Noise Gate Suggestions[views:2118][posts:22]_____________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 8:24am - Sacreligion ""] So I've been a fan of the Metal Zone for a few years now but have opted to use just the solid state distortion straight from the amp as of late. The only problem is that it feeds back like a son of a bitch at practice when I have to turn it up against cymbals in a small concrete room. I've tried noise gates before but found them to be too dry and that they take away from the sound or cut off the sustain a lil too much. Of course there's the NS-2, but that was one that I had tried before and didn't like. Any suggestions? I use an original Ibanez ToneBlaster 100W head with matching 4x12 cab. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:26am - Martins ""] Probably the best noise reduction product out there is the ISP Decimator Pro Rack G. There's a pedal version that's decent. I have the Pro Rack G and it works MIRACLES on noise. |
| ___________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:27am - brian_dc ""] embrace noise |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:33am - Sacreligion ""] eh...having to keep fuckin with the volume knob during guitar-less parts(breaks of like a second or more) makes playing entirely more difficult. martins, that might be a bit overkill as i'm pretty sure i'll only be using it during practice, when i have the amp turned up to about half or a lil more. once i go less than that the noise isn't so much of an issue. i may look into that pedal version of the Decimator, though. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:35am - Martins ""] You could try getting a bunch of copper tape and lining the control and pickup cavities with it. |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:37am - Sacreligion ""] have you tried that before? does it definitely work? sounds crazy to me. |
| ___________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:38am - brian_dc ""] I play lower gain now, generally. But I can really tell the difference in fullness of tone without a noise gate. But you need it for metal. The ISP pedal is the best one I ever had. The Hush rack model I have is pretty good, but I'm not particularly impressed by it |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:40am - Sacreligion ""] i've tried lower gain but i do too much palm muting at a million miles an hour and i feel as if i need that high-gain attack to have it really cut through. it's the combination of the "presence" level combined with the gain which i keep at about 6.5-7.5. tryin to keep the highs crisp while not drowning out the mids is what i believe to be leading to this problem. you're used to playing with another guitarist, though, am i right? |
| ___________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:42am - brian_dc ""] I'm a lone gun these days. I make up for the lack of incredibly high gain with volume and running 2 amps into a billion cabs. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:44am - Martins ""] Low gain is all good for clarity but not TOO LOW. Copper tape definitely works. It won't CURE your problem but it will help. With the Decimator Rack there's definitely no change in tone. I've tested it for hours. It's really wonderful but really expensive. Also, don't play under fluorescent lights. |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:44am - Sacreligion ""] that's something i've also considered but don't have the money to do. i've always liked the way mark morton from lamb of god ran his setup(i think he actually took the idea from jeff hannehman now that i think about it). basically running two separate amps, one scooped and one with the mids pushed. need to get me like $2000 to spend on gear is what i need to do. |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:45am - Sacreligion ""] Martins said:Low gain is all good for clarity but not TOO LOW. Copper tape definitely works. It won't CURE your problem but it will help. With the Decimator Rack there's definitely no change in tone. I've tested it for hours. It's really wonderful but really expensive. Also, don't play under fluorescent lights. definitely no fluorescents where we practice so that's not it. i may take a stop down to my local music shop and talk to the tech guy about it. need to get the guitar intonated soon anyhow. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:49am - Martins ""] Copper tape is definitely the first step. |
| ___________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:49am - brian_dc ""] I keep the gain on my ENGL at like 3, and the gain on my Bad Cat on about 4. With those heads it's plenty. A lot of gain headroom on both amps. I have found fairly universally that slightly lowering gain from what sounds "perfect for metal" is actually "perfect for metal" |
| ___________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:49am - brian_dc ""] this copper tape idea is interesting |
| _______________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:50am - Yeti ""] Ian's kitchen light is flourescent. i don't know how close you have to be for it to effect anything though. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:51am - Martins ""] My friend has an industrial sized roll of like silicon tape or something ridiculous that's supposed to be better than copper and I'm stealing a bunch of it to put into my guitar cavities and probably line the inside of my amp with it. It just reduces the amount of electromagnetic noise. |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:53am - Martins ""] Yeti said:Ian's kitchen light is flourescent. i don't know how close you have to be for it to effect anything though. Pretty close. Those lights put out 120 Hz and about 12 volts or something like that. I just did a lab on phototransistors haha. |
| _______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 10:58am - goatcatalyst ""] At practice, I have a naked Ethiopian boy that places his right hand in between my pre-amp and power amp. No complaints. |
| ______________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 11:00am - Sacreligion ""] i don't have to be as loud at ian's house, but the problem there is that there i'm pretty much standing right next to the amp due to the lack of space. at the artists formerly known as 12 step's space i have a lot more room to work with but have to turn up way louder. i may try less gain, but i'm not sure if i'll like it. might try turning the presence and treble down too. definitely investing in that tape though. on a separate note, have any of you tried replacing the backpiece to your cab? i've heard that doing that causes the sound to bounce back out the front as opposed to losing some of it through the junk wood they make most cabinets with. |
| ___________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 11:12am - brian_dc ""] [Oct 24,2008 10:58am - goatcatalyst] At practice, I have a naked Ethiopian boy that places his right hand in between my pre-amp and power amp. No complaints. I should move mine to a more productive location [img] |
| __________________________________ [Oct 24,2008 11:13am - Martins ""] Turn your gain to just below your amp's threshold for A LOT OF GAIN. Standing next to the amp will cause a little bit of feedback, not noise. But that feedback going back through you pickups may come out sounding like noise. On that separate note, that's interesting. Once I get a good cab, I might try that. |
| _____________________________________ [Oct 26,2008 2:39pm - MadOakDevin ""] you know that when you hit your boss tuner on it mutes? use it. |