DI issue suggestions?

PREVAILED

PREVAILED

New member
DI's are not sounding very clean.. no they are not peaking on any of my meters.. when I'm strumming the open cords they are sounding floppy and like the monitors can't take the low-end.. I've tried dropping the Box -15db and lower the gain on my interface.. I'm using a Radial JDI Box
I can't upload the 20second clip a took but if someone is willing take the time to listen I will email it!
 
The Radial JDI is a passive DI. It won't have the high impedance needed by some sources, especially piezoelectric pickups and maybe some passive magnetic pickups. Active devices should work fine. What are you plugging into that DI?
 
I have Seymour Duncan Blackouts in my ESP Eclipse which are active pickups.. An active box would be able to handle these? The guy at the store said it wouldn't matter, either active or passive box will work (which I thought was weird) I took his word for it..
 
PREVAILED said:
I have Seymour Duncan Blackouts in my ESP Eclipse which are active pickups.. An active box would be able to handle these? The guy at the store said it wouldn't matter, either active or passive box will work (which I thought was weird) I took his word for it..
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He is correct. You should be able to plug active pickups into most inputs. Have you tried going straight into a line input on your interface?
 
Yes I just tried.. It's still happening with those big open strums my monitors are still acting like they can't handle the signal. I tried with the interface gain way down as well.. None of my meters indicated peaking.
 
The next thing I'd do is record it and play it back. Does it still do it? If so try a high pass filter just to see if it gets any better and/or look at the spectrum to see if there's any obvious LF peak.
 
How about some more details? What interface are you using? What monitors? Some input systems can be overdriven by active pickups - do you have a stompbox (not full bypass type) you can put between the guitar and DI/interface?
 
Have you changed the battery in the guitar? Active pickups with dying batteries can sound the way you describe.
 
Farview said:
Have you changed the battery in the guitar? Active pickups with dying batteries can sound the way you describe.
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That right there is the first thing to check. Frankly, it pretty much has to be coming from the guitar. Even just turning down the V control on the guitar might help. What kind of levels are you getting with the thing plugged right into the line input?
 
Interface is a M-Audio FireWire 410, monitors are Yamaha HS 5's.
I do have a stomp box..
I just changed the battery when I started recording, maybe I got a dud, I'll try a different one.
 
I take this is the first time you've tried recording this guitar? I don't have a lot of practical experience with active guitars, but any active circuit necessarily has its output limited to something less than the power supply voltage. If the input from the pickups times the gain of the circuit is greater than that limit... Depending on a whole bunch of things, it is possible to clip it even with a brand new battery. If that's what's happening, you need to either reduce that input from the pickups or reduce the gain of the circuit.

It's not likely that you can reduce the gain without a bunch of fucking around. Usually those things have some set amount of gain and a passive V knob on one side or the other.

Reducing the input from the pickups could be as easy as turning that V knob if the pot comes before the active circuit. Otherwise, I think, all you can do is lower the pickup away from the strings a bit.

Edit - Course, it's possible that's just how the thing sounds. Most electric guitars sound pretty crappy straight of the pickups without some shaping from the tone controls on the amp and the bandwidth limitations of the speaker. A bit of EQ and/or compression or a good amp sim could just fix it, but I'd still want to make sure the guitar itself is doing the best it can first.
 
I have also seen some active systems that distort on purpose, like having an overdrive pedal built in. But I have no experience with your pickup system.
 
Glad to hear it's fixed, but sorry to hear you wasted money on a battery. I hate batteries, and refuse to have my guitar depend on one, especially one that's hidden under the pickguard and difficult to replace. Therefore, I won't ever own an active guitar, but if I did, I'd hack together a floor box so I could power it from a wallwart.
 
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