Getting quality raw guitar before Amping

richard.ackroyd

Gravity Productions
Dec 10, 2011
43
0
6
soundcloud.com
Anyone got any good advice as to what setup ensures that your getting the most out of your tone?

Im talking what cables to use for DI, what guitar make is the best and possibly what tuning to use?

This is to get the beefiest possible output by the way :)
 
Good songwriting
Player that isn't afraid of the guitar and can play properly what has been written
New and sharp guitar pick
Quality guitar with good pickups
Brand new and thick enough strings
Quality brand or handmade short cables for minimal quality loss
High quality DI-box and an awesome preamp, use good gain staging (not too hot, not too cold)
Good engineer/producer with enough ear for quality control

If even one of those are lacking, the quality of your DI's will most likely suffer.
 
I have a great river 1nv. Should i use the DI directly on the front of the preamp. Or should i buy a DI box? For reamping into eleven or podfarm or GTR3, reamping.

Thanks!
 
After recording many metal and hardcore bands over the years I've learnt that the musician plays the biggest part in the sound. I've recorded some great guitarists that could make any guitar or amp sound good, same with drummers. How the guitar is played is extremely important. A good D.I. box is essential as is a nice sounding guitar, heavy gauge strings (always new) and the pick-ups of the guitar also play a big part. I prefer active pick-ups. Be strict on tuning and make sure the guitar is set-up properly (i.e. intonation, neck adjustment, etc).
 
Guitar set up is key, intonation plays a huge roll, and tune often, even certain chords or notes plus everything they mentioned ^^^
 
Im in a similar situation, i have all new gear.

Brand New Les Paul Studio

RME Fireface 800
Great River 1NV

I bought a monster power 200 and cable kit with guitar.

I get an odd "grounding" buzz when not touching metal and even a bit when i am.

This is where the story is different from all other "bad ground" stories. I sent the guitar back to sweetwater, and they sent me a new one. Honestly the new one is maybe slighty worse. How can this be?

Other details.
- I've taken the guitar from my studio to my home. I get the same results.
- I also get the same results just playing through a POD with headphones.
- Not getting it with a bass i have with active pickups.
- I get the exact same bad noise from my previous Epiphone with similar electronics.
- Obviously but the noise is much more evident with distortion on.
- It is at its worst when the volume pot is full. Kind of reduces when lowering the middle.
- When the tone pot is all the way down is goes 99% away!

No flourescent lights on etc.

I've checked and tried everything, honestly.

Any suggestions would be amazing. Thanks everyone!
 
It's called hum dude. Guitars aren't silent, it's why we have noise gates. This is completely normal, and you didn't need to send back the other guitar. It's because when you aren't touching the strings, the guitar isn't grounded in any way.
 
I've read so many stories of success running a good short cable directly to the Great River 1NV and directly to conversion so I figured this to be the best path. When using GTR3 or PODFARM using a gate does keep the noise away but there is still some noise when playing, it doesnt go away 100% when the strings are touched.
 
i had that exact problem with mine but i was running it in a ridiculously stupid way. i had the patch cable from guitar to di box to mixer to sound card because my sound card on my pc does not have a xlr input everything dirtied the signal so i decided to try just plugging the guitar right into the sound card and it got rid of it and i didnt end up needing a DI box because the pickups on the guitar were active. you should get a DI box and just run from the DI box to your fireface because i think if you pluged your guitar right into the fireface it will be to quiet cause it wont be the right impedance i think your pre is making that noise because the noise i was getting was from my mixer hope this helps :)
 
I have a similar problem. Normally when we record we go to my drummers house and record in his basement. There is no problem with noise there. Crystal clear. But when I take all of my gear home to retrack guitars or write, I get an awful hum. I think it has something to do with location. Probably improper wiring in the house.
 
DI boxes have been mentioned in this thread a multiple times. Do they really make a difference ? Will the difference be more noticeable with a crappy interface or a decent/good interface ?
 
It is all the time, even a great cable plugged directly into the instrument input on the fireface. This must be an electrical issue or something. Very frustrating, i have tried everything.
 
It is all the time, even a great cable plugged directly into the instrument input on the fireface. This must be an electrical issue or something. Very frustrating, i have tried everything
If at all possible try using your setup at someone else's house or at least a different room of your own house. At least then you can narrow down the possibilities.
 
do you have a power conditioner? they can help clean up the power that's running to your interface. thats what i got mine and it works great cause the electical current at my place is not the greatest