OT: groove tubes brick

[llldavid]

after last post i did get my protools 9/ groove tubes brick/ echo audiofire 12 combo to work and it does sound pretty good very warm.

but i noticed the brick is a little short on the gain side. is that just mine or is anyone else experiencing this?

[OrangePaul]

I've never heard of one of these preamps before...
looks interesting though.

[llldavid]

yeah its supposed to be killer for bass too but if i turn the gain knob all the way up it doesnt even get into red level.

im using a high imp. - lo imp. converter to connect the interface to the preamp. and an XLR whirlwind cable. if it makes a difference

[OrangePaul]

I'd like to bet the problem is with your high to low impedance converter somewhere.
The output of the brick should be suitable I would of thought for going straight into a line level input on your echo interface with a suitable cable.

So when you say you can't get it into the red you mean red on your echo audiofire interface?

[bassdrop]

Little confused here: are you recording guitar straight to your PC? The Brick is a DI/mic pre so it does the impedance conversion as one of its duties when plugged into it's 1/4" input. If you're running another impedance converting device in front then the resulting tone may not be as desirable as just plugging directly to the Brick. As well, the gain is all clean gain- it is not designed to be overdriven. What is it you are trying to achieve with the gain?

[llldavid]

im using a microphone plugged into the mic input. The hi -lo impedance converter is plugged into the balanced output on the groove tubes. the imp. converter is plugged to the input on my echo

and i cannot get it to get to red on the echo

im thinking maybe its the converter.

[OrangePaul]

Your echofire has balanced jack line inputs right?
You should be able to hook it up directly with a balanced XLR to stereo 1/4" balanced Jack lead.

[baytamusic]

You just need to plug it straight into the line inputs on the converter from the balanced output on the preamp. You'll either need an XLR to 1/4" TRS adapter or a cable like shown above. In all reality you don't want it to go into the red when recording digitally anyways. You shouldn't even let it peak anywhere above -6 on the digital meter on the channel strip inside your DAW, in reality less than -6 is probably better actually. It's most definitely not the converter. That preamp should have much much more gain than you will ever need. I have an Echo interface and I use a Focusrite ISA One and it has much more gain than I'd ever need. It has similar specs to your Brick as far as available gain, which is a TON.

If you set all this up correctly and you don't have enough gain, you may want to make sure the tubes don't need to be changed in your preamp.

[llldavid]

okay yeah sorry when i said converter i meant the hi - lo impedance transformer and yes the echo has balanced inputs.

so im thinking i should ditch the transformer and switch it for a balanced stereo xlr - 1/4 jack lead

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessor ... ransformer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this is the one i'm using if it makes a difference.

[bassdrop]

No worries. Your line transformer is a passive impedance converting circuit while your Groove Tube brick is an active, impedance converting preamp. I would try plugging the line transformer directly into your Echo interface and see how that sounds and then compare that with your Groove Tubes brick. Use whatever sounds better—most likely the Brick—but using both is redundant and most likely will not sound as good.