recording guitar on cubase sx (HELP!)

  • Thread starter Thread starter nee
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nee

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hi!
Im a newbie to cubase as i previously just used analogue / digital 8 track...

Im having a real big nightmare and ended up on this forum so i hope someone can help!

Ok.......im in a band and wer're trying to make our first demo.....everything was going well (got the drums recorded no probs)...then came to put the guitar down!......arrrrgh!
Basically when u are listening to it as its being recorded it sounds fine....but when you play it back it sounds all hissy....especially if you let a note ring out...it gets hissier as it rings out. Its more noticable on a clean sound, but i can still hear a trace of it on the distorted bits as well.

I am recording as follows......

I am plugging my guitar into my Zoom MRS4 so that then i can take the sound out via phono to stereo jack straight into my soundcard (line in)
Ive tried different leads.....and longer ones so that im not so close to the monitor / pc (maybe noise off the monitor?)......but still i get hiss.

Please help!!...if you require any more info let me know!
Neil
 
I'm not familiar with that Zoom product but if it doesn't have a preamp built in you will need to route the output of the Zoom to a preamp before going to the soundcard. Chances are it does not have a preamp built in and you're having to turn up your volumes to make up the difference and what you're hearing is everything being driven past the point it should be (or at least too far).
 
Easto said:
I'm not familiar with that Zoom product but if it doesn't have a preamp built in you will need to route the output of the Zoom to a preamp before going to the soundcard. Chances are it does not have a preamp built in and you're having to turn up your volumes to make up the difference and what you're hearing is everything being driven past the point it should be (or at least too far).
Click to expand...
okey doke!
the zoom mrs4 is a digital 4 track......has an input for either line or mic level inputs, so i thought i'd be ok just plugging the guitar straight in......effectively using it as a pre amp.
Is this no good?
 
You will need a DI box or preamp. Plug your guitar into the DI box or Preamp and then from there into your mixer.
 
If you want to get a decent guitar sound, your going to need either an amp modeller or mic up an amp. Plugging directly in will rarely give satisfactory results for any guitarist, but it will work. I sometimes DI the guitar without any modelling for a scratch track, but would NEVER use that for a decent guitar track (unless it was the sound I was aiming for).
 
thanx for the help so far!.....im borrowing a Pod off someone!....whatever that is!
Ive never seen / used one before but i will let you know the result.
thanx again
Neil
 
It sounds to me like the zoom is running some nsaty compression if the hiss actually increases in volume during ring outs.
 
Hey man....I consider myself pretty knowledgable about this cause for a long time I have recorded guitars direct! I play metal and can get alright sounds direct, but this is all you get...okay sounds! I have tried numerous techniques with different units too.

You have some options though! 1) is to plug your guitar into the soundcard and use Revolver or Amplitube! 2) use a modeler unit... 3) mic up an amp!

I do this, and maybe it will help you....I scratch track with my Behringer V-Amp Pro via SPDIF digital input....this doesn't produce any noise! It is nice!
Then I do another track with micing up my stack. Then I make copies of each track and pan them different and use the 2 ways to layer sounds! It takes some work, and some fabricating, but sounds damn good....But just recording direct guitars via 1/4" or even XLR doesn't really work too well. You can get a good scratch track at best, or a layered sound! Take care...Lorde :)
 
s/pdif or analog out of a cheap modeler really shouldn't make any difference as far as noise goes when dealing with guitars (assuming your analog equipment is even decent). A lot of the noise associated with guitar sounds from modelers are actually a part of the model. I never use a modeler to lay primary guitar tracks, but they are very handy for layering up a sound. I have noticed though that compression and direct guitar tracks can be a very hairy issue. Many "guitar" style compressors pump really bad and greatly increse the amount of amp hiss and extraneous sounds (whether it be an actual amp or a modeled sound).
 
zoom

As far as i know zoom should not produce this kind of a problem i'm using a Zoom GFX 8 for recording my guitar tracks and i get a very professional sound. May be your input gain settiing is not right and you should be monitoring your input from your soundcard's mixer. An ideal recording level is somwhere btw. -7.0 db to -2.0 db, at least thats what gives me good results and you can also control the level from your Zoom master volume. Hope this helps.
 
Nothing personal, but I have dealt with hundreds of the zoom pedals and floorboards. EVERY one of them added a considerable amount of noise. However, that is not to say that some of the sounds weren'
t great.
 
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