line in volume is a bit too low

  • Thread starter Thread starter fideelski
  • Start date Start date
F

fideelski

New member
Hi,

I own a presonus firepod and I have three synths, the microkorg, the emu vintage keys and the roland spd-20. When I branch the first two to line ins, the volume of the instruments are quite low. Even if i turn up the volume at max it's still not loud enough... I use instrument cables... Would balanced cables solve the problem, or should I stop breaking my head and use a di or mixer?

Thanks!
 
On that unit if you are using 1/4" ins only the first 2 are instrument inputs. 3-8 are line inputs. So on 3-8 you need some sort of preamp.
 
So balanced cables won't make any difference, it's a preamp I'll be looking for...

I know there are lots of preamps out there, but if I would want to connect two stereo instruments to a preamp, have you got any suggestions wich preamp would suit my needs?

Thanks!
 
Doesn't the Firepod have eight mic preamps? DIs would let you use those. That seems more economical than buying preamps.
 
Are those Behringer DI's worth something

I guess the DI would be the solution to my problem then, or not?
 
fideelski said:
Are those Behringer DI's worth something

I guess the DI would be the solution to my problem then, or not?
Click to expand...

I'm no anti-Behringer activist but I wouldn't recommend them. The ones I've encountered were all faulty, often becoming a problem mid show. But those were all in clubs with their own PAs so things did get pretty beat up.

A DI would solve your problem if you've got mic preamps and the line inputs are too weak for an instrument. That's what they are for.
 
TetraFish said:
Isn't a DI basically a preamp?
Click to expand...

Not exactly. DIs are mostly for interfacing instrument outputs with mic inputs. The mic input has a preamp. Using a DI might actually lead to a decrease in level, but that's made up by the mic preamp. For some instruments it's critical to connect them to something with a very high impedance, like 10M ohm or higher. Active DIs are generally best for those. A loose rule of thumb is to connect passive pickups to active DIs and active pickups to passive DIs (but don't let that stop you from trying it otherwise).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top