Studio Caliber Recording out noisy?

[stoneattic]

Even though I thought using the Recording out would be a great way to get a signal to the mixer, I've always ended up mic'ing my Studio Caliber because the Record out is noisier than mic'ing the speaker. Is this normal?

thanks

 

[reilly]

i dont think it should be, my mark iv is dead quiet. I will test my studio dc-2 when i get it back from the repair guy and let you know. I dont use the record out for live but rather recording in conjunction with a speaker cab sim (impulse) the results have been pretty good

i just noticed you are about an hour from me. I lived in Honey brook 15 years ago, thats where i grew up.

 

[stoneattic]

It's not ridiculously noisy, but it is noticeable and definitely more noisy than mic'ing it.

I actually grew about about an hour east/south from Honey Brook, in Parkside, closer to Philly. Which way from Honey brook are you?

 

[reilly]

i live past lancaster, in Columbia PA. If its noise from high gain try a noise suppressor like the Boss NS-2, MXR smart gate or ISP Decimeter. I havn't owned the ISP but i like the Smart Gate better than the Boss

 

[O==00==O]

Yeah it's noisier than the 57 using the same preamps. I have all new tubes, and the amp sounds healthy. I have to turn up the Output level so I can turn down the gain on the preamp / DI to cut out the noise, but still, mic'ing it up with the standard 57 is quieter.

 

[stoneattic]

My old roommate was from Columbia (PA). Small world.

I was hoping there was something wrong with my Recording out, I guess it looks like a fairly common issue.

Playing larger places I always mic because of the noise. In smaller places where we're just trying to balance the room I can get away with the Recording out. I hate using noise gates, although that comes from the first one I tried, a DOD. I could always hear the note cutting off. I'm sure there a much better ones, especially since I haven't tried one in 10 years. Maybe a nice rack unit in the PA as opposed to a pedal would do a good job. Of course that only works when we're bringing out own PA.

It's surprising that it's noisier though, considering it's going through less tube stages (no power tubes), but I guess the recording circuit is noisy, although it's really just a 5532 op amp and a choke or transformer of some kind. I think I'll ask the much smarter that me about electronics folks in Music Electronics Forum.

Thanks!

 

[reilly]

I dont know if you tried this or not, but is the noise from a ground Loop hum? In My apartment i had to get a DI box (cheap Livewire like $25) that had a ground lift switch on it, it worked perfect and got rid of the noise i was getting with m,y mark IV

 

[stoneattic]

Where you getting the ground loop hum on the Record out, but not the speaker?

 

[reilly]

correct, only with the record out signal. Not with the speaker. The mark iv also has a silent function as well so i never tried both at the same time (speaker on with record out)

 

[stoneattic]

Cool, I will have to check that out. Thanks.

 

[O==00==O]

If your amp alone isn't loud enough to fill the small places, you should use another amp.

 

[stoneattic]

The amp is plenty loud and the stage volume is probably more than I would like sometimes. I don't want to punish my own ears. Any sound man is going to want to mic the amps to balance out the FOH mix. If you just crank the amps then the mix in the crowd is terrible. Some people only hear guitar, some only bass, etc. You can get away with out mic'ing in really small places, but it still sounds better to mic.

When we play places that we have to bring our own sound (which sucks) I thought it would be easier to use the Recording out but I always end up with the SM57.

 

[O==00==O]

mic'd guitars never sound as good through the house, but finding rig that projects well in all the various rooms is difficult, although a single speaker combo amp is far from good at projecting. Then, positioning your selves where the mix is what you want is another thing, but that's why most shows have monitors and house spkrs - to control everything. Trouble is, if your amp can't make up for the sound guy's deficiencies then you're out of luck. I think a mix of both approaches sounds best.