Line level

The nominal signal level used between audio equipment such as mixers, interfaces and effects, far above instrument level and below speaker level.

It exists in two common versions, one around consumer voltages and one higher and balanced for professional gear, which is why mismatched devices can sound quiet or overloaded. A guitar pickup cannot drive a line input properly, and a line output fed into a guitar amplifier input will overload it, so conversion is needed in both directions. Direct boxes and re-amp boxes exist to make that conversion.

Example: sending a line output into a guitar input without attenuation gives a harsh, clipped signal that no amount of pedal tweaking will fix.

Line level

See also