You purchased your Ensoul Pan Pickup and were so excited when it arrived. You opened the box, unwrapped it and immediately took it to your Pan to play.
The EnSoul Pan Pickup has a magnet on one end and a ¼” female jack on the other end. Seems too simple, right? So, you PLACE the magnet on your Pan and PLUG in the jack and… and…then... NOTHING!??
You check to see if the magnet is good and stuck, maybe you move it to another location on the Pan… and … nothing! At this point you think, “Maybe there was some other part in the box.” You look through the packing material. No extra parts, but there is an instruction sheet that reads:
The EnSoul Pan Pickup, with a ¼” female jack, magnetically attaches to the outside of any steel drum. Passively powered, it produces pure, non-distorted tones and is perfect for adding digital effects and for recording. Simply place, plug and play!
Did you find the reason you are not getting sound? You’re not the first person to over look that the EnSoul Pan Pickup is a PASSIVE pickup. The number one reason the Pan Pickup produces no sound is that it works only when it is plugged into an audio interface that has its own electric supply. So make sure your amp (etc) has power, is turned on and the volume is on.
The second reason the out-put is low or non-existent is that you may have 'placed' the pickup up-side-down. The logo on the pickup should be visible when the pickup is attached to your Pan. For the best contact, place the smooth side of the pickup against your Pan.
A couple more hits:
Make sure the jack on your Pan Pickup is securely "snaped" into your amp cable. If you are not sure- just snap the jack into your amp cable (power on) and tap the Pickup magnet. It should be 'crazy loud!'
Use an Unbalanced Cable from the EnSoul Pan Pickup to your amp or effects board. If you are not sure if your cable is balanced our unbalanced, check the male end. Unbalanced cables will have one ring on the male end, and Balanced cables will have two. The cable should be no longer than 15-20 feet (4-6 meters).
We recommend one pickup per pan. If you have multiple drums, plug the pickups into a splitter box. Then plug the splitter box into the PA or effects system.
Now you know, so, Place, Plug and Play!
Thanks for reading ~ Kim M. Ph.D.
