Quick H9 in effects loop question

[Boynigel]

I know this has topic has been covered, but not the specific particular detail i’m looking for.  Someone from eventide had previously posted that “around” 9 volts peak-to-peak as being the max input that the H9 can handle.  I noticed months back that my Bad Cat Cub15 tends to peak my H9 visually, but not audibly.  The little peak light on the unit is consistently flickering in the red.

Bad Cat metered the fx send of my amp model and found it to be 10 volts, peak-to-peak.  This is slightly over the aforementioned threshold of 9 volts.  I just want to make sure that the extra volt that my amp is putting into the H9 won’t be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as i’ve read in previous posts here that overloading the H9 too much can actually damage it.

I’d like to think that as long as I’m not hearing any clipping that i’m alright but unfortunately my OCD sometimes has me monitoring signals visually LOL

So the million dollar question- as long as i’m not hearing the clipping should i just put a piece of tape over my overload light  and get on with playing, or are my concerns with damaging the unit genuinely warranted?

 

[joecozzi]

Boynigel wrote:

So the million dollar question- as long as i’m not hearing the clipping should i just put a piece of tape over my overload light and get on with playing, or are my concerns with damaging the unit genuinely warranted?

The clipping light indicates you are getting close to clipping the signal, but it doesn’t mean a clip has actually occurred. As long as you don’t hear clipping, the unit will be fine.

[joecozzi]

Hard to tell, but the bottom line should be as soon as something doesn’t sound awesome, don’t use it. It’s a simple as that.

[joecozzi]

Although it’s not common, it’s not unheard of to use a line level mixer to control the volume coming out of an effects send. It won’t hurt your preamp tone in any way, but it will ensure any effects input level is controlled. This may be an option that works for you.

[Boynigel]

joecozzi wrote:

Boynigel wrote:

So the million dollar question- as long as i’m not hearing the clipping should i just put a piece of tape over my overload light and get on with playing, or are my concerns with damaging the unit genuinely warranted?

The clipping light indicates you are getting close to clipping the signal, but it doesn’t mean a clip has actually occurred. As long as you don’t hear clipping, the unit will be fine.

Followup question- the more I gain up the Bad Cat (preamp distortion) the more readily the peak light flickers and comes closer to being “solid” red.  My concern in this scenario is would i be able to differentiate the H9’s audible clip (if it’s happening) whereas it would be heard in tandem with the amp’s own preamp clipping?  Hopefully it would be the classic nasty digital clipping sound that would contrast with the amp’s natural (desirable) distortion rather than blending in with it?  thank you

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