance than a line output (which would not matter to a line input). A typical headphone signal might be 1VRMS into say 24 ohm cans, for 42mW, which is usually pretty freakin' loud in the cans. 1VRMS = 0dBV, which is nothing for a line input. Now, a good headphone amp can drive phones much harder than that, but a lot of built-in headphone amps actually use the same opamps and pretty much the same circuit as the line output driver.

In fact, I use my can amp as a test signal source into my mic preamp all the time, works just fine. So I suspect the problem lies elsewhere.
 
thnx jack booted one... and that kinda makes sense... to amplify beyond would take more voltage... but something doesn't quite ring true... i'll have to consider it some more... perhaps it has to do with current drive rather than voltage available... as most line outs cant drive phones...
 
dementedchord said:
thnx jack booted one... and that kinda makes sense... to amplify beyond would take more voltage... but something doesn't quite ring true... i'll have to consider it some more... perhaps it has to do with current drive rather than voltage available... as most line outs cant drive phones...
Click to expand...

That's true, because a line output impedance is probably too high, maybe 100 ohms. Plug in a 24 ohm headphone and the voltage would sag badly. Many line outputs are designed with a small bit of series resistance--maybe 47 ohms--to limit current draw when the output is shorted; that's not going to do wonders for a headphone either.

But you can take a chip like an NE5532 and use it to drive a headphone, you just can't get it very loud because your max current is limited. It would work well with higher impedance headphones. On the other hand, there are small DIP-8 chips that can drive lots of current, but at a lower voltage. Ultimately, if you want high voltage and high current, you need a bigger package that can dissipate more heat, and you're in the more serious power amplifier type of chip.
 
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