trs to xlr

[stratobastard27]

I bought a trs to xlr cable to hook up my POD XT's headphone jack directly to the snake. It works, however whenever I turn on my chorus or delay it triples in volume. This cable is transformerless. Any ideas?

[Merge]

So that's what went wrong at Ashcats.

[stratobastard27]

When we played with KGD? Yeah, that's the prob. I tried it again last time with Absent Minded, same problem.

[faceoffmuzik]

i wouldn't run anything besides headphones off the headphone output. If you aren't using it with a physical amplifier then run the pod in "studio direct" mode and just one of the regular outputs on the back.

the problem might be if you have different patches for the fx (effects on a clean setting for example vs. the regular "amp" tone setting) the output settings might be too different.

just a guess. tell more about how you have it setup, please.

[lonewolf]

A TRS cable from a stereo headphone jack works as a stereo connection, not as a balanced line level signal. A mono signal thru this would actually cut the signal level (inverted phase with itself going thru the balanced PA input would cancel itself), whereas a stereo signal like stereo chorus or delay would make the signal not identical on the 2 stereo lines, cancel that reduction and allow most of the signal thru.

Its kinda hard to explain, but to sum (pun intended) it up...that kinda riggin' won't work.

If your unit doesn't have a balanced output, you need to get a DI box and connect it to the unbalanced line output.

[JackANSI]

A TRS cable from a stereo headphone jack works as a stereo connection, not as a balanced line level signal. A mono signal thru this would actually cut the signal level (inverted phase with itself going thru the balanced PA input would cancel itself), whereas a stereo signal like stereo chorus or delay would make the signal not identical on the 2 stereo lines, cancel that reduction and allow most of the signal thru.

Its kinda hard to explain, but to sum (pun intended) it up...that kinda riggin' won't work.

If your unit doesn't have a balanced output, you need to get a DI box and connect it to the unbalanced line output.

This!

[BloodyFingers]

If you are using the stereo output with a Trs to XLR thats the problem. You should use only a mono cable because it will cut the other channel. The TRS plug will not. try it with a mono 1/4" cord and see if it works right. It should. When you plug the TSR jack into a stereo hole it will try to send the other side of your stereo channel thru the ground.

[metalchurch]

That makes sense Gary.

[lonewolf]

All a mono cable will do is give you an unbalanced mono signal. Sure, it will "work" with a 100' snake...it will have all kinds of noise and buzzing, but it will "work".

Basic pro-audio: if you have an unbalanced signal on stage, you have to balance it before sending it thru a 100' snake to the mixing desk. Aside from wireless, there is no other correct way to do this.

The best cheap way to do it is with a direct box.

[lonewolf]

If you are using the stereo output with a Trs to XLR thats the problem. You should use only a mono cable because it will cut the other channel. The TRS plug will not. try it with a mono 1/4" cord and see if it works right. It should. When you plug the TSR jack into a stereo hole it will try to send the other side of your stereo channel thru the ground.

That's not the ground, that's the "cold" or inverted signal wire. The ground is the shielding. This will work over a short distance, like maybe up to 30', but any longer and you will get all kinds of noise.

[stratobastard27]

My pod has a 1/4 trs HP out, and L+R mono 1/4 outs. Most of the time, the mixer is onstage with me. I'll run the HP to my stereo power amp(for my guitar rig) with a trs trs cable, and run the l+r outs to the 1/4 stereo ins on the mixer. This instance, we played with another band and I didn't want to use his rig. Anyway, I bought a two monos to one mono cable (think an insert cable with 3 TS plugs) to allow me to sum my stereo outs to mono into a direct box.

[lonewolf]

My pod has a 1/4 trs HP out, and L+R mono 1/4 outs. Most of the time, the mixer is onstage with me. I'll run the HP to my stereo power amp(for my guitar rig) with a trs trs cable, and run the l+r outs to the 1/4 stereo ins on the mixer. This instance, we played with another band and I didn't want to use his rig. Anyway, I bought a two monos to one mono cable (think an insert cable with 3 TS plugs) to allow me to sum my stereo outs to mono into a direct box.

What kind of power amp do you have that has a stereo TRS connector? I don't think I've ever seen one like that. Generally, a TRS connector on a power amp is balanced just like on a mixing board. Do you have a pair of side-by-side guitar cabinets?

I just looked at the Pod XT manual and you can set it up to do everything you want using that TRS-XLR cable.

1st, you set it to work in MONO MODE (unless you have guitar speakers at each side of the stage, that's all you are really using anyway)

2nd, the main left and right outputs on the POD XT are already TRS balanced...use that TRS-XLR cable you have from the LEFT(mono) jack in MONO MODE and connect the XLR to the snake.

If you insist on stereo mode, you can always get a 2nd TRS-XLR cable and send the stereo signal to the board using both left and right output connectors. If your power amp has a feed-thru, you can send them to the power amp 1st and from the feed thru to the mixing board and forget about the headphone output.

[songsmith]

The 3 most common cabling mistakes we see at the music store:

1) Attempting to use an XLR-to-1/4" mono cable without a matching transformer for a microphone. Those cables are kind of rare anyway, outside of pro-sound, and they don't work. You have to use an impedance-matching transformer to convert balanced XLR to 1/4" mono, and no, plugging a mic into a guitar amp will not work. Sound will come out of the system, but it will suck. (Sorry, "suck" is a highly technical audio-engineering term. PM me for clarification. )

2) Attempting to use a speaker cable for 1/4" line inputs. It won't blow anything up, but it'll suck.

3) Attempting to send a balanced TRS 1/4" into a stereo input or vice-versa. Again, the aforementioned suckulousness will factor in.--->JMS

[stratobastard27]

My power amp is an ancient Peavey M 2600. It has a "thru" trick on the b side input. If you only plug a mono cable in to the first click, it'll send that mono signal to both sides of the amp. Somehow, it works running a trs from the pod's HP out to the Peavey power amp's b input (plugged in all the way) that lets me send my left and right signals to both channels through one input.

I do use ping pong delay a lot. Think the Brian May harmony thing. And I really dig my stereo chorus and phaser sounds, too

[lonewolf]

My power amp is an ancient Peavey M 2600. It has a "thru" trick on the b side input. If you only plug a mono cable in to the first click, it'll send that mono signal to both sides of the amp. Somehow, it works running a trs from the pod's HP out to the Peavey power amp's b input (plugged in all the way) that lets me send my left and right signals to both channels through one input.

I do use ping pong delay a lot. Think the Brian May harmony thing. And I really dig my stereo chorus and phaser sounds, too

I don't know if Peavey intended it, but to make a long story short, the M2600 is one of those rare amps that accept a stereo signal from a stereo TRS jack--as long as you only connect to one of the inputs.

Perfect! Like I put in the previous post, that leaves the balanced outputs to work with--you won't need a DI box. If you really want to run stereo and be set up sweet for a PA, all you need to do is get another TRS-XLR cable just like the one you have and send both L & R main outputs to the snake. Tell the tech to pan them L & R and you will really get cool effects from a stereo PA system.