Strange Sound Plugged Direct To AI?

Gear & Tools Talk đŸ’» Hardware, Software & Recording
1

Hi All,

I have recently only really played the new guitar on its own and done some recording via Dynamic Mic just to listen back and see how it sounded. Everything sounded ok :+1:

Today I thought maybe I would try plugging in direct to the Behringer AI do a comparison between the plugged sound and Mic’d sound. When I listened to the plugged version it sounds like there is some kind of ‘squeak’ sound or high pitched ‘scrape’ type sound almost like when you drag the pick along a string but obviously a lot shorter.

I tried changing picks but it was the same, so I have recorded the two versions and was hoping someone may know what this is?

The AI was set with the ‘Line’ ‘Inst’ button selected to ‘Inst’, although I tried to changing it just in case.

Plugged

Mic’d

TIA
Craig

2

Check buffer and bit rate

Might be too little a buffer

ok scratch that imo its just the piezo pickup doing piezo pickup things

1 Like
3

Weirdly the first time I listened I heard pops and crackles and thought buffer size like @RobDickinson, but I think that’s just SoundCloud because it wasn’t there in subsequent listens.

Like Rob I reckon it’s just a piezo pickup sounding like a piezo, which is disappointing when you’re used to the acoustic sound of a guitar. Sounding great plugged in is why Cole Clarks and Matons are so popular in Oz - awesome pickups.

If you want it to sound a bit better through the pickup, you might need to EQ it and add a touch of chorus and reverb.

1 Like
4

Drop the guitars volume to 8/10 etc too helps , piezo have a ‘fizz’ about them if you play hard and ramp the volume, you can make this work for you but obviously not what you are going for here

Some guitars and some amps work better too

1 Like
5

Thanks @jkahn @RobDickinson couple of things to try there. Whilst I know the Taylor is not necessarily known for its pickup I would expect it to be acceptable, this sound isn’t really even that IMO.

Interestingly enough when its plugged into my amp I don’t hear any such weirdness :thinking:

6

wait its a new taylor it wont even have a piezo , it has this right?

The system is very “microphonic” in nature. It amplifies whatever it hears, including pick noises. You can sometimes make it less sensitive by backing off the 3 adjustment screws 1/8 turn or so. Make sure to check for balance.

Also I would try strumming further away from the bridge

7

One of the things amps do, especially acoustic amps, is EQ out those high frequencies.

Cheers,

Keith

1 Like
8

I rarely have the acoustic gain above 5/10 to avoid that fiz, plus leave the EQs about the same.

I’ll use the gain, eq and compression on my AI to boost volume if needed, in order to get a cleaner sound. Same if I push the acoustics through the POD Go.

:sunglasses:

2 Likes
9

Hi Rob,

Yes mate, it does have the ES2 System, but it seems that it is still a Piezo system just that they have changed the position of the sensors to behind the bridge, that’s how I understand it.

Reading the info from Taylor is interesting as was this

10

Interesting post, Craig
There’s a lot in the adage “poor workmen blame their tools”, and imho, YT “critique” is often just “click bait”.
There are some good practical suggestions above for you to try.
Do post up again, when happy with your settings.

11

So, after plenty of trial and error and testing it appears that the ‘scratchy’ sound that I am hearing and that sounds off is the pick on the strings.

Diving in deeper, when I strum I drag the pick diagonally down across the strings (because your arm moves in an arc) however I also tip the pick towards is forward edge. ( I hope you’re following that) so that it is actually travelling over the strings angled down (which should be fine) but also angled forward so that the leading edge has most contact with the strings (and I was doing this as I thought I remember seeing this in a JG tutorial), and that means that I am dragging the leading edge of the pick ( mostly a thin pick) along the wire windings of the strings. (a bit like Justins David Bowie tutorial)

On my Yamaha I am using Elixir 80/20 Bronze Nanoweb 11/52 Strings and I do not hear anything odd or scratchy. However the Taylor uses D’Adarrio XS Coated Phosphor Bronze Light 0.12-0.53.

What I did notice when I first played the Taylor was that when I slide (as in Tenessee Whiskey) there is more finger noise than the Yamaha with the Elixir strings :thinking:

Then I tried different settings on the guitars ES2 Pickup and found that firstly the volume is crazy sensitive, if I dial it back to 0 so no sound out then move very slowly up the volume comes in really fast so by the time I get to the mid position it’s pumping. Trial and error with this and also the Bass & Treble control has led me to find better settings but not yet perfect.

As most of this journey, it’s a learning process and all of it is very enjoyable so I will keep working at this and master all of these little idiosyncrasies. :face_with_spiral_eyes: :+1: :+1:

The following was very interesting to me, if you are interested in the Taylor ES2 setup it may interest you. Once you cut through the waffle and dross there is actually some interesting info in here (well for me anyway).

:+1: