rockitman Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 I have had no problems when using a quarter inch cable out of my Left (mono) and into either an amp or our band's mixer. But now we just bought a snake and all inputs are XLR. So I went to my local Guitar Center and bought a quarter inch to XLR adaptor and tried it out. It was like I only had half the volume as before. So I then purchased a 20 foot cable that has quarter inch on one end and XLR on the other and that was even worse, same volume issue but also a ton of static. Looked at the soldering of both ends of this brand new cable and it looks fine. Went back to using a plain old quarter inch cable straight to mixer and volume problems disappeared. What is going on here? i have a big gig tonight and we need to use the snake. My quarter inch cable will not reach the mixer location for tonight's gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 You are having an impedance matching problem. A DI box should level everything out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Actually I believe his problem is using a balanced XLR cable on an unbalanced TS output and input. A balanced cable effectively doubles the signal when it's properly hooked up by splitting the signal between ground and signal 180% out of phase with each other. Using an unbalanced adapter simply set's the secondary signal to ground level. The end result is half the output level. The only thing a DI box would accomplish is to maybe boost the signal level but it's nothing to do with impedance, It's all about trying to feed an unbalanced output to a balanced input. For more explanation read this link. http://www.aviom.com/blog/balanced-vs-unbalanced/ Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 And he will need an ACTIVE (Amplified) not passive DI box to boost the gain of the circuit. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 One last thing. A lot of XLR Female connectors on most hardware are dual connectors. Usually you can plug in either an XLR Male connector OR directly plug a 1/4" TRS or TS connector into the center hole. If the connector on your amp looks like this diagram then it should work. Try plugging a 1/4" TS connector in and see if it reverts to an unbalanced input with correct volume levels. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockitman Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 My powered monitor has that jack and I am fine plugging in a straight TS cable. But that's only for my own practice. My EV monitor is my monitor that is connected to our Carvin mixer in a gig. And with this snake now, I have to figure out how to go from TS output to XLR input. Bought a new cable for the gig last night, another TS to XLR cable, and it seemed to work fine for a few minutes then the rest of the night it was half volume the rest of the way. Very frustrating. So, from reading everything above, is my only solution to buy an active DI box? I have no clue what this is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Unless someone else comes up with another idea the only way I can see to make it work with the snake is to use an Active DI Box to boost the levels. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Take your pick. Pick one that's battery powered, not passively powered and has the correct inputs and outputs for your setup. http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=active%20di%20box&index=blended&link_code=qs&sourceid=Mozilla-search&tag=wwwcanoniccom-20 Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 This one might work for ya. http://www.amazon.com/Nady-ADI-1-Active-Direct-Inject/dp/B0002DUXGG Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 So, from reading everything above, is my only solution to buy an active DI box? I have no clue what this is. Like I said in my first reply, a DI box is going to be the way to sort this out. My Behringer Ultra-DI DI100 is like a little Swiss Army Knife in my rig. Goes everywhere can handle just about anything. Not to $$$ either, which doesn't hurt. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockitman Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Thanks guys. I just bought the Behringer silver one from Amazon. Yes! Thankfully not a pricey piece of gear!! Most of our gigs we don't need the snake, but I will be ready next time we do! Question, why didn't Casio make this rig with XLR outputs? No room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Null Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Even my $4000 Kurzweil doesn't have XLR outputs. On keyboards they are unheard of. The Kurz does have Balanced/Unbalanced outs though. Using 1/4" connectors. XLR are usually used for microphones almost exclusively. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Question, why didn't Casio make this rig with XLR outputs? No room? XLR outputs are pretty rare except on some high-end models, very rare is ever seen on sub-$1000 models and even moreso on Casios. Last XLR's I saw on a Casio was on the FZ rack model back in the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockitman Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Oh, didn't know this. My two other boards, Yamaha s90 and now my Roland RD700sx both have em. So, there is a balanced quarter inch out? So why didn't Casio make that with this synth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarkr Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 usually no need on a synth for TRS... many go mono out on L and R channels. Only in cases where you go long distances or other impedance factors are involved does it require like a DI box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockitman Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 holy moly batman! I got my Behringer DI box and have just tested it out. FANTASTIC!! You guys are the best, thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 holy moly batman! I got my Behringer DI box and have just tested it out. FANTASTIC!! You guys are the best, thanks again. Hey you're welcome! Glad you got it sorted out -- That DI box will pay for itself over and over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockitman Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 My DI box is now causing major problem. When I plug it in to mixer or my own powered speaker it is making an awful loud hum. My keyboard doesn't even have to be plugged into it. Has my box gone bad? Battery is good and strong. Have toggled the ground switch , doesn't matter. Tried different xlr cables, doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockitman Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 well, no replies, so I did some digging around on the net, and everyone says that I should get a passive di box for a keyboard, not an active. So I went to local Gutiar Center yesterday and bought a LIve Wire passive DI Box. Plugged it in and it cuts my volume down over 50 percent! Not what I want! Going to take it back and wonder if I should try another Active DI box. I am so lost and this Casio needs something because straight into the mixer is not working. It will start off ok, but over time, I lose volume. Weird. Thinking I may need to look for a different synth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 You have something going on in your audio chain - it's def. not the XW-P1. You will have the same problem with another synth. For the record, the best connection for most keyboards is a simple 1/4" to 1/4" cable into a mixer or amp. Adding cable mis-matches and peripherals only complicate things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korakios Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 Well ,you just found out why the Behringer stuff are so cheap ( I am a big fun of that company but only for home studios). Try another DI.... ( the synth has nothing to do with the noise, like you said your synth is not connected and still the hum is present) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- T - Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 On August 28, 2015, you posted that your Behringer DI Box was "FANTASTIC" ! On January 12, 2017, you posted that your Behringer DI Box had a problem. That's only a couple of months shy of a year and a half that you've been using it. I would expect it to operate longer than that, but nothing lasts forever, and the more traffic (plugging/unplugging/hauling/drops/spills/zaps) it sees, the sooner something goes wrong. You could have an internal active circuit that has gone bad, or just a worn out jack. I have seen jacks on cheap guitars, that see a lot of use, last forever, and jacks on expensive guitars, that see only occasional use, go bad after just a year or so. Go figure! Time for a new DI Box, me thinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
- T - Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Duplicate reply - Please disregard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korakios Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Off topic, balanced synth outputs especially TRS usually get fried because most people plug a mono cable. (and XLR with mono adaptors) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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