Repeater gain staging tips (Was: RE: evangelize EDP please)

["Mike Barrs" <mbarrs@nightviewer.com>]

> From: Greg House [mailto:ghunicycle@yahoo.com]
>
> --- Lance Chance <lrc8918@louisiana.edu> wrote:
> > man, you are the second guy to mention my gain stages.   i
> guess i'll have
> > to go home and tweek that stuff some more to see if i'm missing
> something.
> > say, are you fellows using a compressor on the input of the
> thing?   maybe
> > that's my problem.
>
> I don't, but I do use a preamp (line level output) before it gets to the
> Repeater. Either a DG Stomp, or an old Roland GP16. The Repeater
> then feeds
> either a professional mix console or a power amp directly.
>
> Greg

A few of the Roland VG-88 patches I use have a little compression added as
an effect in the patch, and the distorted guitar patches have a simulated
"tube overdrive compression." But I also use the Repeater with my acoustic
guitar pickup output with no compression, and that's a very dynamic signal.
I just try to make sure that my levels are set barely under the clipping
point. That's critical for pushing down the noise floor (especially in a
16-bit system like this). Get those input levels hot!

If you can't get a hot enough input level without lighting up the clip
LED's, then you could try throwing a limiter ahead of the Repeater's 
inputs.
That will tame the peaks and let you run a hotter input. Even a good 
limiter
will mess with your attack transients though, so I'd only use this idea as 
a
last resort.

I think it's also a good idea to avoid using the instrument input on the
front panel. I have a feeling the preamp on that circuit isn't super-high
quality. Like Greg, I have a preamp (Roland VG-88) ahead of the Repeater,
and I use the stereo line inputs on the back of the Repeater.

One final tip -- I know this sounds dumb, but make sure the Line/Phono
button on the back panel is in the out position, if you're using those line
inputs. It's easy to accidentally press that button when you're groping
around inside a rack case making cable connections.

--
Mike Barrs