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I have been using my POD Studio UX1 to record electric guitar DI with great success (or at least with very few technical issues) for the past few years. More recently I have ventured into the scary world of recording acoustic guitar and vocals. For this I have been using a rather low-budget dynamic microphone (Superlux TOP-258) running into the UX1 XLR input. It has always frustrated me that I cannot seem to get sufficient gain when recording my acoustic guitar this way. I have cranked the mic gain rotary nob all the way, hit the +18db boost button in POD farm, etc. I previously used Cubase to record, but have since switched to Cockos Reaper. Needless to say, the low mic gain issue persisted despite the DAW switch. Suspecting that the low gain might have something to do with my low-budget mic, I decided to invest in a Shure SM57 (the fact that I use the word "invest" in this context should give you a clear indication of my budget...), hoping that results would improve. To my dismay, however, the low mic gain issue not only remains unsolved, but actually seems worse with the SM57 than the Superlux mic. I feel somewhat at a loose end. I have seen reviews of the SM57 where it is plugged directly into some USB audio interface (just like I do with my UX1) and the artists manage to record acoustic guitar with tons of gain (or so it seems from my perspective). To make it clear: I am running the SM57 directly into the XLR input on the UX1 via an XLR-XLR cable, gain is turned up 7/8ths of the way, directly into my DAW (any more mic gain and the white noise becomes rediculous). The gain when recording vocals (using only a pop-filter between the vocalist and the mic) is acceptable, but still not fantastic. The noise to signal ratio when recording my acoustic guitar, though, is atrocious. Can any one offer advice as to what the problem may be? Could it be the XLR cable? Could there be something worng with my UX1? Is the amount of maximum amount of gain I can hope to get out of the UX1 simply to little to ever be able to record acoustic guitar with a dynamic mic at an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio? Any inputs are appreciated, though may I kindly request that you refrain from suggestions that I purchase a condenser mic (I have noted a trend on these forums to recommend condenser mics as a sort of panacea to any type of mic gain query, even when the purchase thereof is not an option (for whatever reason) to the OP. Given the UX1's lack of phantom power, purchase of a condenser mic would in any case neccesarily imply purchasing a different audio interface, in which event I may as well consider getting an entirely different interface with better preamps and, more importantly, more input gain than the UX1.)

Hi, i've a pod live X3. everything seems to work fine, except one thing. i don't understand how to get a stereo output. Here is what i want. I'm not using dual tone. i pan tone 1 on the left and tone 2 on the right. Suppose to have a chain of effects and amp. I would like to use the "stereo delay". Since is "stereo" i'm expecting to get a stereo output. On stereo output i put 100% mix 1000ms of delay (just to have a big delay) 0% right feedback 0% left feedback 0% offset post-config (notice that THIS effect is the last of the chain) Here are the possible outcomes: -> with this configuration is just get sound from left side with no delay -> if i put 100% offset i get just the sound delayed. just on left side -> if i put the pan in centre, i get sound from both side -> if i get down the mix % i get no difference. always on left -> if i set pre-config, it doesn't change anything how may i have a stereo output? if not, what the meaning of "stereo" in this effect? nb: the two XLR outputs are connected to a different input processes, so i can check if i get some signal in input. i search online and it seems that someone was able to do. if so, may someone explain me how to do it?

In order to get a feel for the signal levels suitable for the HD500, I've made a few measurements of the gains available from the different inputs to the various outputs. I've also measured the gain of all the FX. A small Excel spreadsheet containing the data can be found here (unfortunately, I can only upload a PDF version of the data, which I've done here). A brief summary is shown below: All measurements were made at 1kHz with Master Volume = max, S/PDIF gain = 0dB, and Input2 = Variax (although this didn't make any difference because I had Inputs 1 & 2 panned hard Left/Right). Guitar input pad = -5.2dB compared to normal. 1/4" (line) output has 6.1dB more signal than 1/4" (amp). Aux & Guitar (normal) have the same gain structure (except Guitar has programmable input impedance). Guitar (normal) input to 1/4"(amp) output has 4.9dB of loss with no FX, no Amp, and Mixer = 0dB. Compared to 1/4" (amp) output, the XLR output is 9.4dB less while the phone output is 15.4dB more. Compared to the Aux/Guitar(normal) input, Mic (min gain) has 6.2dB less gain while Mic (max gain) has 38dB more gain. Aux/Guitar(normal) input clips at 0dBFS (measured at S/PDIF) with 8.3Vpp Mic (min gain) input clips at -1.1dBFS (measured at S/PDIF) with 14Vpp Mic (max gain) input clips at -1.1dBFS (measured at S/PDIF) with 91mVpp CD/MP3 input clips at various levels near 20Vpp, depending on which output is used (XLR, 1/4", or Phones) By far most of the FX have 0dB of gain, but there are several exceptions (e.g., Graphic EQ = 2.9dB, Tape Echo = -5dB, and others). FX were measured with Mix=0% (to eliminate comb filtering effects) and Gain=0dB (usually). The PDF files contain the whole list. Using some of this data you can see the clip level is essentially set by digital clipping, although the mic input stage only gets you to within 1.1dB of fullscale (close enough to call it fullscale in my opinion). The output stages will not get close to their clip levels (unless you use the CD/MP3 input which bypasses the digital engine). That is, it's sufficient to look at the S/PDIF signal to keep your signal below fullscale. You don't have to worry about clipping the input stages. You also don't have to worry about clipping the analog output stages. I hope you find this useful in optimizing the setup of your equipment. IO Gain.pdf FX Gain.pdf