896HD input trim volume

[Jer]

Hi. I recently purchased a used 896hd. Hoping someone here may be able to help. My problem is that whether I am using a line or mic input, the front panel meter only goes up 1-2 green meter marks. It will go up slightly as I increase the front panel input trim knob but nothing really noticeable until the know it turned all the way up, but by then it is over in the red. I have tried making adjustments in CueMix, but that doesnt seem to help. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Mark S]

what are you feeding the unit with?

specific hardware

cables

I/O description

[Jer]

I have an AMD X2 7550 dual-core processor, 2gb ram, XP. Firewire cable connected to unit from computer. I have tried using the output of my amp and a Korg A3 to the line inputs on the back of the 896. I have also tried using condenser mics with XLR cables to the inputs and switching from line to mic on the input channel. As I said earlier, I have to turn the trim know clockwise all the way for the meters to really register anything.

[Mark S]

since the 896 hd is a stand alone your comp should not be an issue here.

And I'll assume you turned on phantom power.

What mic?

How far away from the mic are you singing/playing?

I hope you used the line or preamp out from your amp.

And a simple one. Have you tried other cables to make sure it's not a bad cable? (xlr to trs?)

Does the mic work with other mixers? (if so, the phantom power might be out on the 896hd)

Cue mix should have no different affect than the front knob.

how many different channels have you tried this on?

Just throwing out suggestions to see if all your external hardware is working okay before assuming 896 hardware issues.

I have no problems with doing any of this. I close mic even with condensers. All acoustical pu's go thought preamps.

[Jer]

I have tried other mics, cables, phantom power, etc. It is the same for all 8 channels. I just hooked it up to a mixer and ran it through that and the meters work fine. So, would that mean that the preamps on the 896 are not working? And would all of the channels be bad?

[hswin]

Hey Jer,

The "volume" knobs are really "gain" in control. If you have ever messed around with a regular sound board there is a gain knob and a volume knob (slider). I suspect MOTU made this simple as not to overload the channel by having just one knob. I have noticed the same instance you have. The volume (gain) knob on the MOTU is logarithmic by design. So the further clockwise motion until it gets to max, it creeps up there till "BOOM", it is loud (or RED). I usually position the volume knob to less than a "red" setting and correct it in playback in SONAR (or your DAW). I normally will set this knob from -4 to -6 db anyhow to reduce the possibility of overload or peaks!

Maybe that will help.