balanced setup...how do you balance/unbalance XLR's to 1/4"?

im trying to hook my stuff up so its balanced, but i need to convert to unbalanced along the way to get back to my hard disk recorder(only has two balanced ins, no balanced out) or mpc.
e.g.
mpc- out 1/4"-
- into balance converter- out XLR's-
- into balanced effect rack-
- into balance converter- out1/4"-
- into mpc sample.
anyone know how to do this easy? needs at least two channels, but if its not too difficult or expensive id like four.
cheers.

i don't kno if rhis works but try using a direct box it xlr to stereo out then just brigde it.

you mean a d.i.? if you bridge the outputs/inputs, you lose +6db and balancing...because it becomes unbalanced when bridged, usually?

why does the effects rack take balanced in and not out?
in this case there is no point in converting the -10 mpc signal to +4 just to have it output at -10 again.

list what gear you are using so i can be more specific in helping you. at the very least you are going to need a GOOD DI, not some cheap Behringer hunk of crap either.

also, answer this... why do you think you need balanced signal into your hard-disk recorder? im not after the obvious answer, just think about it....

there is often (not always) no real gain in converting an unbalanced signal into a balanced signal just to have it output as unbalanced again. you are just adding more equipment to the sound-path.... an obvious exception would be if you liked the "colouring" of the sound if you sed a good pre-amp.

and i trust you know your TRS from your TS and the difference between +4 and -10? someone should write a clear article on this.

i dont understand how you are going to sample the mpc with the mpc. it sounds like you want to add effects to sounds on the mpc and then sample the processed sounds. are you sampling with something else in between the mpc? you cant play something in the mpc and sample it at the same time.

yeh sorry, i meant to put the hard disk in that diagram.

okay. ive got a few rackmounts that id like to balance, just to get a hotter signal and to cancel out a bit of background noise. i got a roland ap-700 eq, a dbx compressor and an eventide eclipse.
i run a lot of things through the racks in pre production(synths, drum machines, pre sample) for sampling or through to the hard disk for mixing down. i also record vocals aswell.

you talking about TRS-tip ring sleeve , TR- tip ring?

ahh, makes sense now. use a couple d.i.'s then.

"only has two balanced ins"

Just use an unbalanced cable. No need to go out to buy DI boxes or other convertor boxes since these will take the balanced signal and convert it to an unbalanced signal to connect to the MPC. The recorder will use an unbalanced cable since it grounds the third connector automatically (therefore doing this automatically without extra hardware). Only use a convertor if you need a cable run of over 20 feet, in which you can run the balanced lines for the 20+ feet and then convert it just before the MPC.

THe MPC does have balanced in's.