800 #34 is a Noisy Beast!

CactusTone

CactusTone

Inspired
Was wondering if anyone has a way to eliminate all the noise that comes through while playing the 800 #34 (or other noisy amp block)? Gate is good for when I stop plating, but it's really loud while playing
 
No noisier than the regular Brit 800 model for me. What's your gain level? More gain = more noise. That's pretty much inevitable.
 
Yes, if it’s too noisy, there’s too much gain somewhere.

But, on a more general note, Axe FX converters are quite noisy by themselves at -110 dB. There’s nothing that can be done about that noise except using a gate.
 
Rex said:
-110 dB is very not noisy. ;)
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That depends on what you compare it to.

I have an Apogee One which, with a guitar connected, yields a 113 dB dynamic range. 3 dB difference may not sound like much, but that’s a whopping 100% difference in noise level. And that particular interface isn’t exactly high end.

Better interfaces can give you 116 or even 118 dB. There’s one made by Zoom, of all companies. Now those are good converters. With those you can record without using a gate at all. The ones in Axe are, well, kind of okay. Fine for live playing, not so great for recording.
 
vangrieg said:
That depends on what you compare it to.

I have an Apogee One which, with a guitar connected, yields a 113 dB dynamic range. 3 dB difference may not sound like much, but that’s a whopping 100% difference in noise level. And that particular interface isn’t exactly high end.

Better interfaces can give you 116 or even 118 dB. There’s one made by Zoom, of all companies. Now those are good converters. With those you can record without using a gate at all. The ones in Axe are, well, kind of okay. Fine for live playing, not so great for recording.
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Your guitar has about 50 or 60 dB of dynamic range. The Axe-Fx gives you 50 or 60 dB more dynamic range beyond that. Way more than enough.

The next time you're playing a "noisy" amp model, unplug your guitar cord from the Axe's input. You'll hear the noise disappear. That noise is coming from your guitar, not from the Axe. It's being amplified by the high gain of the amp model.
 
Sorry, but you’re wrong about that.

Anything is amplified and compressed by high gain amps, including noise.

Just try it yourself, compare Axe FX with a real silent card with a great converter, you’ll hear the difference easily.

It may not matter for clean sounds, or overall mix. But for guitar DI and then a high gain it’s a crucial difference.
 
vangrieg said:
Better interfaces can give you 116 or even 118 dB. There’s one made by Zoom, of all companies.QUOTE]
Note that Zoom uses A-weighting to calculate dynamic range. That automatically gives a number that's 10 or 11 dB better than the current weighting standard.
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I know about A-weighting and that it improves numbers. I also didn’t mean to say that Zoom UAC/TAC interfaces have 118 dB range. I don’t remember exactly what it is off the top of my head from actual measurements (not just specs), but it’s still much better than Axe FX. Other interfaces, however, do give you 116 and better, non-weighted.

The Apogee number I gave earlier is also not from specs, not weighted, its actual measured result I get WITH guitar connected.

So no, Axe doesn’t have anything near top of the line results.
 
Rex said:
I don't have access to a "real silent card" (not even sure what that is)
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I already mentioned that even a cheap Apogee interface I have gives you half the noise level of Axe FX. So that’s one example. A cheap old E-Mu 1616 PCI or an expensive UAD Apollo will take you to the 116-118 levels. You won’t need a gate with those.
 
800 #34 is dead quiet. Diagnosis?

A) your guitar ain’t grounded right- if single-coil, have a guitar tech line the chambers with copper tape

B) cable/grounded wire: make sure you are utilizing the ground pin at all points of power cables and line filters.

C) picking up radio interference: see A or try a humbuster cable

D) try using an XLR to XLR cable from your AxeFx 2 to the Xitone. This may be another area lacking a ground pin

E) try plugging into the AxeFx at a different location, to see if it’s your residence that is causing the noise.
 
vangrieg said:
Just try it yourself, compare Axe FX with a real silent card with a great converter, you’ll hear the difference easily.
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Can you post a couple DI tracks taken with the Axe-FX and your other interface? I'd be interested in seeing the difference in noise levels.
 
Philip34 said:
800 #34 is dead quiet. Diagnosis?

A) your guitar ain’t grounded right- if single-coil, have a guitar tech line the chambers with copper tape

B) cable/grounded wire: make sure you are utilizing the ground pin at all points of power cables and line filters.

C) picking up radio interference: see A or try a humbuster cable

D) try using an XLR to XLR cable from your AxeFx 2 to the Xitone. This may be another area lacking a ground pin

E) try plugging into the AxeFx at a different location, to see if it’s your residence that is causing the noise.
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Thanks. I have a gig at a resort up in Scottsdale tonight. Everything's all packed up right now, but it'll be perfect to test "E)." "A) - D)" I've done already. Not that resorts have the cleanest power, but it'll be different.

I want to add that the noise also comes through when I'm using a low gain scene (gain at 15%). I also want to add that I'm not blaming the speakers. I usually run my Axe through an Apollo 8TB into Yamaha H8s at home, or a Friedmann ASM-12 live. Some noise, but nothing like this. It could be the power outlet I was using, so testing "E)" tonight will be very informative.

For those of you suggesting testing the noise level with guitar unplugged: Will do! I'll have to remember to turn the noise gate off for that test :)

Thanks!
 
The issue resides somewhere else. Best guess would be the guitar. And also remember interaction between facing the amp/Soundsource and your guitar. I was just trying this one, even with gain maxed out, it's pretty silent IMHO
 
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