Does this sound right to you..?

zack

zack

Inspired
I've found myself lately getting distracted by a certain 'interference' sound on high gain patches, during the attack phase of single notes & chords.

It's been so long since I played a real amp that I went to the studio today and checked my guitar through a Dual Rectifier, and that certainly does not exhibit the same behaviour.

Heres a recording I did of a few factory presets I included a few low gain amps to demonstrate what I'm hearing to a lessor extent, but you can really hear the 'interference' from 0:52 to 1:05 - the Brit 800 patch.

http://www.thenems.com/music/guitar_test.mp3

Amps are:

<0:14 65 Bassguy
0:14-0:33 Deluxe Verb
0:34-0:50 Double verb
0:50-1:05 Brit 800
>1:06 USA Clean ( just included for reference)


The 'interference' sound I'm hearing reminds me of the main gun in the old video game 'Defender' if you're old enough to remember that (!) sort of white noise-ish.

It doesn't start exactly with the pick attack but builds very shortly afterwards - hopefully you'll be able to hear what I'm hearing..

Like I say it's really on the higher gain patches that it's noticeable - and there is a definite cumulative effect when playing chords.

What do you think - does this sound perfectly normal or is something amiss?

Any input gratefully received.

Cheers

Zack
 
Mmm, sounds almost like something vibrating along with your string there, checked the guitar to see if there's anything loose on it?
 
I don't think it's the guitar since you don't hear it on the other parts, only on the Brit800.
I've had similar experiences and thought there was something wrong with either the Axe-Fx or the modeling of some amps.
I've just gone through the 113 amp models and made a bank with their cabs. Some amps do behave strange on some settings but I can only assume this is because what their real world counterparts would also do.
 
I played the MP3 in VLC Media Player and I heard it on all the parts. I then loaded the file into Reaper and I heard it on the parts except the USA clean. It turned out I had the gain set too high on VLC and it was clipping, so your gain setting is one thing to check.
Also I agree with the previous posters in that something is vibrating on the guitar, are you plucking the strings with the same intensity on all the parts ? or are you lighter on the USA clean part ?.
To me it sound like it could be the truss rod vibrating as it sounds a bit 'woody'
And unfortunately I'm well past old enough to remember Defender !
 
Hard to say… what kind of guitar? same problem on other strings? Strings properly seated in the nut and bridge? The higher gain sounds like there’s a disharmony with the string going on there resulting from eventually being seated to loose in the nut or bridge. Another possibility is not enough string pressure on the nut and/or bridge. Somehow the settling of the tone also seems affected. How’s your pickup distance to the strings?
 
I would check all of these:
1) fret buzz
2) loose tremolo arm and/or loose collar
3) loose locking nuts
4) tremolo springs vibrating inside cavity
 
Thanks for your input guys, really appreciate it.

Should have mentioned: it does this exact same thing with all my guitars - Strat, LP, jackson & Ibanez, so I'm 99% convinced it's not guitar related..

Also as mentioned I couldn't get a real amp to make this noise....

If anybody had the time and could record a plucked 'A' string through the factory Brit 800 (no.10) patch and post it - it would be very much appreciated ;-)

Cheers

Zack
 
Zack, I experience the exact same thing as you, also on all guitars to a greater or lesser degree. I don't have an answer, but I do know that knocking off the Bright switch helps a lot. A dare like to bet the bright switch was on in your Brit 800 clip
Gary
 
That was some weird wobbling in that 800 indeed...I'm not not sure if I've even tried the 800 since I got the Axe. Didn't like it much. I'll check if it does the same thing here when I get the time. Doesn't sound like a guitar issue at all to me.
 
connor66 said:
I don't have an answer, but I do know that knocking off the Bright switch helps a lot.
Gary
Click to expand...

Gary, you are 100% correct - I just tried knocking off the brightness switch and like you say: it helps a lot..... but doesn't solve... it seems to reduce the duration of the 'interference' by about half and is less loud.

I'm glad someone else has noticed this too - I can't help but think it's not accurate amp behaviour?

I'm also curious as to why I haven't noticed this until recently - I might try a few older FW's to see how it was then.
 
Fret buzz. This is why pros set their action high.

The reason it takes a split-second to become noticeable is because the string initially vibrates laterally and quickly transforms into circular.

How do I know this? I chased my tail on this for almost a week once before figuring it out.
 
yep fret buzz, action too low agree, same probs, but worth it to me. Also Im finding due to winter more pronounced; does anyone alter their truss rods in colder months? Which way more or less bow?
 
It's easy to test. Just raise the action a bunch and see if the sound goes away. I'm guessing all your guitars are set up to a similar or same string height. I know all mine are. Thats the way i like them. Thats Probably why its happening on all your guitars.
 
Guys, thanks so much for your replies - especially Cliff :)

I hear what you're saying about the action and I will certainly look into it tomorrow ( getting late here now..)

BUT... I have to say I will be surprised if it's the action as a: my action certainly isn't 'low', b: I was picking it really gently.... but we shall see.

What I can tell you is I just rolled back to FW 7 ( BTW make sure you back up your presets if you're going to do a FW rewind... doh!...multiple faceplam!!!)
and the Brit 800 is a totally different beast...literally night and day as far as tone is concerned - dark (FW7) vs bright (FW9) - and with V7 the 'interference' seems vastly reduced..

However, I shall do extensive testing tomorrow and get back to you!

Cheers

Zack
 
zack said:
What I can tell you is I just rolled back to FW 7 ( BTW make sure you back up your presets if you're going to do a FW rewind... doh!...multiple faceplam!!!)
and the Brit 800 is a totally different beast...literally night and day as far as tone is concerned - dark (FW7) vs bright (FW9) - and with V7 the 'interference' seems vastly reduced..
Click to expand...

This makes sense. The darker the response of the amp/guitar the less you would hear fret buzz. That's why on my strat I have to have the action really high to sound good - it's very bright sounding.
 
Sorry but I have to disagree. Fret buzz may well be a contributing factor but it's not the only one, at least not in my case. I can gently hit the open 'A' string with zero fret buzz on the Brit 800 preset and still get the noise
Gary
 
Remember, real amps do this and I've spent a lot of time reproducing that gentle sizzle you get when you pick lightly.
 
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