just got 2 new electro-harmonix mic pres need help!

mixohoytian · Post by **mixohoytian** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:23 am

so i just got 2 of them to record acoustic get in stereo

one of them gets no signal at all
other is fine

what do I do?
send to electro harmonix or contact musicians friend?

also,
I'm new to this
I set the m box to line level
do I put the input volume all the way down and rely on the gain knob on the mic pre?
or do I use a combo of the two?
all I want is warm sounding acoustics ala doobie brothers or crosby stills nash

thanks!

Marc Alan Goodman · Post by **Marc Alan Goodman** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:11 pm

Keep the Mbox pres as low as you can and use the knobs on the EH pres.

I would contact Musicians Friend first, they may just send you another one. If not they'll tell you to contact Electro harmonix, who also are pretty good to deal with even if they sell an alarmingly high number of broken units...

mixohoytian · Post by **mixohoytian** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:41 pm

as long as get ones that work and then treat them as fragile
I'll get a decent sound right?

I took a chance on these...
I heard they were supposed to be good sound wise for acoustic guitar

Marc Alan Goodman · Post by **Marc Alan Goodman** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:11 pm

I like them, and it's hard to do better at that price point! They're almost exactly the same circuit as old RCA tube pres. They're just built by EHX so the price point is kept WAY low.

Anyway, try the one you have on guitar and see if you like it or not. If not just send them both back!!

mixedupsteve · Post by **mixedupsteve** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 5:19 am

I got a bad amp from Mus Friend once and they swapped it out quick and gave me a $25.00 store credit for my trouble.
As far as the gain levels go, I would start with the Mbox low but experiment a little. You can change the sound by playing with the levels on the two.

Gorilla · Post by **Gorilla** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:42 am

I had the same problem with the same pre a couple of years ago -- contact MF right away, they'll explain how to return a defective item.

In my case the second one they sent has worked fine since i got it.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:42 am

I bought mine off a TOMB member and it didn't work when I received it. Didn't pass sound. swapped a tube and in 2 mins all was fine. I was planning on swapping out tubes anyway, so no worries.

I'd say pull the tubes out of the one that works and place them in the same orientation in the other preamp that doesn't work. See if that fixes the problem. Make sure that you don't damage anything (I have no idea how you could possibly damage anything, but if you decide to return them...). If the tube swap brings the other to life then you'll know that they both work fine and you can go ahead and order some nicer tubes. Here's a thread for inspiration: http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... uberolling

I have an EH 12AU7 in the left (I believe it came with it) and a Fender (Groove Tubes... which is a SOVTEK) 12AX7 in the right (which I swapped in to replace the broken tube). It sounds fine but i am planning on experimenting.

And of course, you can always just send it/them back instead. But check them out first. I love mine and would love to have another one.

Jeff

eh91311 · Post by **eh91311** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:43 am

I bought a used E-H 12AY7 from a TOMB ad. Of course, it didn't work when I received it. I swapped tubes from a working unit and that did nothing. I kept it around for a while, then finally contacted New Sensor/E-H and sent it along with a $25 money order to cover repairs and return shipping. 10 days later I received it back, works just fine now.

Don't be afraid to buy a used one, if it arrives DOA, the factory will repair it at a reasonable cost.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:01 pm

If it doesn't work don't wait around...send it back asap and get one that at least works out of the box.

I've never used one with an M-box but I'm pretty sure you should come out of the EH pre with the XLR and set the box to mic level.

I think the line out of the EH pre is where people get the noise from?

Mine worked for a while and a tube went out...new tube fixed it.

mixohoytian · Post by **mixohoytian** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:00 pm

cool thanks everyone

is changing the tubes a must?
sorry I'm just a bonehead guitar player trying to do this myself

the rca tubes, if I just look them up on ebay and get some, they should work right?

MF is swapping it for a new one
I'm double testing my other one tonight to make sure it's working right
it seemed that one tube was glowing more than the other
is that normal?

also
I don't know what the heck I'm doing
I know how to record loud amps
but this is my 1st time w/ acoustics

when you turn up the gain on a class A pre amp, it's gonna make the acoustic sound distorted right?

so when doing acoustic am I supposed to have the gain low?
I got a martin
and I'm going for that crosby stills nash vibe

thanks!

Recycled_Brains · Post by **Recycled_Brains** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:27 am

mixohoytian wrote:cool thanks everyone

is changing the tubes a must?

If they're not working properly, then yes. If they are working properly, than it's up to you. If you think certain combinations sound better, than go with that.

the rca tubes, if I just look them up on ebay and get some, they should work right?

They should work, but with NOS (New Old Stock), you're not guaranteed anything. If you're buying NOS, I recommend Brent Jesse, KCA NOS, or Tube Depot. Ebay is riskier, but there is some good stuff out there.

I've gotten some very expensive duds, but also some very nice sounding tubes as well.

it seemed that one tube was glowing more than the other
is that normal?

The 12AU7 should be quite a bit dimmer than the 12AY7.

when you turn up the gain on a class A pre amp, it's gonna make the acoustic sound distorted right?

Not unless you push the input of the preamp hard enough to make it distort (the orange LED will light up). And the distortion will not be like an amp distortion.

so when doing acoustic am I supposed to have the gain low?
I got a martin
and I'm going for that crosby stills nash vibe

Turn the gain up until it sounds good, and you get a useable level in your DAW, or whathaveyou.

This is where you have to experiment to figure out what you like.

Have fun!

mixohoytian · Post by **mixohoytian** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:16 am

thanks so much

one thing I'm confused on:
"The 12AU7 should be quite a bit dimmer than the 12AY7."

are both these types of tubes in the stock EH (1 each)?
(sorry for my noob-iness)

cause I haven't messed with the tubes, they are stock
but one of them seems bright, the other dull
will check again tonight

one last question on the distortion
when I strum hard it distorts but the wavelength in protools doesn't see that "big"

do I need to change my thinking?
do I basically need to capture a non distorted signal even if that means the wave lenght is very small on protools?

I never had this problem with electric guitar, I could have a 100 watt class A amp all the way up w/ an sm 57 and set it so it doesn't peak on the m box and whala, no problems with digital distortion

for the acoustics, I'm using neumann rip off condensors into the phantom power box, then into the ehx, then into the m box set to line level, with the mbox input level all the way or nearly all the way down

mics are about 6-8 inches away
I put the ehx at noon and the signal seemed ok, but distorting on the strumming

but it's not "digitally distorting" on the mbox side of things

maybe the EHX is just really sensitive?
and I should make the signal as small or quiet as necessary to avoid this?
(that would mean turning the EHX to 9 o clock and keepin the m box all the way down

does that sound right?
or maybe move the mics farther away?

Message Board

just got 2 new electro-harmonix mic pres need help!

just got 2 new electro-harmonix mic pres need help!

Who is online