Pocket Piano - line level vs. instrument level

[Howsyrface]

Hello,

I am new at all of this. There are many things I do not understand. Because of Black Friday, I bought a Pocket Piano. I have seen some of you all use it with/pedals etc., and I want to do that as well. But I want to do it right and not mess up my stuff or my life. These questions are specific to the Pocket Piano but general for other non-guitar things (e.g. Volca Beats, iPad).

1.) The Pocket Piano web page describes the output as "line level", but on their FAQ page, they answer a question like this: "The 1/4” output jack on your synthesizer is monophonic and line level (like an electric guitar). It will not generate enough voltage to use directly with headphones! (If you try it, the signal will be low in volume and only heard in one channel.)" This is confusing to me as I thought line level and instrument level were two different things. How can I tell what "level" the output is?

2.) Is it "safe" to use my effects pedals with a line level signal? Or is it a bad idea in some cases? I have obviously seen demo videos doing precisely this. But I want to do it "right". I tried just plugging the Pocket Piano into my guitar signal chain and some of the pedals seemed to work, others not so much, etc.

3.) Is it "safe" to use a guitar combo amp with the pocket piano/volca beats/other line level toy? Is it advisable to use passive speakers instead? or put it thru a mixer or attenuator or or or? If you were to describe a general schematic for a "table top" set up using the pocket piano, what kind of equipment would you at minimum or ideally set it up with?

4.) Is the Pocket Piano's internal speaker pretty noisy (even at low volumes) or maybe something's wrong with the one I got.

Thanks for any help and sorry if this is well covered territory.

[DRodriguez]

Line level and instrument level are different. That is a mistake on the manual. There are also two different line level's, professional and consumer.

I haven't looked at the specs, but your pocket piano is likely at +4 dBu while your guitar usually sits around -20 dBu.

You can absolutely use your pedals with line level instruments; you will likely have to lower the volume, or else you will get excessive clipping.

[casecandy]

Sometimes I run a Korg tinyPIANO through all my effects, by running the 3mm AUX cord from my Beats Studios from the piano, into the 1/4" adaptor that came with them, and then into the pedals!

So I think you're good!

[Howsyrface]

Appreciate the info! Thanks!