Red-Eye Instrument Preamplifier™
The Red-Eye Instrument Preamp offers a simple, one-box, direct-connect solution to musicians playing instruments with high-impedance piezoelectric pickups…for example, the L.R. Baggs violin bridge pickup. Any passive or active instrument pickup is supported.
The Red-Eye Preamp’s high input-impedance allows piezoelectric pickups to operate essentially unloaded, which results in a smooth, natural, instrument tone. Low distortion, low noise, and generous headroom mean clear tone comes through even when an instrument is played percussively and loudly. The Red-Eye Preamp also works well with instruments that have magnetic pickups, such as electric guitars and electric basses.
Features:
• Input: high-impedance, 1 million ohms, maximum 1 volt peak-to-peak level.
• Low-impedance, balanced, XLR output, 600 ohms, will drive long cables to mix-board.
• Boost button with volume control for amplifying solos.
• Treble control to boost or reduce treble.
• Long 9-volt battery life (~200 hours).
• Automatically uses XLR Phantom Power, when available, instead of the battery.
• Plugging an instrument in or connecting XLR phantom power turns the Red-Eye on.
• Automatic power check: Pwr Chk Light flashes for 1 second if power is good when preamp is powered up. When powered up on the battery (without XLR Phantom Power) the battery gets tested and the flash happens as long as the battery is in the first ¾ of its life.
• ¼ inch output and input for accessory loop, suitable for stomp-tuners or effects boxes or for output to on-stage guitar amps or PAs.
• Internal filtering to reject radio-frequency interference from neon lights and cell phones.
• Small Size: 1.25 x 2.25 x 4.25 inches. Weight: 10 ounces.
Red-Eye Preamp Signal Path:
• The Instrument Input impedance is 1,000,000 ohms.
• The Effects Loop Output impedance is less than 4,000 ohms.
• The Effects Loop Input impedance is 4,000 ohms.
• The XLR Output impedance is 600 ohms.
• Frequency response is flat from 10 Hz to 20 KHz (+/- 1 dB) when Treble Control is centered.
• Boost level above no Boost: Minimum Boost = +3 db, Maximum Boost = +7 db
Using the Red-Eye Preamp to simply connect your instrument to a club’s sound system:
• You have control over your instrument’s treble.
• You have control over solo boost if you need it.
• If you turn on a Stomp-Tuner, the XLR output to the Mix Board will be muted.
Using several effects boxes or a pedal board with the Red-Eye Preamp:
• Connect Effects and/or a Stomp-Tuner in series to the Red-Eye Preamp Effects Loop.
• Effect Boxes and/or Stomp-Tuner will affect the XLR output to the Mix Board.
Using the Red-Eye Preamp to convert a Single-Ended signal to XLR Balanced Output:
• The Red-Eye can also be used as a high-quality passive direct box. The isolation transformer used in the Red-Eye Preamp has a nearly linear response from 18 Hz to over 30 KHz.
• Power is not required
• 4,000 ohm input-impedance, single-ended input
• 600 ohm output-impedance, balanced output
For additional information, contact:
Fire-Eye Development: www.fire-eye.com
Fire-Eye Development: 512-346-6944
Daren Appelt: daren@fire-eye.com