Why the advice to use XLR?

[GoodBadger]

Hi all - I have searched for this on-line and in this forum - but apologies if it has been covered before.

 

So the Pod GO outputs at line level - the manual and everywhere on-0line says 'use a balanced male jack to male XLR cable to connect to your mixer.'  So thats the cable I bought - however, my mixer assumes (not unreasonably) mic inputs to be mic level and jack inputs (which it can receive balanced or unbalanced) to be line level - it has no mic/line switch.

 

So I have two options - 1) reduce, attenuate the signal going into the mixer (maybe even use a DI box)  2) use a balanced Jack cable

 

I'm sure both will work -I'd prefer option 2 (marginally simpler, less to worry about when setting up for a gig - tiny thing I know but these things all add up in 'pre-gig set up stress'!)  - but the given the 'standard' seems to be 'convert to XLR' (like - nobody mentions using jack-jack at all...)I was hoping somebody could either tell me  - 'don't worry about it - just use a jack cable!' or 'yes you should use the XLR option for this reason'

 

I know the obvious reply might be 'just try both and see what happens' but my first real opportunity to set up the PA and properly find the right live sound with the pod go (its replaced my traditional pedal board) will be at my next gig, and as above, the less to worry about in gig set-up the better...

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

[theElevators]

There are 3 different output ranges: Mic < Instrument < Line.  Mic has the lowest output.  But you can take the output that is "Instrument" and turn it down so it would be the same as Mic. 

 

Sound engineers recommend sending mic-level output to the FOH, so there is minimized distortion/clipping.  But you can just as easily send Instrument level or Line level.  It's just that there is a higher likelihood of the signal being too hot and clipping/distorting.  But if you build your presets where your presets are not louder than your blank "New Preset" presets, there will not be any difference. Unless you record in the studio it won't matter if your signal is hotter than mic. 

 

Now... regarding "balanced" jacks.  It's very simple.  XLR is the same thing as Balanced Outs, just different plug.   You have regular 1/4" cables; they can get all sorts of interference if you run them a long distance.  Then you have XLR cables: In an XLR cable, the opposite wave is the inverted signal that is added to the original signal to cancel out noise.  So you are sending over two signals over a long distance without any hum or buzz: the normal and the inverted.... and it works like the humbucker that cancels the 60-cycle hum basically when the two signals are combined. 

 

Pod Go does NOT have XLR outputs, but instead supports balanced 1/4" cables, also known as "TRS", also known as a "stereo 1/4" cable".  Both XLR and TRS offer the same thing, it's just that their jacks and plugs look different.  Both XLR and TRS transmit 2 signals instead of one.  So, you can purchase an XLR-TRS adapter and you will be able to plug in XLR cables into your Pod Go.

 

I've played several shows with my Pod Go, and I did the following:

1. Send Left/Right TRS to FOH, using TRS-XLR adapters.

2. Set the 1/4" out to the lowest volume setting; the volume for Left/Right is fixed, the volume knob only controls the Amp Out

3. Connected Amp out to a clean amp.  I did not disable the cab sim.

 

That's how I recommend running Pod Go.

 

 

[GoodBadger]

Thanks Man -thats really useful.

 

Just to check, when you say 'There are 3 different output ranges: Mic < Instrument < Line' do you mean 'in the world' or that the pod go can be set to haveone of these three options - my understanding was that with the pod go, there was only line available?

 

And then:

 

 '2. Set the 1/4" out to the lowest volume setting; the volume for Left/Right is fixed, the volume knob only controls the Amp Out' - I thought the vol knob effected the main out too? - but happy to be told I'm wrong about that

 

Really appreciate your thoughts - especially around TRS and XLR - feels like the simplest thing is just to get a TRS cable...

[theElevators]

Pod Go is a simplified processor, so it doesn't have all the different output level settings that the Helix Floor / LT has.  So what you see is what you get, only 2 volume settings. 

 

You can set what the volume knob affects -- check Global Settings. 

If I am playing a gig, I leave the main levels up to the sound guy -- that's why the main out L/R do NOT change with the volume knob. However, for my own personal monitor mix, I like to sometimes turn myself up/down.  That's why the volume knob affects ONLY "amp out" for me.  When I start playing a show, it takes me a couple of songs to get my on stage loudness right.  During this adjustment, the front of the house should not get louder or softer, as you understand. 

 

Regarding XLR... again... TRS is the same thing as XLR, just different form factor.  But sound guys are more likely to be able to accommodate XLR jacks, because they already do that with microphones.  Sometimes there are like 15 microphones on stage, so the sound guys have necessary cables, snakes, etc for them. 

 

TRS was phased out in favor of XLR because XLRs do not have any pops/crackles when you plug/unplug your gear.  As you pull out the TRS cable, the loud pop is inevitable... not the same with XLR where all the pins come out at once.  So the lack of the noise when plugging/unplugging is the real advantage of XLR, plus the fact that it's more commonly used ... again due to the same reason.  But the advantage of TRS is that the same jack works with regular mono 1/4" cables as well as these noise-cancelling stereo cables, and it takes up less space on your cheaper guitar processor. 

[silverhead]

On 10/22/2024 at 1:39 PM, GoodBadger said:

…

Just to check, when you say 'There are 3 different output ranges: Mic < Instrument < Line' do you mean 'in the world' or that the pod go can be set to haveone of these three options…

He means in the world, at least the world of audio devices. These three are the industry standard levels and all audio devices comply at their peril of being avoided because they use non-standard levels.

 

You will also see devices with levels labeled ‘+4 -10db’. These are just other names for Instrument and Line level.

[somebodyelse]

A couple of other reasons (in theory), balanced cables should be less prone to picking up 'stray noise', and (correct me if I'm wrong) they are better for taking signal long distances without loss of high end signal.

[theElevators]

On 10/23/2024 at 4:39 AM, somebodyelse said:

A couple of other reasons (in theory), balanced cables should be less prone to picking up 'stray noise', and (correct me if I'm wrong) they are better for taking signal long distances without loss of high end signal.

That's exactly the point I tried to make :)  If you are just practicing at home, balanced or regular cables will give you the same results.  But if you are playing on stage with lights, other cables nearby and the cables need to go from the stage all the way to the mixer for 200 ft, then balanced cables / XLRs help minimize the interference. 

[somebodyelse]

On 10/23/2024 at 11:29 AM, theElevators said:

That's exactly the point I tried to make :)  If you are just practicing at home, balanced or regular cables will give you the same results.  But if you are playing on stage with lights, other cables nearby and the cables need to go from the stage all the way to the mixer for 200 ft, then balanced cables / XLRs help minimize the interference. 

Apologies if I missed that in your post - cut me some slack, I'm sight impaired :D