pickup distortion

[The Seifer]

So I was recording guitar direct through my audiobuddy yesterday, and I kept hearing this subtle distortion every time I used the 498t in the bridge of my les paul. I thought it was clipping so I kept turning down the preamp, but no matter how low I got it (like -50dB peak), it kept distorting and smashing the top of the waveform I was recording. The only other thing in my signal chain was the pickups, so I turned down the volume knob on my guitar to about 6. BAM no more distortion.

But I was wondering, maybe the output of a hot pickup is supposed to be a little distorted, and if I should record the direct tracks like that so it would sound like it does when I play through my amp when I re-amp the tracks later. The distortion is kind of subtle and warm and doesn't really sound like clipping, so I think it's NATURAL pickup overload that is supposed to be there, and stuff, to the max.

 

[Atterion]

Yeah, if you plan on reamping later, and want to keep the sound you are accustomed to, just record it as is. If you need to re4cord clean sounding stuff use the neck pick-up. If you need clean undistorted through the neck pickup, then you can always back the pickup away from the strings.