Pre amp question

[deffpony]

I did some research but I really wasnt finding any answers that I didnt already know.

Exactly what is the purpose of using a Pre amp after your di for instance

DI box>Pre amp> Pod Farm

The reason I asked is because my dry signal sounds god aweful. Very flubby and dead. A friend suggested that I get a pre amp to help with the dynamics.

Does a pre amp affect the signal like a limiter or is it just a gain control? Thanks for helping out a newb

 

[Uros]

The purpose of the preamp is the same as with the mic - to raise the signal level to line level. DI box serves to adjust your guitar's output impedance which is high and mic pre's impedance which is low. Do you use DI box? 'Cause if you don't, that's why your sound is crappy (except if you have active pickups, then you can get away with plugging your guitar directly to line input, 'cause they have low impedance). You definitely need DI Box + mic pre if your guitar is loaded with passive pickups.

 

[deffpony]

I have a DI box and also a Fast Track Pro.

 

[Uros]

If I am not mistaken, FT Pro already has an instrument input. Where do you plug cable after DI box, in which input?

 

[deffpony]

Ive tried plugging into the the instrument input on the ft and also the di into the ft.

Heres the thing. Another member here sent me his DI because he had tone matched a really sweet tone and I wanted to see how much different his DI was than mine because I was having difficulty.

When He sent me his DI I noticed how much different it sounded. It had alot more high/mids and mine was alot lower. It had punch, and dynamics out the ass. I figured that it was his gear but when I asked him we are using the EXACT SAME gear, down the the string gauge, and picks. Same guitar, same pickups. I tried for a few hours to see if it was my playing but no matter how many different ways I played I could not get it close to his.

Then I compared his DI to mine through a spectrum analyzer and wow. You can watch his DI jump like crazy, pumping on the appropriate notes. But mine just reached a shelf and stayed there.

So I have been racking my brains over this. I have clips if you'd like to hear the difference.

 

[Uros]

Could it be that his pickups are closer to the strings, or he used new strings (while you didn't)? Frankly it sounds like if somehow you didn't use DI box, because what you describe sounds really like a symptom of impedance mismatch, but dunno. Clips would definitely help.

 

[amarshism]

Plug your di into the ft set to line

 

[deffpony]

Yea I have done that still same issue

 

[medic999]

i was suffering from shitty di's too. i realized when i changed my strings, changed my pickup battery, made sure the di bx had power (phantom or battery) disengaged all pads then padded as necessary, and used the "line input" on my interface, made sure the input was set to line (which would be non pushed in on your FT) and and recorded at 24 bit 44.1k.....i achieved usable DI's. everything else had a LPF sound to it when I wasnt using a DI box. even though my interface has a 1 MOHM Hi-z input and I use active pups. just my experience for whatever its worth.

 

[deffpony]

^So I just recently changed my strings and battery. I also Had my guitar intonated so that I could make sure i wasnt getting wierd setup problems. My DI box is passive, but I have tried using it in line with my FT into the LINE input but it sounds exactly the same. It still sounds like you said, with a LPF on it and its killing me

 

[AntonioPetrole]

post a sample

 

[nezvers]

I had FT too and guitar sound was terrible because FT created something like low volume white noise that got pumped up after using amp sim. After several testings without pluged guitar and without anything and stuff, there always was low noise (somewhere - 60db).
Now I got Podstudio UX2 and I'm happy after FT. My Ibanez RG350EX give enough loudness to plug straight into instrument or line input, but I mainly use GFS Classic greenie (basically TS9 I think) and I love what I can get from this interface.

 

[bryan_kilco]

But I thought a Hi-Z or instrument input on something like the FTP was considered a DI? I've been using my FTP for years, guitar -> FTP->DAW and get semi decent results....but maybe I'm doing it wrong and can achieve better?!?!

 

[Uros]

Yes, instrument input IS like a built-in DI box. If you'd use an external DI box along with FT, you'd plug your guitar to DI box, and then to mic input.

 

[medic999]

the only thing i would do in this situation is start ruling stuff out. try a different interface, then a different di box, then a different guitar. different cables. (balanced/unbalanced) try different outlets in your house. different daws. different drivers for your interface. basically try to find out wtf is causing the issue. it could be one thing or a combination. sooo many things can be screwing you here.