output to hot for drums

[toilettunes]

my a12 sounds great but is set on the lowest setings clipps the converter when recording drums.the n72 is very useable did i mess up

[JackofallTrades]

What mic(s) are you using? I use the A12 on Snare and Toms with SM57s without any overloading issues. I usually set the gain at about 2 or 3.

[toilettunes]

thanx for the response it was a d 112 on kick 57 on the snare. i had to record this power drumer so what i did was put the output into my board with the trim all the way down. wow stunning results. but like i said all trimms all the way down i did a test with head phones and the gains both work right

[bobschwenkler]

I have to do the same... drums are loud. You might try padding the input to the preamp down.

[toilettunes]

yeah i just got an pad from sweetwater. 20db

[flatrockmobile]

I wonder if it's OK to pad the output instead, so you can still drive the input? Maybe a 20db pad using 2-680 ohm resistors and a 150 ohm in an "H" configuration. Or would this be weird on the output transformer?

[JustMike]

I'd like to know this too. Should I pad the input to the A12 or the output? It seems to me that to get more character out of the pre, I would want to drive it more and pad the output...?

[edwin]

I wonder if it's OK to pad the output instead, so you can still drive the input? Maybe a 20db pad using 2-680 ohm resistors and a 150 ohm in an "H" configuration. Or would this be weird on the output transformer?

I do this all the time with my API 3124+. I also keep pads on hand for my SCA pres (C84 and N72) and Grace Lunatec V3. I built pads (I forget the values offhand) and also got some online from <http://naiant.com/studiostore/cleverdevices.html>. Both work well. I like the ability to pad the output so that the pres that have meters give me a better idea of what's going on and agree with my input meters.

I record mostly into an Alesis HD24XR, which does seem to have a hot input compared to what the SCA and other pres will put out.

Edwin