Flow 8 for acoustic guitar input

[jhansenku]

I just got a flow 8 digital mixer. My question is, I have an acoustic board and my output on the board is an xlr out of a direct box. I want to plug into one of the xlr inputs of the board, but you can’t pick acoustic guitar as a preset. You only have that option on channels 5,6,7,8.
I’m not sure why that preset is greyed out on those channels. I think the options are dynamic or condenser mic on those xlr channels.

[shufflebeat]

The jack inputs on the Flow 8 are balanced TRS so there’s pretty much nothing to be gained by going into the XLR inputs.

[jhansenku]

Originally Posted by shufflebeat

The jack inputs on the Flow 8 are balanced TRS so there’s pretty much nothing to be gained by going into the XLR inputs.

So if I plug a 1/4” cable into the input, should it be a TRS plug?

[Lefty MacGuffin]

I have a Flow 8. As far as I can tell, using the pre-sets only set the input gain and the frequency of the high pass filter. I doesn’t set any preloaded EQ or effects. You can manually set the gain and HPF manually on inputs 1-4.

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by jhansenku

So if I plug a 1/4” cable into the input, should it be a TRS plug?

If you were to plug the guitar in directly using a normal TS jack lead then it would “unbalance” the input by shorting the “-“ to earth, as it is designed to do.

If you just stuck a TRS jack on the end of a TS lead and didn’t connect the “S” that might be a problem.

If you plug the guitar into a DI and your connection to the Flow is XLRf to TRS that would be the same as a normal XLR input, just with different metalwork.

For some TS/TRS connections the expected level might be different but the Flow app suggests the gain available for 1-4 is the same as 5-8 so I suspect it’s the same internally.

Make up or buy a short XLRm-TRS adaptor and put it on the end of any mic lead. Don’t use a solid metal adaptor as the extra leverage can result in damage to sockets, they’re also not always very well constructed and can be unreliable.

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by Lefty MacGuffin

I have a Flow 8. As far as I can tell, using the pre-sets only set the input gain and the frequency of the high pass filter. I doesn’t set any preloaded EQ or effects. You can manually set the gain and HPF manually on inputs 1-4.

Just looking at the app:

You’re correct that presets don’t control channel EQ, only HPF (“low cut”) which seems sensible but probably unnecessary.

Manual control of input gain and HPF looks to be available on all channels.

The only differences between channels seem to be Phantom Power (XLR only) and available connectors (XLR vs XLR/TRS vs TRS).

Unless I’m missing something.

[EZYPIKINS]

Simple, don't use a "preset". Tune the channel yourself.

Presets are merely a way to get the untrained, quickly in the game.

Even a preset, will need eq-ing in different environments.

Plug into the channel you want. Set up parameters. Hit STORE. You can probably even name it ACOUSTIC.

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

Simple, don't use a "preset". Tune the channel yourself.

Presets are merely a way to get the untrained, quickly in the game.

Even a preset, will need eq-ing in different environments.

Plug into the channel you want. Set up parameters. Hit STORE. You can probably even name it ACOUSTIC.

The term “preset” is a bit misleading here. On some desks you can choose from “typical” settings which are sometimes useful in a hurry (but rarely ideal) and you can save your own preset for later retrieval. In this case the “preset” is more of an “input type” (actual words used) and do make some sense. They don’t pretend to go beyond EQ/HPF.

On the Flow there doesn’t seem to be the facility to “hit STORE” except for the global scene, not on individual channels.

One more thing - the channel gain settings on “presets” seem insanely high to me. There’s either much more headroom on the preamp than I would expect or they are expecting some very gentle performances.

According to:

https://behringer.world/viewtopic.php?t=607

The difference between “snapshot library” and “mixer snapshots” is - one is stored on the desk, the other lives with the app, but they would seem to be the same thing.