DI Wires Question

Thud · #1 05-28-2003, 10:38 PM

I've been using the 1/4" jacks on my guitar, zoom
setup to our old mixer for a little while now and everything worked ok.(it only had 1/4" mic and line in jacks)
Now our band has upgraded the mixer to a
Makie DFX-12. The Makie has 1/4" and XLR.
I just purchased a Boss GT-6B. It has 1/4" and
XLR.
Should I be cabling from my XLR on the GT-6B
to the XLR on the Makie?
If so, Why does the manual say to connect line level instruments such as guitar effects and direct boxes to the mono or stereo LINE IN 1/4" TRS? And if phantom power is turned on "globally"
on the first 4 mono channels XLR's will this mess up my GT-6B? Should I only use a stereo XLR channel that has no phantom power to it?

Munjibunga · #2 05-29-2003, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Thud
Should I be cabling from my XLR on the GT-6B
to the XLR on the Mackie?
If so, Why does the manual say to connect line level instruments such as guitar effects and direct boxes to the mono or stereo LINE IN 1/4" TRS? And if phantom power is turned on "globally"
on the first 4 mono channels XLR's will this mess up my GT-6B? Should I only use a stereo XLR channel that has no phantom power to it?

Yes. Less noise on a balanced line, and I assume that the output level of the GT-6B's XLR is mic level. Line outs are at a higher level (voltage) and the line in jacks are set up to accommodate that level. Don't worry about the phantom power. Devices like the GT-6B are designed not to be affected by it. Phantom power won't hurt your unit.

Thud · #3 05-29-2003, 07:16 PM

Thanks Munji.
So what you are saying is that XLR's are in general at mic level.
The Boss manual says the nominal output is
-10dBu(XLRjack,600 ohm load) and that the
Output impedence is 600k ohm(XLRjack,HOT-COLD)
and 300k ohm(XLRjack,HOT-GND,COLD-GND).
Are there different kind of XLR's? If so, What kind of XLR cable do I need to go to my mixer? Also, would this be the same kind of XLR cable the
lead guitarist needs to go from his XLR out on his Peavey pre-amp.
Sorry about all the questions.But we jam tomorrow and I've been promoted to sound guy.
Could you suggest a good sound tech book that might explain all this stuff?

Thanks Again,
THUD

brianrost · #4 05-30-2003, 08:44 AM

Most mixers have an input pad. If the signal at the XLR cannot be padded enough, then use the 1/4" jack instead. It's not rocket science.