reducing noise...

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Hi again,

I've been playing around with native instruments' guitar rig lately so I've been boosting the signal on a lot of recorded material. Consequently, I've also been boosting the signal noise and electrical interference in the line.

I know noise is inevitable and will always exist to some extent, but I was wondering if anyone had any advice for reducing electrical interference? I've determined that most the noise I'm picking up is coming from my computer and the computer monitor. Within the computer itself the hard drive seems to contribute the most noise. I can really hear the hard drive at work through my speakers. Would switching to an aluminum or steel case basically eliminate the noise from the computer fans and hard drive?

As for the monitor, it seems to be more of a problem when I'm playing guitar. I'm using a CRT monitor. Do those lcd screen produce the same amount of electrical noise?

Any advice?

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That really depends on how much noise it is.. If it's a considerable amount, it's really hard to do anything about it, and keep a good signal.

But what I'd try is, if you use Logic Audio, try it's denoiser before the distortion effect.

Waves denoiser is probably good too.

If you're serious about your sound though, you should get good pre-amps for guitar/vocals or other things etc.

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trispectrum wrote: As for the monitor, it seems to be more of a problem when I'm playing guitar. I'm using a CRT monitor. Do those lcd screen produce the same amount of electrical noise?

Any advice?
The heavens parted, and god presented to the guitarist... the LCD monitor! SIGNIFICANT noise reduction with an LCD. I bought mine to reduce the heat from my CRT's in my studio, and it worked, as well as no more noise in my pickups from the CRT's. Now I can leave on my monitors during tracking.

Devon
Simple music philosophy - Those who can, make music. Those who can't, make excuses.
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What are you using for an audio interface?

What kind of guitar is it?

What quality are your cables?

How far are you sitting from your monitor?

If you can hear your hard drive, case fans, etc. through your monitors that sounds like an audio card issue.

If we knew some of these questions we may be able to offer you some answers.

I don't really have a noise issue with my main recording bass, it's a Lightwave, it has optical pickups and piezo elements under the bridge.

But even on my Strat I managed to kill the noise by shielding it and using stacked humbuckers to retain the "original" sound.

There are solutions to just about any problem, but first you have to determine exactly where the noise is comning from.
Your penis is a weapon. protect it and keep it dry.

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Hi Guys

Does G.R. have built in D.I. tomfoolery?

If not I would say try borrow one and D.I. the guitar signal.

Works for me :)

Dave

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DevonB wrote:
trispectrum wrote: As for the monitor, it seems to be more of a problem when I'm playing guitar. I'm using a CRT monitor. Do those lcd screen produce the same amount of electrical noise?

Any advice?
The heavens parted, and god presented to the guitarist... the LCD monitor! SIGNIFICANT noise reduction with an LCD. I bought mine to reduce the heat from my CRT's in my studio, and it worked, as well as no more noise in my pickups from the CRT's. Now I can leave on my monitors during tracking.

Devon
Yep, I'm planning on getting an LCD monitor myself sometime soon for this very reason. In the meantime, when recording guitar or bass I usually turn off my CRT and have gotten pretty damn good at memorizing the keyboard shortcuts for SONAR out of necessity. :D

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Guitar Rig has DI tom-foolery. It's meant as a DI box, though I think it's a bit hare-brained to carry the controller information on the other line of a stereo pair. Weird.

For reducing noise, I can only do the following:

1. Use humbuckers wherever possible, or if I HAVE to use single coils (mmm... P-90s... <drool>), I keep the CRT on, and find the "sweet spot" in the room where I can stand at the correct angle to nullify the noise.

2. Even with humbuckers or the "sweet spot", I turn off the CRT monitor. It generates 98% of the noise.

3. Use a noise gate, even if only at a low setting. Sure, there are times where you absolutely need every nuance of your attack and decay and a noise gate won't do... but the majority of the time, it's very helpful. If I decide to track without turning the monitor off, I MUST use a noise gate to be happy with the result, but that's just me.


That's about it. Stand as far away from any running electronic components as is convenient. As for the LCD comment, I totally agree-- I don't have one, but I can just imagine how overjoyed I would be to not have to shut off my monitor each time. Pure bliss. :D

Greg

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