High Frequency Interference

[bacterozoid]

I'm plugged in through my line-in port via 1/4" to 1/8" adapter. I can play through my speakers just fine without any problem, but when I record and then playback, there is a lot of high frequency interference.

I can remove it a bit by killing that frequency in the EQ, but it's still there in the background and doing that removes any hope of a decent treble sound.

Right now I've got cheap hardware and a 10 dollar cable, but what gets me is that it only does it when recording.

[Slipstream]

It might be because you have "Mic Boost" on in your volume control. Open your volume control and go to "Options" then "Properties" then select "Recording" and click "OK". This will bring up a window that has a button called "Advanced" under the microphone slider. Click that and make sure the mic boost is off.

[Sage]

Maybe try getting away from your monitor as well when you play -- your guitar is one big electromagnet

Also make sure that you're matching cables and adapters, if you cable is mono, your adapter should be mono as well, same if your cable is stereo, your adapter should be stereo as well.

Are you going directly into your line in from your guitar? If you are, that's very well the problem right there -- a guitar isn't a direct line source, it needs to go through something that modulates and boosts it's signal up to a pure line level, or down to a mic level --

Slipstream's mention of the mic boost is only valid if you are using the mic in -- line in's don't have a mic boost on them.

Do you buzz through an amp, is there a connection problem in your guitar, or a shorted cable?

Is your monitor and your cpu plugged into different outlets? Could be a ground loop thing.

Do you have a cheap mic? Put it in front of your amp, and plug it into the mic in -- do some recording off the mic and see if the problem persists, that will eliminate a number of possibilites.

Start with your signal chain, trace it all the way through, eliminating possibilities.

1. Guitar (bad connections, cold solders, to close to monitor)
2. Cable, (same as above)
3. Soundcard (is signal coming in matching the input? Line to Line, Mic To Mic)
Line level is considered +4dB, mic level is -10dB
4. CPU (ground loop hum, poorly seated soundcard)
5. Speakers (properly shielded, away from monitor, are they powered, plugged into same outlet?)

Let's work on narrowing down the symptoms, and we'll get it figured out.

[bacterozoid]

Well in a week or so I'm hoping to order a sound card - I'm on onboard right now, which may be some of my problem.

Running my guitar to another peice of hardware interests me...right now it's just guitar-cable, adapter, card. I have to crank up the volume on my PC to get anything out of my speakers. I think this might factor in as well.

Is there something cheap I could buy that would fix that problem?

My cable is also a cheap 10 dollar radio shack one...I'll be purchasing a new one fairly soon as well.

So...I have problems galore. I also don't have grounded outlets in my room, which is a problem in itself, I know. I'm new to the acoustic/electric scene so I'm still building up my hardware arsenal.

Thanks for the detailed post. I'm going to try to address each one of them individually to get the best sound possible.

Edit: No amp either...don't know if I'll be able to afford one for a while.

[Sage]

Wow, dude, you do have some issues there.

The best bet would be to get what's called a DI Box. Direct Input Box. It's what bassist use to go right into the house pa and it's not that expensive, look for one that has 1/4" in and 1/4" out, it should modulate your signal to your line level input on your computer. It will also give you a ground lift that will cut the ground in that box so you won't have any grounding issues.

In all seriousness and honesty, if you are looking to do any recording, you'll want to ground your outlets. I am surprised you don't pick up radio stations. Dirty power and bad ground will ruin whatever you're trying to record.

You can also look into a preamp that will accept a guitar signal, or an isolation transformer that will cut the buzz on your soundcard.


EDIT -- didn't see that you don't have an amp. Do some googling for virtual amp modelers and plug ins, like this guy

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Oct02/articles/amplitube.asp


There are free ones out there, which is the quickest solution to your current problem, I would think.

[bacterozoid]

Yeah...problems...:D

So here's my plan so far:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=141/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/336004

I was also given a recommendation for this:
http://guitarport.com/

Will that serve as my DI Box / Modulator and signal booster? (Instead of using a mic/amp setup).

Can't get my room grounded, but we do have grounded outlets in other rooms which I can move to if I absolutely need a grounded outlet.

Thanks for the help - I appreciate you taking the time to help me learn all this. Also, I'm not into recording at an extremely serious level. Mainly I just want to be able to record something that sounds great that I can release or burn to CD for people to listen to, or for myself to listen to and record over.

[Sage]

Yeah, I have a Line 6 amp and I quite like it.


that stuff should get you want you want

[Katau]

When I stand close to my computer, the pickups create some interference and it creates a high-frequency buzzing. This is also true for my amp, mixer, pre-amp, ...
EMFs can make yucky sounds in your chain.

[stratman56]

I had a laptop with a cheap sound card and it did the same thing. I bought an USB recording interface, problem solved. Also, the drivers will be better and it will let you do more.

[eexplorer505]

It might be because you have "Mic Boost" on in your volume control. Open your volume control and go to "Options" then "Properties" then select "Recording" and click "OK". This will bring up a window that has a button called "Advanced" under the microphone slider. Click that and make sure the mic boost is off.
slipstream gots it

I record fun my stuff they same way when you record you shouldnt be able to hear it through you speaker kinda funny but it records got adjut you mic input on the record properties might wanna also try the line in works better but gotta go under you recording poperties(under volume properties) and make sure the the recording input is selected to line in and not mic and get cdex can convert you wavs to mp3s and normilze them in the process :naughty: but you might consider a 4 track mixer to record professionally