XLR Jacks

GUITARII · Post by **GUITARII** » Tuesday Mar 23, 2004

Okay Folks..... I need some help!

I recently bought a Washburn Acoustic / Electric guitar. It has 2 jacks on it... 1/4" and an XLR. Running through the system with the 1/4" everything works fine. When I tried the XLR though I got no sound at all. I turned up the volume and only got feedback...no sound at all. The battery in the pre-amp is new. I used a standard XLR cord.... Any idea on what the problems could be?

Thanks for any help!

Dan

DMFJ03 · Post by **DMFJ03** » Tuesday Mar 23, 2004

Sounds stupid, but ...it is good to get the simple stuff out of the way first.

Is the XLR cord a working cord? Meaning, did you check it with something else to make sure it still worked. Is the jack you plugged it into in working order? Is there a mute button hit somewhere?

Small things like that kill productivity. Double check everything else before diving into something heavy. I know I didn't really answer your question, but checking the stupid stuff first might save you alot of time.

tornandfrayed · Post by **tornandfrayed** » Tuesday Mar 23, 2004

I haven't used that guitar and have seen very few like that but could it require phantom power ? Does the board have phantom power and is it on. Just a thought..

Matt_22 · Post by **Matt_22** » Wednesday Mar 24, 2004

GuitarII what you have is a low impedance jack(xlr) and the trs jack(the one that works) is high impedance. I would recomend using the high impedance jack for live situations and the xlr jack for studio applications. The impedance is low, so to get the sound you want you will have to run it through a DI box(Direct Inject). THis will convert the low impedance to high impedance and you will be set. I say to use only for studio application because the xlr is not as hot of a signal and therefore produces a lower noise decibal. The trs jack is standard of what any guitar player uses when they play an electric guitar. Hope that helps you out.

Craven Sound · Post by **Craven Sound** » Wednesday Mar 24, 2004

Have you tried 1/4" and the XLR simultaneously? If the board doesn't have phantom power, the XLR may be getting voltage from the internal battery and plugging in the 1/4" will get it voltage. I don't know if that will work, but it's worth a shot. With the XLR output, you should'nt need a DI.
BTW, a standard guitar cord is just TS, not TRS. TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) is either a stereo headphone, or balanced audio signal. It is also used on insert patches on audio consoles.

Mike

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Wednesday Mar 24, 2004

If the XLR is a balanced output from the preamp, it sounds like its either defective or a wire needs soldered. If this is the case DO NOT, repeat DO NOT try PHANTOM POWER as it could fry your preamp.

If the XLR runs directly off of a separate built-in condenser mic, then you would need to supply phantom power to it, although I think there is a limit on the voltage they can take. Check your configuration, because B-Band equipped models have different options.

GUITARII · Post by **GUITARII** » Thursday Mar 25, 2004

Thanks for the advice folks!
I'll let you know how things turn out!
Dan

GUITARII · Post by **GUITARII** » Friday Mar 26, 2004

Just to let anyone know... in case you're interested. I finally got through to Washburn. Their answer is to use a dummy 1/4" inch jack, which makes the xlr jack active. I don't know why this is set up this way but it is.

Just thought I'd pass it on.

Dan

Craven Sound · Post by **Craven Sound** » Saturday Mar 27, 2004

After you unplug the 1/4", the battery turn shuts off the pickup in order to conserve battery life. (The jack on the guitar is actually a TRS, the third conductor on it is shorted and that introduces the voltage into the circuit.) So with something plugged in, you get the voltage from the battery.

Mike