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Location: closely held secret | Bob, more than likely the 'switch' turning on the preamp is simply the 1/4" jack. You probably don't need the ground-to-shell cable, just a regular XLR cable and a 1/4" plug.
$1.99 at Radio Shack, might be worth a try. |
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Location: SoCal | What's a ground-to-shell cable? |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Ground to shell activates the phantom power. It is the difference between microphone cables and Instrument cables. Right? |
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Location: NJ | An XLR cable where (inside the connector) one of the leads (I believe it was pin #1 - not completely sure) is soldered/grounded to the metal shell of the connector.
Do a search.
Master Templeman did a pretty descriptive instructional post on this a couple years ago.
Get with the Program! ;) |
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Location: closely held secret | Right, Cliff. Pin 1 is tied to the shell(ground) and should have continuity. Hopefully any XLR cable you are using is wired this way, or you are not standing in a pool of water...
Most any off-the-shelf XLR cable should work.
Bob, what I said above applies if phantom power is not available, or you don't have a correctly wired XLR cable.
I'm sure Master Templeton will correct me if I've made a mistake. :D |
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Location: Fayetteville, NC | I just did a search. Looks like you're right Waskel. |
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Location: Warren, OH | Waskel, my cable is a stock XLR cable, which I've used for some time with my old Dean Markley pickup and a passive DI box. I do have phantom power available from the mixing board. Nothing came on, however, until I plugged in the 1/4" jack.
I wanted to try things out first before I decided to hack up the cable. |
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Location: closely held secret | Bob, if you have a continuity tester or ohmmeter test to be sure all 3 pins go all the way through. Pin 1 may be disconnected at one end. Also check for continuity between the shells.
You could also try the cable with a condenser mic, if you have one available. If it's the cable the mic shouldn't work. (make sure it's one that requires phantom power) |
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Location: Madison, Wisconsin | I don't think it's a "stock" cable configuration. We've had a few discussions on the board about how to make one. They are available from Ovation if you don't want to do it yourself. Following is from the Ovation owners manual
Lo-Z Connection
If you have chosen to connect the guitar to a low impedance mixer or amp, there are a couple of options. If you have a conventional, Lo-Z balanced line XLR (or mic) cable, connect the guitar to the amp/mixer and insert a 1⁄4" "activation plug1" into the phone jack on the guitar. This plug connects the battery's current to the preamp circuitry. If you have purchased an Ovation Lo-Z XLR Activation Cable2, simply connect your guitar to your amp or mixer and play.
Phantom Power
Here's another unique Ovation feature: If your mixer or acoustic guitar amp has phantom power available (a voltage source that is superimposed inaudibly on the same wires as the signal), using the XLR connector on the guitar (with any balanced XLR cable) will direct this voltage to your preamp. This will dramatically extend battery life, as only the tuner will require battery current. Even without a battery, using the phantom powering option will ensure that you're getting the ultimate response and output from your preamp. Please note however, that the tuner will not function without a serviceable battery installed in the guitar.
1Activation Plug (1⁄4")
(Part Number 9659-0) - Retail: $3.99
2Ovation Lo-Z Balanced XLR Activation Cable
(Part Number 9658-0) - Retail: $19.95
Above accessories are available from your local authorized Ovation Dealer/Service Center. |
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Location: closely held secret | Uhmmm... |
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Location: closely held secret | Bill, I'm confused...
You started by saying this wasn't a 'stock' cable configuration, but then in both circumstances you went on to say that you can use a "conventional, Lo-Z balanced line XLR (or mic) cable" or "any balanced XLR cable".
I believe that you are correct in the second 2 statements. My understanding is that you can use any "conventional, Lo-Z balanced line XLR (or mic) cable", providing that pin 1 is continuous end to end and to the shells. Most XLR cables come off the shelf like this.
I don't believe you need to buy either the cable or the 'activation plug' from the Mothership, unless you feel you want to support them. Any 1/4" plug, even a blank from Radio Shack, should turn on the preamp power. |
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Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Your correct on the 1/4" plug but I don't think the standard XLR cables have the ground strap attached. I keep a right angled 1/4" plug in my case to activate the preamp when I need to. |
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Location: closely held secret | Ok, let me back up. (No, I don't mean back-pedal). If you use XLR cables which have the very small screw going into the shell body on both ends, remove the screw, open the end and see if that screw threads into the ground strap. The ground strap should be soldered to pin 1.
THAT is what ties the shell to pin 1. If you have an XLR cable which does not have these screws, or has plastic shells, you probably won't get phantom power.
Again, you can test this if you have an ohmmeter. Connecting to pin 1 on the male end and the shell on the female end should show 0 resistance.
Whether or not you can solder pin 1 to the shell depends on the quality of the shell ends. (and your soldering skill level.)
I just pulled 4 XLR's out of a drawer, 3 of them had screws and had shell-to-ground. 1 did not have screws and had no shell-to-ground.
Bob, does your XLR have very small screws going into the sides of the shells?
If not, I suggest you get something like this.
If you look at the shell ends you can see the screwheads going into the casing.
EDITED |
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Location: Madison, Wisconsin | As cruel as it may sound, they make me stay here all day so I can't run home to check on my equipment. I always thought those small screws were what kept the connectors together. I do know, I had to do the soldering job that las time I tried to use one of my XLR cables. |
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Location: closely held secret | Yes, Bill, that is cruel. :( The only reason I'm home today is, Wednesdays I work from home.
Those screws DO hold the end together. But inside the shell there's a lug to solder a jumper to pin 1. 3 out of 4 off-the-shelf cables I have had that jumper. I think it's necessary for condenser mics that require phantom power as well. So most of the time you have those screws I think you'll find the shell is grounded to pin 1. |
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Posts: 100
Location: Warren, OH | OK - last week I plugged in to the board at church using my stock XLR cable. Nothing. As soon as I plugged in a 1/4" jack, however, the battery/phantom power LED turned yellow/green instead of the normal red, and everything worked fine.
I checked my cable, and all pins are straight through, but no jumpers. They are metal shells with screws. The tabs are very big and fat, so soldering from pin 1 to the shell tab should be pretty easy. It'll take more time to find solder and the iron. I'll do it tomorrow morn before church. |
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Location: Warren, OH | By the way, I checked the archives for ground to shell cable. The last couple of entries that the search listed wouldn't come up. Is there some cutoff point at which old posts drop off the face of the earth? |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Old posts should be on the board.
Maybe just a system malfunction. Maybe you can try it again and if the same problem persists, send the info to Miles to check out. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Three years out are in the vault I believe. Just add it to your search criteria. |
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Posts: 100
Location: Warren, OH | Finally got a chance to use the new modified XLR cable at church this weekend. Everything was plugged in, phantom power light came on, and it was a simple case of just turning the volume knob. Sounded really nice, and really easy.
Now all I gotta do is figure out the tone controls...
Got a chance last week to play with some friends (one has an older Balladeer Deluxe, and the other three had flatbacks). I think I was as loud as any of the others. |
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'05 Collector Owners, thoughts?
