Instrument level
The signal level produced by a guitar, bass or similar passive pickup, roughly in the millivolt range and far below the levels used elsewhere in audio.
Because it is small and arrives from a high-impedance source, it cannot be sent down long cables without losing high frequencies and picking up interference. It also needs a high input impedance at the next device, which is why a low-impedance line input or a mismatched load makes a guitar sound thin and dull. Anything built to accept instrument level is designed around those two facts.
Example: plugging a guitar into a line input rather than an instrument input on an interface usually produces a weak, rolled-off signal.
See also
Related
- PageLine level
- PageBuffer
- PageAmp mic placement
- PageBalanced signal
- PageCardioid
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley
- PageAd-Rock