this annoying ticking

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nomorenoless

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i'm recording with my quartz audiofree 4 track. i put down drum tracks with success, but my guitar tracks have this annoying ticking sound. it is random and not all the time, but it is making me crazed. sounds like i'm listening to an old lp that is years old. scratchy. help anyone?
 
It's hard to say without hearing it. It could be digital distortion or the dreaded digital "Pops and Clicks".

If it's distortion you need to bring down the preamp level. If it's the latter it could be your computer isn't configured properly or the system is just not up to snuff. Consumer software and soundcards are much more prone to this kind of stuff.

What is your computer hardware, soundcard and preamp/mixer? How are you recording the tracks?
 
Really need to know more to answer this question. Tex is right, hearing it would help so you should post a sample mp3 for us to listen to. It could be anything from what you said so far.

One difference is the mics for recording the drums are probably different than the one's for the guitar tracks. At least they will be positioned different. Try swapping them. Trace the sound chain and narrow down the problem. It could be something as simple as floor vibration caused when you move back and forth playing guitar which would explain the intermittence but at this point only God knows what it is.

Number 5 alive, need imput.
 
new to this. uh, ok. drums are from drum machine. zoom234. thru yamaha mt4x(not using the cassette part). guitar thru digitech rp300, then little ibanez amp thru headphone out, then thru yamaha mtrx into soundcard (soundblasterPCI512). computer is packard bell with k6-2 400mhz processor. live in apartment. can't play loud. made good jams on yamaha with cassettes, but digital really is fast and cool. except for the tell tale ticking. guitar is carvin bolt with sh4 humbucker and duncan single strat , ticking is on any and or all pickups. sounds like machine something, not guitar type noise. mmmph.
 
The worst part of figuring this out is the intermittence, it's a mechanics nightmare. First try swapping channels with the drum machine. If that doesn't stop it then try removing each component from the soundchain, one at a time, until you lose the noise. Does the clicking show up when recording with the cassette? If after doing all of that and you still didn't figure out the source then you need to look at your electric circuit. Do you have a refridgerator or an air conditioner on the same circuit? They're really good at causing intermittent amperage drain which can cause problems. Good luck!
 
heh call me stupid but i had the same problem. it was the strings hitting the pickups.. stupid me...

T
 
i think the ac/fridge circuit may be the problem. i haven't tried a different outlet yet. i'll have to look at the breaker box to see what is where. it does make noise when the ac or the fridge kicks on. and that is the kind of "ticking" that is on the recording, although its way less prominent than what i hear when the ac/fridge actually kicks on. i'll have to test this theory. gracias. and i've already been thru all my equipment and its not there. its not that kind of noise. its computer noise. some kind of... ticking. i did have the strings touching the pickups thing a while back. when i'd go to mute the strings i was pushing them down onto my humkmbucker. boops. i just lowered it a bit. and played more carefully. playing electric guitar is so subtle. thanks.
 
One more thing to try is checking the case fan in your computer. I've seen that cause problems before. Sometimes they get worn then loose and end up just touching the housing and causing this annoying clicking sound hehe. Good Luck again!
 
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