Skip to main content

I've got an MXR KFK 10 band EQ and whenever it's in my signal path I experience some kind of slight clipping on the harder picked notes. You can hear it on this quick comparison.

http://soundclick.c…"]SoundClick artist: Bleeding Arrows - page with MP3 music downloads[/]="http://soundclick.c…"]SoundClick artist: Bleeding Arrows - page with MP3 music downloads[/]

The first run through was recorded guitar > EQ (bypassed) > amp, with EQ set with all settings flat and volume/gain at flat and using the supplied power supply. The second was guitar > BOSS SD-1 (bypassed) > amp. Let me know what you think.

Topic Tags

Comments

Davedog Wed, 04/21/2010 - 17:28

So, by this I am assuming you want the 'clipping' of the bypassed pedal to be heard, and the problem sussed out.....?

The reason I ask is this.......If you're not using it why have it in the chain in the first place?

Dont think I'm being facetious with this comment. Many are the times I have recorded people who insisted that everything they use on stage or in the practice room be hooked up, set up, displayed, etc etc etc even when these things have no bearing on the song at hand. And many are the times when they have insisted that these things make it 'sound better' when in fact it is clearly adding crap to the signal and noise to the recording. Demonstrating this hasnt proved to be a deterrent at times.....

I have trained several drummers who, at a young age, had ginormous kits and when they came into the studio insisted on setting it ALL up because it was 'their rig, man'...So, I gladly miced it all up tuned it all up and let them cut loose on a couple of their chosen songs for their records. I watched them hit all the drums and cymbals they were going to hit during these pieces and , bless their pointy thick skulls, they hit all the same stuff at the same time. So, I would saunter out into the live room and ask them if this, that, and that other thing, were part of the next couple of songs....when it was determined they werent, I banned them from my room. "You aint gonna hit it, forget it"....Amazing how much more separation and quality sound they got without all the extra crap rattling and sympathizing with all the other crap stuck on all that plumbing......

So I'm just saying..................

Guitarfreak Wed, 04/21/2010 - 18:41

I've decided for the moment that it was a recording issue. I had the mic gain on higher than normal because I was only recording a single track and not two or more tracks to be mixed in stereo and I didn't want to have to add too much gain on the limiter later. The meter never clipped though, I left a few dB headroom, but not like a huge amount. I heard the distortion in my headphones while tracking and I thought the distortion was just from my amp, I was surprised to find that there was less distortion when plugged into the BOSS pedal and nothing else changed. I recorded the track again the next day using the EQ pedal and leaving my usual amount of headroom and the recording came out better.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://soundclick.c…"]SoundClick artist: Bleeding Arrows - page with MP3 music downloads[/]="http://soundclick.c…"]SoundClick artist: Bleeding Arrows - page with MP3 music downloads[/]

But I still can't for the life of me figure out why the BOSS pedal clip had less distortion... or why there WAS distortion to begin with when my levels weren't clipping?