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Post subject: guitar wont play
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 3:29 pm
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I just got the passport 500 and have 2 mics plugged in 1 and 2 (in the mic plugs)and one guitar plugged in 3 (in the 1/4" plug). The mics are working great but the guitar wont come through. I have tested my cord and guitar with my regular amp-so I know they are working. Does anyone know what's up with that?


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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:51 pm
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Hi,

I actually just answered that same question in a different topic. :)

The 1/4" inputs on the Passport Pro's are line level inputs, however your electric guitar is not. An electric guitar is very high impedance compared to a line level input, that's why you can't get much volume out of the Passport channels. You would need a pre-amp to convert your high impedance electric guitar signal to line level signal and to get some gain. You may also find an active DI box with gain (you will need gain!) that can be used. An acoustic guitar with a pre-amp, active bass for example would work just fine with the line level inputs.

Hope this clarifies things for you.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,
Ken

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Ken Porter
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Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:00 pm
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Ok thanks. Now for my keyboard. I plan to use the earphone 1/8 out port. Should I use a pre-amp with a Y cable in the 1/4" stereo ports on the PA or just a 1/8 to 1/4" adapter plugged into a pre-amp then into a 'line' port? Which is best?


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Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 6:00 pm
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I am notexactly sure if I understand your question correctly so let me see if I can still answer it.

If you have a keyboard, depending on what keyboard it is, it should have line outs. If your keyboard has line outs you should be able to use two 1/4" cables, they can be balanced or unbalanced depending on your keyboard line outputs, and plug the left channel into the L input of your Passport stereo channel (7 or 8) and R into the right input of your Passport stereo channel.

However, if your keyboard only has an 1/8" headphone output you could try running an 1/8" to 1/8" cable from your keyboard to the 1/8" stereo channel input 7 or 8. Most likely the gain of your headphone out will be enough so that you won't need an extra pre-amp.

If I didn't understand your questions correctly, please let me know what keyboard you're using and I will be able to give you a more precise answer. :)

Thanks,
Ken

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Ken Porter
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Research & Development
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
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Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:50 pm
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Thanks again. My keyboard has midi and 1/8 outs. I appreciate your help and am loving the PA. So far it does all I wanted to do and we haven't even had it up to 1/2 volume yet. :D


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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:43 pm
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As an additional comment on the guitar issue with the Passport 500, I also had the same issue with an acoustic electric w/ a factory installed Fishman Prefix preamp. I thought this would / should work, but it did not. What DID eventually work was using a cable with a TRS 1/4" phone jack into the guitar, and an XLR input on the other end into the Passport. Not sure why my Fishman preamp didn't provide any volume for any of my acoustics with a std cable, but the XLR seems to work on both my Taylors and Martins. Just FYI


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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 3:09 pm
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d35er wrote:
As an additional comment on the guitar issue with the Passport 500, I also had the same issue with an acoustic electric w/ a factory installed Fishman Prefix preamp. I thought this would / should work, but it did not. What DID eventually work was using a cable with a TRS 1/4" phone jack into the guitar, and an XLR input on the other end into the Passport. Not sure why my Fishman preamp didn't provide any volume for any of my acoustics with a std cable, but the XLR seems to work on both my Taylors and Martins. Just FYI


Hi that's because even your acoustic guitar is not a true line level signal. Yes, it is most likely low impedance, but your pre-amp for your acoustic may not have enough gain built-in. We have tried it with several acoustic guitars here and they all worked fine. When using an acoustic guitar you can pretty much crank the channel level to 3PM or more to get some signal out of it.

Your 1/4" to XLR solution is a solution because the XLR channel has almost 60dB of gain, so plenty of gain. However, I would still recommend using a DI-box for anyone trying this with an electric guitar, since it may otherwise sound dark and dull.

Thanks,
Ken

_________________
_______________________________________
Ken Porter
Director, Audio Electronics R&D
Research & Development
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
_______________________________________


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:09 am
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Ken, thank you for the reply. Very interesting to hear about the add'l 60 dbs from the XLR cable. Is that a funcion of the cable (so it would add 60 db in any head / pa)? or is this a funtion of the Passport XLR input boosting the signal? Also, if I may ask, what acoustic guitars did you test with? FYI, I tried 2 Taylors w/ expression systems and 2 Martins w/ Fishman prefix preamp, and without the XLR cable, even w/ master volume at 3 o'clock, and channel gain at 3 o'clock, and preamp volume at 3 o'clock, the volume was WAY below what was necessary for a small club we played at. thx again for your input. take care. d35er


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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:04 am
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d35er wrote:
Ken, thank you for the reply. Very interesting to hear about the add'l 60 dbs from the XLR cable. Is that a funcion of the cable (so it would add 60 db in any head / pa)? or is this a funtion of the Passport XLR input boosting the signal? Also, if I may ask, what acoustic guitars did you test with? FYI, I tried 2 Taylors w/ expression systems and 2 Martins w/ Fishman prefix preamp, and without the XLR cable, even w/ master volume at 3 o'clock, and channel gain at 3 o'clock, and preamp volume at 3 o'clock, the volume was WAY below what was necessary for a small club we played at. thx again for your input. take care. d35er


Hi,

The "almost" 60dB of gain is in the mic pre-amp stage of the Passport, not in the cable. We have tried several Fender and Guild acoustic guitars. What you could simply do is get a DI box, we have a relatively cheap Groove Tubes DI box that we're selling, plug in your guitar in there, then take the output of the DI and go into the mic input channel of the Passport. The 1/4" inputs are line inputs as mentioned so plugging in an electric guitar or even some acoustic guitars that have "lower" outputs won't be optimal.

We have tested the volume of our units against our old models as well as direct competitors and the spl (sound pressure level) of the new Passport outdid all of them. I hope you will consider the suggestion above and that you will enjoy the Passport 500 Pro. Nothing makes me more happy when someone comes back and says this thing rocks! Of course I am always concerned when someone can't get it to work the way they like it to, that's the reason why I am on this forum trying to help everyone who has questions.

Thanks,
Ken

_________________
_______________________________________
Ken Porter
Director, Audio Electronics R&D
Research & Development
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
_______________________________________


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:12 am
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thx again, Ken. Will give it a try and let you know. Besides this issue, which I've addressed to date with the XLR cable, my partner and I are VERY pleased with the performance of the Passport Pro 500. After years of lugging a super-heavy Yorkville head (heavier than the entire Passport), as well as 2 large Wharfdale Pro speakers, the Passport is a godsend. Can't wait to get the guitars tweaked in. Thx for a great unit. will keep you posted.

Carl D (d35er)


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:22 am
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Hi Carl,

Sounds great! Yes, try it and let me know. I am glad you like the unit and that it works for you otherwise! :)

Ken

_________________
_______________________________________
Ken Porter
Director, Audio Electronics R&D
Research & Development
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
_______________________________________


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