Time for an email to Peavey. I believe there may be a mistake in the manual. The specs do indeed call out balanced outputs for both the effects send and the DI output. However, the block diagram shows pin 3 on the XLR and the ring on the TRS connector to be grounded through a resistor rather than driven with the negative output of the opamp stage.
It doesn’t specify the level of the effects send. If it really is balanced it may not be at the full +4dBu to avoid overdriving the next pedal.
If it’s not really balanced, you will still be able to lift the shield on one end because it will get ground reference through the ring connection.
It could be that the “balanced” reference in the spec means a balanced connector, a TRS, even though the signal is not being driven with both positive and negative. This is a good one.
@Marcel The reason I want the drum machine to go through the amp, is that when I go on a jam with friends, and the drum machine is needed, I don’t have to drag along a set of speakers in addition to the amp.
Ummm @howard one problem with this setup that I just discovered…
When I kick on the overdrive (or any effects on the amp), it affects the drum machine as well as the bass. I don’t think that’s something I want, or if it matters that much. I’ll practice with it for awhile and see.
Ah yes, perfect. The 1/4” TRS connector has 3 conductors, the tip, ring and sleeve. Normally we use 1/4” TS connectors for pedals with tip and sleeve. If you use a TRS cable in a TS jack it’s almost never a problem. The ring part of the connector doesn’t make contact and just gets ignored. The signal then becomes unbalanced on the tip only with the ground on the sleeve.
Headphones use TRS connectors, but differently. A headphone connector is stereo unbalanced with the signals being left, right and ground. This is why TRS connectors get called both “balanced” and “stereo” connectors. The thing you can’t do is plug a stereo TRS to two RCA unbalanced into a balanced jack. This won’t separate stereo, but will put the positive on one RCA and the negative on the other.
Although we always only use 3 wires for balanced connections, only two are actually used for driving the balanced input itself. The third wire is the shield around the two wires doing the work. It needs to get the noise it picks up as an antenna drained to ground at either end. If you connected just two wires to positive and negative it would function fine and would be more susceptible to noise.
should work with both
strange that your u44 does not work on it
had you tried main out to return?
should be same as line out, but with adjustable volume (remember to turn it down)
if you want to record really recommend use the XLR and dont feed back your U44 in the amp
if you wanna play around, connect the U44 to return but no XLR, keep in mind @howard’s remarks about synths, waveforms and signal levels, in order not to fry your speaker
Not sure it’s really solved, I may have changed cabling a few times, but I’m still not sure it’s perfect.
My U-44 has two functions…
On a day to day basis, it provides a way to plug more than one source into my amp, IE: Bass and drum machine… plus my guitar or anyone who jams with me. I use the drum machine everyday for my practice sessions.
The other function is for recording, which of course is what the device is
intended for in the first place.
Therefore, I keep the connection at all times, and am just seeking the most appropriate method.
You have to do a concession somewhere, you also can record with the u44 plugged into the return, but you will not have the characteristics of your rumble.
If you do want this, you need to use the XLR.
You have a nice setup with minimal gear.
If you get GAS a second DAI will solve your issues
Aaaahhhh no! Don’t start us all down the path of multiple DAI’s, I’m not sure about others on here, but I’ve just about managed to get it clear in my head how to connect up everything I’ve just bought (rumble 100, Scarlett interface etc) and ordered every cable I might need.
If you tell me two DAI’s are the way to go, it has implications for my sanity and bank balance (and possibly my marriage too if my wife sees any more Amazon deliveries…)
