Tips for external process recording

    So I'm working on an EP; for live performance I use my TI to process guitar and dulcimer sounds. All well and good, but doing recording I'm noticing a lot of noise on the tracks. It's not so bad in a dense mix, but when it's just the guitar, it's pretty annoying. I've tried playing through the TI, using both the USB and the physical outs, as well as recording the guitar parts with a DI and bouncing through the TI from my computer.


    Ideally, I'd like to be able to use it as an external processor when recording (thus being less afraid to use the tasty but voice-expensive reverbs, etc), but I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Any tips on reducing noise on the inputs? I can post some examples later, so you can hear what I'm talking about.

    Some information is missing from your post:


    "guitar and dulcimer sounds" - are they preamped or fed directly to the Virus?


    "lot of noise on the tracks" - white noise or distortion noise?



    It could be that the input is mixed in with the output. This is controlled by the CONFIG menu page 1/2 on your TI hardware: Boost Input and Input Thru - try turning them down to 0.


    Another option can be to send the audio processing patch to USB2 or audio out 2, and record from there (you can mute USB1 or audio out 1 completely).

    We're talking white noise...a pretty high pitched ring throughout the track, regardless of input signal. I've tried both direct and preamped, instrument level and line level out from my computer, and the results are the same.


    For live sets I'm running the instruments direct, through a couple effects (the dulcimer through a compressor and a noise reducer into one input jack, and the guitar through a few effects, distortion and a wah into the other jack). It sounds fine for live shows, though in all likelyhood I'm getting the same noise, just not focused on it as closely as I am studio-wise.


    I know the input thru is set to 0, but I'm not sure where the boost settings are. I'll try that this evening when I get home. Thanks for the tip, and hopefully that's the piece I'm missing!


    I'll post after I've tested, one way or another. The TI effects are awesome and I'd like to use them on as many things as possible in the studio!

    The "high pitched ring" you are describing sounds to me like EM interference, so it might be a good idea to check that balanced leads and EM shielding are not damaged, parallel wires are far away from each other, and only cross at straight angles (it's good to check this every once in a while). If nothing seems to help, it might be that the Virus is leaking from the inside, and it should be serviced.

    I was afraid the answer might be something like that. I've checked and rechecked my setup, and that seems to be the only place where it's a problem. When I have more cash I'll have to have someone take a look at it. My Virus B never had this problem, so I thought I might just be doing something wrong.


    In the meantime, I'll have to just use it for live processing, and process instruments differently in the studio. Which is too bad, because the Mint Overdrive is fantastic and responsive! Honestly, it probably wouldn't too much to anyone other than me, except in the more quiet sections. My vocalist is classically trained though, and I feel the tone of everything in the mix has to be as good as her. Hooray for perfectionisim!


    Thanks for your suggestions!