The best way to amplify our instruments
The first rule must be this one: if the instrument is stereo, you need a stereo amplifier: many of our sounds, for example the sound of the organ WITH the rotary simulation requires a stereo amplifier system. Also the acoustic piano sound is stereo... on a real grand piano you can hear the bass more on the left and the treble more on the right because this is how a grand piano is made. Let's also talk about effects... many of them are stereo, if you plug only one cable (mono) you can't take fully advantage of the effects, the result is terrible! There are many ways to connect your instrument to an amplifier system, it can be a mixer then going to 2 separate speakers or you can plug directly the instrument to 2 separate speakers etc etc... the choice depends on your demand of power, quality, space.
Many customers are asking us how to use our instruments in a mono enviroment: the answer to this question is not easy. it depends on the sound, the settings and the effects. A few examples can explain:
1) Tonewheel organ sound with leslie simulation - this is stereo and you need both L and R connected to correctly hear the rotary effect.
2) Tonewheel organ sound without leslie simulation - this is mono and what you will find on L or R is the same signal, dual mono, so you can use only one channel, doesn't matter if L or R.
3) Rhodes sound without any effect - this is mono and what you will find on L or R is the same signal, dual mono, so you can use only one channel, doesn't matter if L or R.
4) Acoustic piano sound with or without effects - this is always stereo.
A note about the Leslie simulation: there are two important aspects to keep in mind regarding our approach. First, the simulation is stereo because our method of recreating the Doppler effect relies on a stereo architecture. If you connect only one channel (L or R) without applying the correct software setting on the instrument, the result will inevitably sound strange and unpleasant. This is not a defect of the instrument, but simply an incorrect way of using it. The second aspect concerns the STOP function: if the virtual horn stops in an unfavourable position, certain acoustic artifacts or unpleasant tones may occur. In this case, you may want to enable the FRONT STOP feature, which ensures that the horn always stops in a more suitable orientation.
Please do not use amplifiers designed for other instruments. (for example guitar amplifiers). Guitar amps are for guitars, Bass amps are for basses! Have you ever heard about input and output impedance? Also some mixers have dedicated inputs for keyboards, microphones, guitars, smarphones ecc ecc... they are not interchangeable.
Some of our instruments have a built-in audio out level selector. Please be sure to match it with your system. Using an incorrect output level can raise the noise level. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level. If the selector is not present, consider Ref level (pro). Also the settings of your mixer can affect the noise: gain and volume are two different things :-)
Another suggestion: please keep in mind that almost all our digital instruments have balanced line outs. It is of course compatible with unbalanced cables and jack... but... you are missing an opportunity here!
Last but not least: good and reliable audio cables!