Profire 2626 Inputs

[obiwan177]

I just had a quick question. When recording a dry guitar sound directly into the computer to either use an amp sim or to re-amp later on, you're supposed to use a DI box rather than a direct line in? That's to match impedance levels right? How about the Profire which has 2 instrument ins on the front, are those a high impedance? Can I plug a guitar (or bass) straight in there without having to go through a DI or re-amping box?

[nst7]

The answer is yes. Usually if it says "instrument in" on an interface it's referring to guitar/bass. Keyboards/hardware synths can also go in, but often they can just be used in the line ins.

If you did try to plug in your guitar or bass to the line in, it would be a very quiet, thin, weird sound. They need to go through some kind of preamp, which is why the instrument inputs are on the same channels as the mic preamps.

For future reference, some DI's are made to interface with preamps, like the Radial JDI, in which an xlr cable would go from the DI to the mic preamp. And then some, like the Avalon U5, are DI's with built in preamps, which can go directly to a line in.

[dssmith87]

Just to confirm what obiwan177 said, you can just plug your guitar straight into inputs 1 or 2 on the front panel. Just make sure that the button is pushed in to the instrument position. I do it every day and works well.

[obiwan177]

Ok sweet. I am getting a Profire 2626 (whenever a store gets them in stock) and was making sure I don't need to buy a nice DI box as well. Thanks!

[barters81]

I'm not sure if I'm the only one who has this issue, but when running a bass guitar direct in to the front "Instrument" inputs, it comes out very muddy in the bottom end.

However, when running through a DI, and then into the instrument input it sounds as if it should. Not sure whats happening here, anyone got any ideas?

Plugging an electric guitar straight in works ok for what it is I guess. Acoustic works well.

[albee1952]

The input impedance can make a huge difference in the recorded sound so compare the impedance of the 2626 DI in with the DI box you say sounds way better. I bet the DI has a lot higher impedance. Another thing that can have a dramatic effect is active vs passive pickups in the bass or guitar. Even with those handy DI inputs, a good direct box can make a huge difference. After recording bass thru an Aphex Punch Factory, I won't use the 003 inputs again for bass(I leave my keyboards patched in there).

[nst7]

To expand on that, the actual audio quality of the direct box can certainly improve the sound, especially good ones made by Radial and other brands.

[obiwan177]

Yeah, that makes sense. I'll probably play around with it a bit. I don't know if I have the budget to buy a nice DI. Unless it's crucial to getting a good bass sound, which seems to me might be the case.