Guitar splitting.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kingofpain678
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Kingofpain678

Kingofpain678

Returned from the dead
Ok so I got my first tube amp the other day and only problem is it's only a one channel amp with only a dirty tone. My plan is to split the guitar signal and run one into the amp's input and run the other through my v-amp (will upgrade to a better clean preamp later) and that into the amps FX loop return. Now this works fine and I can switch back and forth between the amps preamp and the v-amp just fine but the only problem is I'm using a Live wire SPDI direct box to split my signal. The XLR out goes to the V-amp and the 1/4" out goes to the amp but when I do this I get noticeable hum. The hum get's much quieter when I set the attenuation switch to -20Db, but when the attenuator is set at 0Db or -40Db the hum is horrible.
Now I know that the problem is the DI box, but what I'm wondering is it just THIS DI box that sucks or do all DI boxes do this?
And if I were to make THIS would I still get the hum and would/should I have to use a line driver with it?

Thanks ahead for anyone willing to take the time to help me out with this.
 
did you try the ground lift on the DI you have? Just a thought...
 
2 prong converter on the power usually gets rid of hum
 
With a Radial passive DI (the green one) you will not have this problem
 
I run a Vox pedalboard into 2 Marshall Plexis. I have to use a 2 prong ground lift adapter on 1 of the amps to elimante the hum. It is a typical ground loop situation. It is very important to use a GFCI power adapter on those amps though. If you ever had a ground fault one of your guitar cables could carry the short to the grounded amp. This could start a fire or even shock you holding your guitar which is grounded. The GFCI adapter will trip instantly if there is a problem. Actually having your whole studio on GFCI circuits is a great idea because all gear will be protected. Have you ever been shocked by a microphone or someone else's guitar? You can get inline GFCI adapters now at most home centers. Good luck!
VP
 
What's the amp?

I don't want to make this overly simple, exactly, but have you tried simply rolling back your volume knob and easing up your pick attack a hair to get a clean tone?

It won't give you super-pristine cleans (but I kind of like that), and it's tough to instantly go from a clean sound to a heavily saturated sound, but Adam Jones is probably the best example of a "heavy" guitarist in a contemporary band who does this, and I love the guy's playing.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
What's the amp?

I don't want to make this overly simple, exactly, but have you tried simply rolling back your volume knob and easing up your pick attack a hair to get a clean tone?

It won't give you super-pristine cleans (but I kind of like that), and it's tough to instantly go from a clean sound to a heavily saturated sound, but Adam Jones is probably the best example of a "heavy" guitarist in a contemporary band who does this, and I love the guy's playing.
Click to expand...

well yeah, that works, but playing live or even just jamming that's not really practical.
I just find it easier to keep playing and push a button with your foot rather than stopping playing, running to your amp and turning the gain down as fast as you can.
 
moresound said:
With a Radial passive DI (the green one) you will not have this problem
Click to expand...

So it's just MY DI box...
I thought about just buying an A/B/Y box but that's not as fun as DYI. I might end up having to sacrifice the DIY fun though


Have you ever been shocked by a microphone or someone else's guitar?
Click to expand...
no...
Have you?
 
Kingofpain678 said:
well yeah, that works, but playing live or even just jamming that's not really practical.
I just find it easier to keep playing and push a button with your foot rather than stopping playing, running to your amp and turning the gain down as fast as you can.
Click to expand...

No, I don't think you understood me, man.

Dial up a good distorted sound on your amp, Then, when you're happy with it and want to play clean, simply roll back the volume on your guitar from all the way up ("10," we'll say) down to, oh, 4-ish or however low you have to get it, and pick a bit more gently. This should, assuming a decent guitar and a decent amp, clean up nicely. Try switching pickups too - if you're riffing away on your bridge pickup, quickly flipping to the neck and dropping your guitar's volume knob back ought to give you a quite servicable change to a "clean" tone. This is doubly true if you can go from a humbucker to a singlecoil, and even easier if you're playing a Les Paul or some such guitar with seperate volumes for each pickup.

For decades, this is how guitarists got "clean" sounds when playing live from one-channel amps, by learning how to work the guitar to change the response of the amp. It's not as common today, since as you point out it's "easier" to step on a button to get the results you want, but it's worth knowing how to do, and for some sounds and styles is still an incredibly effective alternative to channel switching - again, to use Tool as an example, there are some really dramatic fades from clean passages into heavily distorted sections where Jones just gradually swells into the distorted chords by slowly rolling up the volume on his guitar.

With a bit of practice, it's a VERY practical, to use your word, solution to playing live or just jamming. I play an amp with four channels - I'll still do this sometimes, simply because it's a nice option to have.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
No, I don't think you understood me, man.

Dial up a good distorted sound on your amp, Then, when you're happy with it and want to play clean, simply roll back the volume on your guitar from all the way up ("10," we'll say) down to, oh, 4-ish or however low you have to get it, and pick a bit more gently. This should, assuming a decent guitar and a decent amp, clean up nicely. Try switching pickups too - if you're riffing away on your bridge pickup, quickly flipping to the neck and dropping your guitar's volume knob back ought to give you a quite servicable change to a "clean" tone. This is doubly true if you can go from a humbucker to a singlecoil, and even easier if you're playing a Les Paul or some such guitar with seperate volumes for each pickup.

For decades, this is how guitarists got "clean" sounds when playing live from one-channel amps, by learning how to work the guitar to change the response of the amp. It's not as common today, since as you point out it's "easier" to step on a button to get the results you want, but it's worth knowing how to do, and for some sounds and styles is still an incredibly effective alternative to channel switching - again, to use Tool as an example, there are some really dramatic fades from clean passages into heavily distorted sections where Jones just gradually swells into the distorted chords by slowly rolling up the volume on his guitar.

With a bit of practice, it's a VERY practical, to use your word, solution to playing live or just jamming. I play an amp with four channels - I'll still do this sometimes, simply because it's a nice option to have.
Click to expand...

Ah, Yeah, I don't know why I thought you meant on the amp. And yeah I know it can be useful to get a variety of sounds but I'd still like to have the option of going full clean.
and not to mention the only guitar I have at my disposal right now is a laughably crappy guitar with only one pickup and it doesn't exactly clean up very well. And not like that will be a permanent problem, it's just all I have until I can get some more money saved up for a good guitar.

I'm sure another thing that might take effect with rolling the volume down on a guitar would be running a tube screamer in front of the amp for heavier tones and switching it off along with rolling back the guitar volume which would sound incredibly clean by contrast... I think?
either way I'm Hoping to be able to get a variety of options out of this amp with a couple pedals and whatnot.
 
An overdrive pedal is perfect for this. Set your amp for a relatively clean setup and use an overdrive pedal or even a clean boost pedal to drive the amp harder and/or get more saturation. With a tube amp, an overdrive pedal can really help.
 
Kingofpain678 said:
I'm sure another thing that might take effect with rolling the volume down on a guitar would be running a tube screamer in front of the amp for heavier tones and switching it off along with rolling back the guitar volume which would sound incredibly clean by contrast... I think?
either way I'm Hoping to be able to get a variety of options out of this amp with a couple pedals and whatnot.
Click to expand...

Drew is 100% right, and this is how it's done. I run a fulltone ocd in front of the clean channel. When I roll my guitar volume back to 2-3 the sound is totally clean, but at similar volume, which is the key to the whole operation.

I've had to replace the volume pot on my guitar a few times because I twist it more than my own nipples... i mean... er... :o
 
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