[LAU] OT: Guitar level- Mic or Line?

[Simon Williams]

Fons Adriaensen wrote:
> On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 02:49:29PM -0500, Reuben Martin wrote:

>> Back on Tuesday 27 May 2008, Simon Williams was like:

lol Reuben- what mail client do you use?

> Well, I'd say they are neither. Typical levels for a guitar are
> well below standard line level, and on many pro equipment the
> line input Z could well be as low as 10k so, which is too low
> for a guitar. It can work, but the sound won't be the same.
> This is because the impedance of a typical guitar is not only
> high but also inductive, and in many cases (depending on the 
> setting of the controls on the guitar) this can resonates in
> the audio band with the capacitance of the cable. Connecting
> it to a medium Z line input will kill that resonance. Guitars
> expect at least a few hundred k.

Ok that explains that.

> Use an active DI-box, in particular if the guitar output has
> to be split for a guitar amp as well.

What if I can't afford DI-boxes? Which is best to use?

Thanks.
Simon