Guitar Clipping

[53Crëw]

hold all the strings down at the highest fret and adjust the JB pickup height so that the pole pieces are about 1/16", or slightly more, away from the strings.

You don't want the strings to hit the pole pieces when you play or you'll get all kinds of nasty clicking noises. Pickup adjustment isn't really any different whether you play distorted or not.

If you still have the problem, after setting the pickup height, check your tubes.

 

[MetalJonesy]

Pickups can clip if you overdrive them.

That's why I prefer EMGs with 18V mod. No clipping.

is all you're doing here adding another 9v battery in series with the other 9v batt?

 

[Melodeath]

Ok it seems the clipping is actually being caused by a pedal. Here's a sound clip. http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?id=13473

First is with the pedal, with the pup at 1.5/16ths height Then the same silly "riff" without the pedal, and the same pup but at 1/16th height. Biggest problem si those clicks caused by the pedal. However, do you hear slight distortion at 0:44?

 

[Metaltastic]

Gaahhhhh, christ does that sound horrible - not the clicks in the opening riff, those crack me up at how hysterically rhythmic and in time they are - but when the second riff comes in at like 21 seconds, I can't eat the amount I want to uke: when I hear those noises. What piece of crap pedal are you using that has that effect on your signal? And yeah, that clipping in the third riff (when you play without the pedal) is noticeable, but just sounds like your slightly overdriving something in the signal chain. What was your signal chain, anyway?

 

[Melodeath]

I know it sounds horrible, and I also laughed at the rhythm of the clicks lol

It's a Zoom Tri-Metal pedal. I didn't use to have this problem, though I haven't used the pedal in years.

For the second part of the clip, the signal chain was just Schecter C-1 Blackjack straight into Marshall AVT50. I'm not sure what could be distorting. I know I didn't clip my audio interface input, and the Gain on the clean channel is on 1/10, with Volume on 6/10.
I'm temporarily using my AVT50 instead of my 5150 because the Tri-Metal sounds HORRID through the 5150. (Probably due to cold bias, or even my cab).

 

[Melodeath]

By the way, that is the pedal in the chain, but not actually on. The distortion sounds fine, it's just that clipping noise when it's bypassed