Line level XLR out question

T

Tom W

Member
I could use some education. I see that the XLR outs are line level. The XLR inputs on our mixer are mic level. The 1/4” inputs are line level. We have an Allen/Heath QU 16 digital mixer for reference. We have an XLR in/out stage snake to run to the mixer.

My question is can run the FM3 into the board via XLR and manage the signal either at the FM3 or mixer preamp? Or am I headed for trouble. Or have I totally missed things?

thanks
 
i run any of the Axe gear with XLRs into Mic level channels on mixer. i just set the Channel gain on the mixer to 0 and i have no issues.

many sound guys think you MUST run mixer channel gain at 12 o clock or higher to "sound good." but that's simply not true. it can be turned all the way down.

should be no issue. the owner's manual suggests a Line Level input simply to avoid this whole issue. but in my experience since the Axe Ultra, i just keep the mixer gain down, as it's designed.
 
Tom W said:
Any particular target on the output level from the unit? 75%? Wide open?
Click to expand...
when i mix myself, i know what i'm doing haha so i set my axe to 100% on the physical knob, just so it's consistent from gig to gig. on almost any mixer i use when set there, i need the Mixer Channel Gain to be minimum, and i have plenty of healthy level on the mixer's fader.

when other people do sound, like i said they usually start at 12 o clock and don't turn lower. if i send too much signal, instead of reducing the gain knob from half way up, they force me to turn down. i never understand it.

so in that situation, i use the Out knob from 9 o clock to 3 o clock. i start at 9 o clock, and many times, that's "too loud" for them... but that range is typical for any gear.

it's always a different situation depending what engineer or bartender you're working with at the gig. but it's always sounded good to me when i'm able to adapt as i've described.
 
Tom W said:
Any particular target on the output level from the unit? 75%? Wide open?
Click to expand...
I run my Axe outputs at 12:00. Straight up. It's a repeatable setting, and it gives me somewhere to go if the sound guy says he needs more (some sound guys need more help than others). Every mixer I've worked with can handle that level.
 
I use an Allen-Heath Qu-Pac which is very similar to your Qu-16. You can run these either through Mic or Line without an issue. The Line input on your Qu is TRS (Balanced) with a 10db Pad inserted. The higher end Allen-Heath's can dynamically add the pad on the Mic side, but not these units. However, they do have a large range, so you'll be fine. I personally run my main Axe III into the Line-In because it's rack mounted right on top of my mixer. I also run an AX8 direct via the XLR's into the Mic inputs.
 
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