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XLR output

Gord_oh

Gord_oh

Midtown Guitars: Ulyate Pickups & StringJoy
Commercial User
Oct 4, 2008
5,437
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Michigan
www.midtownguitars.com
#1
passing thought. got an SX jazz that i want to tinker with.
on the control plate i was thinking of doing a series/parallel switch, master volume and master tone. then instead of a 1/4 inch out, using an XLR mounted in the back.

dont know what made me think of this, i know some guitars have it as an out to speakers, but i want this as an overall output to my amp or house system.

is this a possible idea? or is this not even worth doing...
 
#9
Hi.

Quite a few DIYers have done that, and came back to a phone jack ;).

Unless You're using phantom power to power your on-board electronics or pickups, or if you're converting the output to a Lo-Z at the same time (with a transformer), there's really not too much point in using a XLR out.

I have a XLR out in my Epi T-Bird, but then again I have a Hi-/Lo-Z transformer in there as well.

Regards
Sam
 
#11
Gord_oh said:
hmmm, i may or may not do this.
are xlrs a good idea for recording when in a studio?
Click to expand...

Absolutely any studio you go into is going to have direct boxes available...


You didn't specify about the XLR output's specifications?

I'm assuming a balanced low impedance (150 ohms) microphone level signal?

You could probably achieve that with a simple transformer and a male XLR jack.
 
#13
Jazz Ad said:
XLR have absolutely no advantage for studio recording.
They can only be useful when you use long cables, ie on stage.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree with that.

The advantage to XLR outputs are that you can run a low impedance balanced signal as opposed to a high impedance unbalanced signal.

First off, you could achieve the low impedance with an onboard preamp or simple buffer circuit.

When you are in the studio though, there is really no scenario that you would ever need more than like 10 or 15 feet of cable between you and a direct box.
 
#15
Hi.

Gord_oh said:
hmmm, i may or may not do this.
are xlrs a good idea for recording when in a studio?
Click to expand...

No actual harm done if You do it, the Neutrik locking phone jack has the same cutout as their XLR :).

I seriously doubt that any engineer is going to use a DIY XLR feed of unknown quality when there's Di boxes he's accustomed to (assuming the XLR in the bass is balanced Lo-Z). No-one is going to use an unbalanced Hi-Z XLR in a studio.

Regards
Sam
 
#16
line6man said:
Absolutely any studio you go into is going to have direct boxes available...


You didn't specify about the XLR output's specifications?

I'm assuming a balanced low impedance (150 ohms) microphone level signal?

You could probably achieve that with a simple transformer and a male XLR jack.
Click to expand...

yes, 150 ohms.
we have XLR jacks where I work, radioshack, and it wouldnt be too hard to find parts. its the whole wiring thing again that worries me.
 
#18
Running your electronics on phantom power is the best and only real reason I can think of. Really do not understand why that is not the standard in active basses :) Seems obvious to me. All amps should have an XLR in that gives off enough juice to run bass electronics.

Batteries are the debble.
 
#19
Impedance matching is important when hooking up a scource to an amplifier. Generally:

1/4 inch phono plug = high impedance/guitar amp

XLR plug = mic/pa system

mixing and matching these two will result in poor coupling of the signal to the amp. low signal to the amp. What you need is an impedance matching transformer (thats all a DI box is). A properly designed buffer amplifier could do the same job.

My advice is keep the 1/4 phono plugs and buy a DI box (incase you need to mix and match.
 

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