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Looper's Delight
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Krispen Hartung wrote: > I read an audio review that suggested the RME Fireface 400 wasn't ideal > for guitar because it doesn't have a Hi-Z input for guitars and basses. > The RME Fireface 800 does, however, have a separate hi-z input for > guitar, which also has the speaker simulation, etc. At least in practical terms, this is incorrect. There are two high-z inputs conveniently located on the front of the box. > Can someone describe what is special about a Hi-Z input for guitars? It > can be because it is the only type of input that will bring a guitar up > to a decent level, because I can easily take any mixer board line input > and adjust the trim so that the level is far above red line...so is > there something about the quality or circuitry of a hi-z input that a > line or mic input doesn't have? I don't recall the details, but I believe that the impedance mismatch means that you lose fidelity, specifically you lose your upper end kind of like applying a low pass filter. It just doesn't sound very good with passive pickup levels without a high impedance input in my experience. The FW400 has two high impedance inputs though, so no problem. > When I read the literature for the Firewire 400, it leads me to believe > that it will handle any type of input source, becaues of its > sophositication in dealing with them. That has been my experience with the unit. It is very nice. > Inputs 3 and 4 are extremely flexible balanced *universal inputs*. > Firstly, they operate exactly as inputs 5 to 8 on the rear and can be > adjusted to accept standard studio input levels (+4 dBu, LoGain). > Furthermore, the input impedance can be switched from Line (10 kOhm) to > *Instrument (470 kOhm)*. An additional *analog input amplification of up > to 18 dB* (in steps of 0.5 dB) is also available. In short: There's no > signal that these inputs can't deal with perfectly!" Yes, these two front inputs are nice for high impedance sources such as guitar. > So what will a hi-z give me that will make any audible difference, from > the line input of the FW 400 adjusted to the correct level on my guitar? You can try it to find out since the FW400 has both types of inputs. My experience is that using the right type of input gives a clearer, cleaner, fuller range (frequency range) of sound. The FW400 is very nice in my experience. I don't use it for gigs right now, but I would like to do so in the future. Here is some more info that I just found with a simple google search. The whole page is interesting, and I will quote the most relevant part here: http://www.whirlwindusa.com/tech03.html "In order to preserve signal level and frequency response, it's important to drive equipment with a source signal that is lower in impedance than the destination equipment's input impedance. If the input impedance of a device is not significantly higher than the source impedance, the signal will be reduced or "loaded down" and its signal to noise ratio and frequency response will suffer." Peace, - Sam