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Post subject: Fender Passport
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 1:38 pm
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I recently acquired a Fender Passport P/N: 069-1002. I am looking to add some serious bass but don't know what my options are. Can I somehow hook up a powered subwoofer? Any information would be much appreciated!! I am not very technically advanced so the easier you can spell it out for me the better.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Passport
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:59 am
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Rock Star
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Location: Linningrad
Both the Passport Event and Venue have a very clearly marked 1/4" sub output jack for hooking up a powered subwoofer. Also consult you owner's manual for more information. It's real easy to do. Just use a common instrument cable to connect from your Passport to the powered subwoofer.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Passport
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:07 am
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This particular unit is the P-250. There is no sub output jack. Any other suggestions?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Passport
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:40 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:24 am
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The P-250 is an older model with a very versatile, and therefore confusing, design. Here's the manual for it:

https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Orig ... t_P250.pdf

It's worth spending some time with the manual.

Note that you probably want the VIP knob to always be turned ALL THE WAY OFF (counterclockwise or to-the-left). Turning this up is useful only if you are using channels other than 1 for playing recorded music and you have a microphone plugged into channel 1, and you wish to make announcements now and then and have the music automatically turned down while you are talking. The knob controls how much the other channels are turned down whenever anything is said or played through channel 1. People using the unit for live music turn this on by accident and hate the effect, which is why this feature didn't catch on and is not repeated in other models of Passport.

It also has a "Mode" switch that allows you to select "up", being stereo (Left/Right) output mode or "down", being "Mono House mix/Monitor" mode, which is the other feature that confuses people and is not repeated in any other model of Passport. Read the manual. I'm not going to try to describe how it works here, though it is worth noting that it turns your 250 watt PA system into a 125 watt PA system with a 125 watt monitor speaker for the band.

This unit was not designed to have a subwoofer, but it does have several "Line out" ports, and if you can get one to match the input requirements of an active subwoofer, you can do this. Keep in mind that most subwoofers are significantly overpowered for this PA system. It's 250 watts, also known as two 125 watt output channels. It's not a system sized well for a large venue, and most subwoofers are not sized well for small venues. You can hurt people with a subwoofer in a small room. In a large room, people will hear the subwoofer and not hear the actual band sounds involving frequencies higher than the kick drum.

But if you choose to proceed, figure out what the input needs are for your "active" or "powered" subwoofer. You cannot use a "passive" or "unpowered" subwoofer with this PA system. It doesn't have the right kind of power amplifier for a Subwoofer. Active/Powered subwoofers have the power amp built in. You'll need to plug the subwoofer into a line level output from the Passport AND you'll have to plug it into AC power, since that power amp needs power.

If it takes a 1/4" TS, mono, line level input and it has its own EQ adjustments, then you can plug into the "Rev/Aux Send" port or either of the two 1/4" "Send" jacks above the speaker jacks. This gives you a line level signal of what is coming out of that speaker. Remember to use a 1/4" TS INSTRUMENT cable and NOT a SPEAKER cable. The plugs at the ends are the same, but the wiring inside is completely different. It can sound really bad to use a speaker cable where an instrument cable is needed, and using an instrument cable for a speaker can result in a fire, and you could die, or get sued by somebody's family because somebody else died.

Don't go there. Use the right cable.

The Tape Out RCA ports are also Line level signals, if you have some kind of weird RCA inputs for your active subwoofer, this could work, or you could get adapters. I don't highly recommend this approach.

In any case, be aware that you'll be controlling the subwoofer's volume with a knob on the subwoofer. The Passport doesn't give you a knob to control the volume of signal sent through any of the "Send" ports.

Duct tape and bailing twine. It works, but it's not pretty.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Passport
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 7:37 pm
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Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2018 1:23 pm
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That's some great information. Thank you


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