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DBX 286s LED Meters Not Working

Hi

I purchased a used DBX 286s from Guitar Center.
Yesterday i tried setting the levels and so on.
Problem is the LED meters are not lighting up.
The phantom power, bypass lights work but not the meters.
I can see them come on when i unplug the unit but that's it.

What could the problem be and would it be an cheap fix if i sent it in to Harman or should i just return it?

Thanks
Theo

Best Answer

Answers

  • TheoTTheoT Posts: 3

    Update:

    I took it in to local Guitar Center for a test and they got it to work.
    Unfortunately i'm getting terrible results with my SM7b

    1) Using a Shure SM7b
    2) Mic XLR to 286s XLR then 1/4 Balanced from 286s Output to XLR on Zoom P8 (Zoom P8 has no 1/4 Inputs)

    The guys on Youtube make it sound amazing.
    Don't know why my results are so bad.

    Theo

  • HARMAN_EEldeHARMAN_EElde Posts: 1,365

    @TheoT said:
    Update:

    I took it in to local Guitar Center for a test and they got it to work.
    Unfortunately i'm getting terrible results with my SM7b

    1) Using a Shure SM7b
    2) Mic XLR to 286s XLR then 1/4 Balanced from 286s Output to XLR on Zoom P8 (Zoom P8 has no 1/4 Inputs)

    The guys on Youtube make it sound amazing.
    Don't know why my results are so bad.

    Theo

    There are a lot of guys on YouTube that are running the SM7B with the 286s, yes, and I would recommend checking some of those out. I've never tested those two together. I know a lot of guys use the cloudlifter AND the 286s to get a good sound.

  • scytechscytech Posts: 148

    Yep, I use an external preamp(!) to achieve nominal gain with my 286 when using an SM7B. Using cloudlifter (+25db) does help!
    Note : To be sure, have you tried a condenser mic? These have generally more signal output. So, if the leds are not lighting up with a condenser, then yes, you may have a problem!
    However, you mentioned you solved it... What was the result of Guitar Center?

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