Originally Posted By: Mac
Not all are designed alike.

For example, there are some in which the 1/4" input has an impedance that is too low for the magnetic electric guitar pickup. Loads it down and changes the sound.

The EMU 1818 Audiodock is one such example, input impedance of around 10K ohms is fine for Line Level, but even though it has enough gain for a guitar pickup, that loading is a bit much.


Perhaps I should have clarified - modern/new interfaces with combo inputs - There are about 25 different USB offerings at www.sweetwater.com in the under 200$ price range.

Every single one of them that has a combo XLR-1/4" input lists some way to connect hi impedance "Instrument" inputs, which to my understanding by proxy also means that they will handle line level driven at the appropriate amount.

I haven't seen in the last 5 years or so, that hasn't offered at least one of it's 'combo' inputs on an external audio interface that wasn't designed to handle high impedance instrument inputs. Some of them will not have hi-z capability for all of the combo inputs, but I've not seen one where it wasn't designed for at least one and more commonly 2 of the combo jacks for hi-z.

From what the lay of the land looks like to me, all of the manufacturers have figured out that what many of us forum participants do, and what Takamine is suggesting, is that we plug-in whatever we brung that particular instance, into the front of the unit, record our tracks, swap it out for the next instrument/mic, record those, and keep going. If they offer one or two combo jacks, they make them hi-z/instrument capable. My Scarlett 18i8 has 4 combo jacks, two of which handle hi-z and all 4 with a software selectable pad for hot line levels.

But in the lower channel count world, it appears to me that the manufacturers have listened.

Last edited by rockstar_not; 02/21/14 04:59 PM. Reason: clarity
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