M80 and Venue DI

[JavaBean]

Hi all,

I have just purchased a Venue DI to use with my M80. I have a question about the Gain setting on the Venue.

The user manual states :--

"Turn the knob clockwise as you strum the guitar until the red LED at the top of the clip meter barely begins to flash at the loudest playing level".

With my M80 fully turned up, and and the EQ set fairly flat, I have to wind the Gain up to almost to the maximum to get the signal to clip. I believe that the signal from the M80 is OK as I have used it straight into an audio interface where its level seems the same as other instruments.

Would anyone know if the (high) Gain setting is normal, or do I have an issue with the Venue?

Many thanks
David

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey David,
I wasn't sure what to think about what you're running into, so I went ahead and ran a quick test. I plugged an M80 into a Venue and tried it in Passive and Active modes. In Active mode, playing harder than I would in most performance situations, I was able to make the red LED clip with the gain set between 12 and 1 o'clock. In Passive mode, playing at the same (hard) dynamic, I was only able to make the unit clip with the gain set at 4 or 5 o'clock.

So you'll want to be sure that the pickup is in Active mode, but also, playing at a softer strumming dynamic will not allow the preamp to clip, even with the gain put towards the maximum setting.

The Venue DI's unity gain (no gain added or reduced) is at about 10-11 o'clock. So it'a only adding gain after that point. Depending on how hard you play and how loud the guitar is acoustically, the input level will definitely vary.

So I don't think that there is anything wrong with your Venue or your M80. From player to player and guitar to guitar, things will actually vary even more than this.

I hope that helps.