lemmywinks Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 (edited) Anybody use one of these? Just got one of these today to use as a silent practice tool, however when I plug my bass into the dual jack/xlr input on the main channel I am unable to get sufficient volume without harsh distortion. The gain stage is set so it is barely clipping under normal use and the channel, main and headphone volumes aren't high at all. Even when I back off on the bass slider and adjust the input gain it will still distort. I can play mp3s via the other inputs over USB or phono and get decent volume, it still distorts at anything approaching louder volumes but it is usable. I have tried powering it from my netbook's USB port, using a USB mains charger (supplied along with the cable) and have also swapped the cable out but this hasn't cured the issue. So is this a faulty unit or is just an inherent drawback of using something USB powered? I understand these can't be used with certain mics as the mic preamp won't supply enough power but I thought a passive bass would be ok, lots of people use them to record guitar. I'm thinking it's definitely faulty but thought it might be best to see if anyone here had used this mixer before I hear back from Behringer and the seller. Shame really as it's a great little thing, super convenient and just the right amount of features for me. Thanks in advance! Steve Edited December 19, 2013 by lemmywinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dincz Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 (edited) [quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1387497375' post='2312805'] just the right amount of features for me.[/quote] It's missing one important feature - an instrument input. The mic inputs on the mixer have an input impedance of only 2Kohms. That will seriously mess with the pickups on a passive bass. Instrument inputs are typically 0.5 to 1 megohms. Still far from ideal, but it might be worth trying the 2-track inputs (with a suitable adapter) which are 20Kohm. You could find yourself short of level but worth a try. EDIT: Or plug the bass into an effects pedal and from there to the mixer. Edited December 20, 2013 by dincz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks. I thought it would be ok as my old mini mixer was fine with whatever bass I threw at it and that had no dedicated inputs, I did also try it with an Art Tube MP and the result was still the same, will try it with my MXR DI when I get the chance. May just send it back tbh, having to use extra kit to make it work kinda defeats the purpose of having a convenient USB mini mixer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Alternatively should I just go for a cheap vattery powered preamp pedal like the Behringer BDi21? It's still more clutter but easier than having to use my old mixer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Well I tried it today via the DI out on my MXR M80 (instead of the jack output) and the result is the same. Either this is defective or these mixers just aren't up to the job, will try it with a synth tomorrow just to make sure. Seems like it'll have to go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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