Is Red-Eye all about the headroom?

[Br1ck]

Talked to Daren the Red Eye designer who told me he designed the pre to be very linear, and that the lack of linearity leads to feedback problems. Spikes in frequency then need to be eqed.

[El Conquistador]

As has already been stated, the RedEye just really adds clarity to a K&K (perhaps all pickups) equiped guitars. However, for the wide variety of acoustic venues I encounter, "EQ" knob is essential to me.

I start with my normal EQ settings on my SA220 and the RedEye EQ knob set at about 40%. In a favorable acoustic venue, this works great. However, in a non-favorable acoustic venue, particularly very crowded, the tone can get muddy, so I beging to increase the EQ knob on the RedEye which works to sharpen, or de-mudify if you will, the tone.

I own the RedEye because I had aquired an acoustic nightmare gig that was an extremely crowded, small room with nothing but reflective surfaces. My guitar was pure mud and since my job at this gig was to be pleasant background music, turning up the volume was not a good option. So, after reading that adding a pre-amp to the K&K would help the tone, I was able to get both a K&K preamp and a RedEye to try. So at the next time around, I put the K&K pre in line, and, it helped a little. I then switch it out with the RedEye and the coulds opened up and, et voila, I knew I had found my solution. So, yeah, in a very real way, the RedEye IS all about headroom.

So as cool as the new Dee Eye looks, I rely on the single EQ knob for my sound.

Steve

[akafloyd]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

I start with my normal EQ settings on my SA220 and the RedEye EQ knob set at about 40%. In a favorable acoustic venue, this works great. However, in a non-favorable acoustic venue, particularly very crowded, the tone can get muddy, so I beging to increase the EQ knob on the RedEye which works to sharpen, or de-mudify if you will, the tone.

What are your normal EQ settings??

[El Conquistador]

Floyd, My normal settings are: trebles at 1:00, mids at 10:30, bass flat.

Steve

[akafloyd]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

Floyd, My normal settings are: trebles at 1:00, mids at 10:30, bass flat.

Steve

Thanks Steve! I get the impression that many who haven't used the Red Eye think that it's so limited with only the treble knob. I've found that it does make K&K pickups sound good but they may still need an EQ adjustment somewhere else down the line.

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by akafloyd

Thanks Steve! I get the impression that many who haven't used the Red Eye think that it's so limited with only the treble knob. I've found that it does make K&K pickups sound good but they may still need an EQ adjustment somewhere else down the line.

+1. I do NOT use the RedEye for my EQ needs, that is ALL done on my SA220. The single EQ knob is there to sharpen the tone as needed. Very often, I will start out at my normal setting, about 40%, then increase during the gig as the venue fills up with bodies.

So, no, I am not EQing with the RedEye, simply using it to eliminate the muddiness that often arises in a less than ideal venu.

Steve

[dcopper]

Just to add to the mix here - most everyone using the RedEye does so with K&K or JJB transducers. I have found it to be excellent for my Sunrise, also other mag pickups like the Baggs M80 and the Fishman Rare Earth. It also works well with my Taylors with the latest version ES (not ES2) and my T5 with the LR Baggs Element Active added.
The RedEye just smoothes the tone out- as was said- in a linear fashion. I personally use and love the treble knob to just add articulation or take away some of the highs to give a fuller rhythm tone.
Dos centavos from me on a Sunday morn,
davidc

[janmulder]

I am certainly interested in trying out the Red-Eye but like most am concerned that there is not enough EQ control and would end up using some EQ somewhere in the chain ... so I am wondering if then all the benefits of using the Red-Eye would be wiped out by placing an EQ before it or in the loop.

[akafloyd]

Originally Posted by Dakedi

I am certainly interested in trying out the Red-Eye but like most am concerned that there is not enough EQ control and would end up using some EQ somewhere in the chain ... so I am wondering if then all the benefits of using the Red-Eye would be wiped out by placing an EQ before it or in the loop.

I think the Red Eye is made for those who want simplicity - plug and play. It does sound good, smoother is a good description, better than some DIs I've tried. That's really what the Red Eye is, a good quality active DI. At about the same price the Radial J48 has a different feature set (high pass filter, phase reverse, ground lift) and a little different sound, even though they both claim a flat frequency response. In my experience you won't lose the benefits of the Red Eye by adding EQ, it's adding another box to the chain rather than using an all in one unit. I think you have to decide if the Red Eye does what you need. Can you borrow one to try? Shoreline has a good return policy, see if it can work for you.

[alnico5]

Originally Posted by Dakedi

I am certainly interested in trying out the Red-Eye but like most am concerned that there is not enough EQ control and would end up using some EQ somewhere in the chain ... so I am wondering if then all the benefits of using the Red-Eye would be wiped out by placing an EQ before it or in the loop.

The Red-Eye is not made to go in your loop. It is made to be the point of entry for your guitar. Use the Red-Eye's effects loop to add your EQ or whatever. I use a reverb and on-off switch in the effects loop in addition to a stage monitor amp if I need it. The 1 million Ohm input impedance should not be compromised.

People want their guitar to sound like itself, only louder. The Red-Eye lets all your guitar's frequencies through; but people then want additional EQ to change the sound of their guitar?! (I know- your PU may not be reproducing the exact sound of your guitar)

[janmulder]

Originally Posted by akafloyd

I think the Red Eye is made for those who want simplicity - plug and play. It does sound good, smoother is a good description, better than some DIs I've tried. That's really what the Red Eye is, a good quality active DI. At about the same price the Radial J48 has a different feature set (high pass filter, phase reverse, ground lift) and a little different sound, even though they both claim a flat frequency response. In my experience you won't lose the benefits of the Red Eye by adding EQ, it's adding another box to the chain rather than using an all in one unit. I think you have to decide if the Red Eye does what you need. Can you borrow one to try? Shoreline has a good return policy, see if it can work for you.

Thanks.

I have the Radial Tonebone PZ Pre whose DI is a J48 running with more current for greater headroom so I kinda know what my guitars sound through a J48.

A RedEye for me would be to simplify so that I could go out sometimes with less gear ... I'd add one small good quality EQ if needed and that's it. If more was needed to get a good sound it wouldn't be any simpler anymore.

I live in Germany so can't use the Shoreline return policy. And no one I know has one.

> I think you have to decide if the Red Eye does what you need.

Yep ... I want something simple and small. A bit like (but a step up from) the PADI which is also Phantom powered and has basic EQ.

The redeye has everything except the EQ.

[janmulder]

Originally Posted by alnico5

The Red-Eye is not made to go in your loop. It is made to be the point of entry for your guitar. Use the Red-Eye's effects loop to add your EQ or whatever. I use a reverb and on-off switch in the effects loop in addition to a stage monitor amp if I need it. The 1 million Ohm input impedance should not be compromised.

Thanks. I wasn't thinking of putting it in an effects loop. I was wondering about putting and EQ in its effects loop ... or just infront of it.

So if the pickup requires hi z then I should plug it direct to the redeye and use the loop.

Originally Posted by alnico5

People want their guitar to sound like itself, only louder. The Red-Eye lets all your guitar's frequencies through; but people then want additional EQ to change the sound of their guitar?! (I know- your PU may not be reproducing the exact sound of your guitar)

Yes ... people want their amplified guitar to sound like their guitar ... not their pickup. Unfortunately, the pickup doesn't always sound like the guitar without EQ. It sounds like the pickup. But with EQ it can sound like the guitar. Hence the need for EQ sometimes. The EQ is not to change the sound of the guitar ... it is to change the sound of the pickup