Axe Standard Hiss/Fizz/Noise. How to get rid of it?

T

Themethalmaster

Member
Hey people!

Im really having a hard time with my Axe :cry. Every single high-gain patch i have has that disturbing noise, hiss or however you want to call it and the high-end. I tried so many things to avoid that hiss, but it is nearly impossible. It appears with the amp block, and only with high-gain amp models, like the FAS Modern, Mesa Boogie, Peavey 5150, etc. When i add a mic, specially with the SM57, it gets worse. I tried a Low-Pass filter, a PEq (removing specific frequencies), different cabs, mics, gate settings and much more, but i just cant figure out how to remove that noisy frequency. My guitar is a Mayones Setius GRM7 with a BKP Aftermath. The guitar has no string buzz or any other thing that could produce a sound distortion or noise.

Im looking for a cleaner, more defined tone, like Periphery has. Im not a fan of saying "I want the tone of THAT band", but i think that way you get easier what im talking about. So please, dont get me wrong.

Hope you guys could help me.
Here are some Periphery riffs I recorded that should help you to compare the tones:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11426400/Facepalm Mute.mp3
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11426400/Letter Experiment.mp3 (sorry for the weird panning :p)

I used Gate-->Drive-->Comp-->FAS Modern-->High-Pass Filter-->Cab-->PEq (only removing some frequencies)

Cheers!
Timo
 
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Hey do you know what a noise gate is? The noise you're hearing is realistic. People use noise gates to kill it. Press layout and go to the third page. For Periphery type of noise gate: THRESH and RATIO: noon and RELEASE and ATTACK on minimum.
 
Yes, ofc I know what a noise gate is, and that are exactly the settings i have on mine :) Thanks Clark!

I want to add that im NOT a Axe newbie. I have no problems controlling my little baby or to get a sound im looking for, but i always had problems with that noise on high-gain patches. Maybe its me, maybe its something with the Axe. I dont know. And thats why I need youre help people!!
 
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Is that a fizz in the top-end or some background noise between notes ? If it's noise, maybe a guitar shielding issue ? Or the ground lift ? If it's a fizz, start with a notch filter in // at 9.86khz, Q10, after the amp block. This little part of the signal is very poorly emulated, that's something you can easily grasp through a real cab.
 
I think I had this problem once and the issue was that my input settings were off. Try resetting your settings! :)
 
Thank you guys!

@speedloader
Yeah, the fizz is definitely in the top-end. I tried to figure out in which range it appears using a brickwall EQ. It seems to be between 2KHz and 10KHz. Yes, i know, i wide range, but thats where it is. When i try to reduce unwanted frequencies in that range, i lose a lot of presence and air from the tone, and that sucks.

@Clark
Yes, i thought that too. But after resetting it 2 weeks ago, nothing changed. Same problem.

Could it be that i had the bad luck of getting one of the few faulty Axes? (If there are any faulty ones :))

Maybe someone of you could take one of my recordings and try to figure out where that annoying frequency is: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11426400/Public.rar
 
So I checked the facepalm track aaand .. your fizz must be related to the IR, there's a huge bump of presence located at 9500hz. Same technique as before, try a notch filter in parallel, 9339 or 9597 hz.

Also, see what happens if you remove some dbs around 3650 and 5900 hz. Might help to balance the top end.
 
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@speedloader
I will try that (again).

@MatthewLeisher
Well, I use the stock "Metal" IR. I also have Redwirez IRs and others, but they sound a lot fizzier than the Metal IR.
 
r0bgir.jpg

Here's the metal cab and what imho you might want to remove for the sake of clarity.

Though it's not perfect here's a rough result (including a high shelf and low pass)
 
speedloader said:
View attachment 14950

Here's the metal cab and what imho you might want to remove for the sake of clarity.

Though it's not perfect here's a rough result (including a high shelf and low pass)
Click to expand...


Thanks for the effort man!

Well, dont you think it sounds a bit thin now and lacks air and presence? I dont know how it would sound in a mix, but it seems to be a bit off removing all that freqs.

BTW, what Frequency Analizer have you used? It looks pretty detailed.
 
You're welcome, not really an effort !

I found the cab curve there http://forum.fractalaudio.com/ultra-std-user-cabs-irs/22279-stock-cabs-freq-response-curves.html

If it lacks air, dunno .. just tried to make it sound good for me and actually it's quite similar to Periphery: Facepalm Mute *Lyric Video* - YouTube so I guessed it was what you wanted ^^

By the way, I can make an IR with those EQs. You just have to use it via the 2nd cab block and add a low-pass. Then you can mix the IR and find a compromise.. Interested ?
 
Try this, I'm going to use the Red Wires Mesa Rectifier cab and SM57 as an example: Use a stereo cab (or two cab blocks) and set the IR of one to be a Mesa Rectifier with an SM57 at 1 inch on the cap, and set the other IR to be a Mesa Rectifier with an SM57 at 1 inch on the cone. This should help to mask a lot of the high-end fizz and give your tone some girth. Experiment with different mics/mic placements and cabs to really find what you're looking for, but this should definitely be a step in the right direction.
 
Hey guys!

@MatthewLeisher

The problem is that I WANT the Metal cab. I think the Metal cab is a copy of a Engl or something like that. But the Redwirez IRs dont sound like that at all. At least for the tone im looking for, the Metal Cab is the best choice for me.

@speedloader

Thanks for the Cab. I added a High Cut at about 9,5KHz, and it seems to reduce some noise. Then I made a "Custom IR", with a match of the Metal cab and some EQing on my computer. Sounds better now. Not perfect, but i will find a solution for that too.

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it.
 
You can hunt down the frequencies you don't like.

  1. Put in a looper at the start of your preset.
  2. Drop a filter at the end of the preset. Set it to peaking with a somewhat high gain.
  3. Play a riff into the looper, and start it playing.
  4. While the looper is playing, adjust the filter's frequency until the sound you don't want is as bad as it gets.
  5. Now reduce the filter's gain and listen to the "bad" frequencies melt away. Keep reducing the gain until your ears tell you you've cut out enough bad stuff, but not too much.
  6. You may want to play with the filter's Q to fine-tune the effect.
 
Oh, well then I don't know what to tell you. I think the Red Wires Engl stuff sounds top notch, though. Sorry my advice didn't work out bro.
 
Themethalmaster said:
Hey people!

Im really having a hard time with my Axe :cry. Every single high-gain patch i have has that disturbing noise, hiss or however you want to call it and the high-end. I tried so many things to avoid that hiss, but it is nearly impossible. It appears with the amp block, and only with high-gain amp models, like the FAS Modern, Mesa Boogie, Peavey 5150, etc. When i add a mic, specially with the SM57, it gets worse. I tried a Low-Pass filter, a PEq (removing specific frequencies), different cabs, mics, gate settings and much more, but i just cant figure out how to remove that noisy frequency. My guitar is a Mayones Setius GRM7 with a BKP Aftermath. The guitar has no string buzz or any other thing that could produce a sound distortion or noise.

Im looking for a cleaner, more defined tone, like Periphery has. Im not a fan of saying "I want the tone of THAT band", but i think that way you get easier what im talking about. So please, dont get me wrong.

Hope you guys could help me.
Here are some Periphery riffs I recorded that should help you to compare the tones:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11426400/Facepalm Mute.mp3
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/11426400/Letter Experiment.mp3 (sorry for the weird panning :p)

I used Gate-->Drive-->Comp-->FAS Modern-->High-Pass Filter-->Cab-->PEq (only removing some frequencies)

Cheers!
Timo
Click to expand...
Go to your input block and set attack and release to 0. Then ratio to 4.
 
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