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Mona’s Guitar Input (1/4” Plug, Impedance: 100K,
Trim: 10 – 50 dB)
An input impedance of 10K is too low to record non-active guitar pickups
so each input also has its own “guitar” switch. When the guitar switch is
pushed in (green indicator lit), the input impedance is increased to 107K and
the trim knob has a range of 10 to 50 dB. The indicator will only light up if
there is a ¼” connector plugged into the jack. This mode will still provide a
balanced input when a TRS connector is inserted.
If you want to adjust the level of any input, just turn the knob for that input
and watch the corresponding level meter on Mona’s front panel. The red
bar at the top will light anytime the input signal is greater than –3 dB (or
within 3 dB of clipping). The three yellow bars each represent a range of 3
dB and the green bars each represent a range of 6 dB.
It is a good idea to adjust the input trim (knob) so that your loudest recorded
signal lights up some of the yellow bars but not the red. If the signal level
ever exceeds 0 dB the signal will be “clipped” and you will hear a “pop” or
“tick” in the recording. This is a very bad thing, and clipping should be
avoided at all costs! Mona has enough headroom so that you can be
conservative in this area and there is no need to push the input levels right
up to the edge of clipping.
Mona’s front panel also has a ¼” headphone output jack with a
corresponding volume knob which monitors analog outputs 1 and 2.