Impedance and Reamping

[jamoo]

A few specific questions:

Why is it the hotter the signal, the less impedance is required? (ie. Instruments require 1meg ohm, but mixer line inputs are in the 10k range) I know it has to do with frequency response, but I'm not sure why.

Also, if high impedance is generally good for, can you have too high an input impedance, as long as you have enough power to drive the input? (like a pair of AKG 240 headphones) If so, what happens?

To reamping, if you feed an instrument device like a stomp box a line-level signal, how do you make an appropriate level match to just plugging in a guitar? I've been meter matching (guitar to line), but I know the line signal must be much hotter. I guess the aim is, I don't want to be too conservative and I don't want to fry anything.

And the rhetorical, does anyone get to the point where they don't feel the need to think about this stuff anymore and can just rock out?


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[Electricide]

just thinking about it, if a passive guitar sees a low impedance, it's going to get more current sucked out of it, perhaps more than it's capable of spitting out. I think the higher impedance is more suitable for the low amounts of current they can produce.

[I'm Painting Again]

Impedance is the measure of total opposition of flow in alternating current in a circut..and source impedance is a measure of how easily power flows form an output..load or input impedance is a measure of how an input will tend to draw from a given output voltage..I'm not sure if i understand your question completely..but in line level gear its usually best for the output's source impedance to be pretty low and the input's load impedance to be high..impedance in a circut varies with frequency..If the source and load are right for one another it could mess up the frequency response, distort, fry the circut..Its probably best to go to the library and pick up some books about this..or talk to an electronics engineer..they have boxes that adjust between these types of equipment on the market..

[I'm Painting Again]

my overall advie is to just buy the "reamp box" or find out how to make your setup safe or whatever you need and not worry about this tech stuff and start rocking out with the confidence that you wont fry anything!!

you should do a search for reamp on the board too

[jamoo]

I'm not sure if i understand your question completely..

I was probably just looking for a rule of thumb for reamping to quell any intellectual curiosity. It's great, but it's also a luxury. Questions lead to questions and so forth. The aim is to get all the frequency response and level out of the instrument device without cooking it. I think most of us are inclined to push our luck. Thanks for the feedback.

There's the reamp.com box and the one sold by little labs, but for well over $200 I have to decide if it's a major roadblock to getting things done or if there's a workaround. I do find it extremely difficult to play and monitor and press buttons and knobs at the same time, so anything that contributes to monotasking is my bud.

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[NewYorkDave]

I didn't read the rest of the messages because the ongoing confusion on this messageboard about impedances and signal levels is really starting to give me a headache. But anyway, if you wanna build your own and save a couple hundred bucks, try this:

http://www.ionrecords.com/tapeop/ampinterface.jpg

[dino]

Dave, Can you recomend any particular xfrmer? I know I can look it up, just curious to what you think... Not being an electronics guy, I can only assume that VR means variable resister, but what do the letters CW mean? dapxhk

[NewYorkDave]

Try the Edcor WSM10K:150. It costs eight bucks.

Yes, "VR" is the designator for a variable resistor or potentiometer. "CW" stands for "clockwise", and it indicates the terminal contacted by the wiper when turned full clockwise. Sometimes you'll see "CCW" for "counterclockwise."