please help with guitar DI

[salomonander]

hi guys

i urgently need some help. i have to track guitar here in my home studio. i just want to use the DI for now and reamp later. problem is - i get way too much buzz from the guitar and i am not shure what the problem is.
the DI is a phoenix nice DI. when no instrument cable is connected it is crystal clean. cable but no guitar results in huge buzz and when the guitar is connected, the buzz is way less but still too apparent. whenever touching any metallic part of the guitar i get clicks. when laying my hands on the strings the buzz gets less.

i'd really apprecciate any help.

jak

[bishopthomas]

It's a grounding issue. Use a different 1/4" cable.

[salomonander]

ok...i'll try that again

i did so already - but with quiet cheap cables....
if there aré any other ideas - please let me know.
thanks for the reply .-)

[bishopthomas]

Try it with a decent cable, it doesn't have to be a $100 cable, just something that's not total crap. What's on the other side of the DI? Maybe try a different DI.

[Jax]

Is there a ground lift switch on the Phoenix? If so, engage it.

The other thing is you could be sitting too close to the computer monitor if you're recording in front of the computer.

[salomonander]

did some more testing.

when plugging in the guitar directly into the preamp the signal has no buzz at all (obviously lots of white noise). so i guess the guitar is fine. when i listen really close i can now hear the same sort od buzz coming from the di without an instrument cable attachet. the phoenix (di) doesn't have a ground lift. only a fuse. when turning it slightly the buzz gets worst when loosening it. when turning it tightly in, it gets better - but not gone. could the fuse be f*cked?


cheers

jak

ps: whish i could just get a passive di somewhere but here in munich it's hard to find quality gear on saturdays :-(

[pianoman]

After doing a bit of research, I've just ordered a Radial Passive DI with a Jensen transformer. The claim is that this DI eliminates ground loops. I'm not sure if that's what you're experiencing or not. http://www.radialeng.com/di-jdi.htm

I can definitely say that Radial's technical support and ability to answer my own questions has been very good. I've been spoiled with the active DI in my DAV BG-1U, which has given excellent results, so I'm looking forward to hearing this.

I can't answer as to whether or not their DI is available in Germany.

[tombuur]

What guitars do you have? Or more specifically, is it humbucker or single coil pickup?

Single coils will often hum. Personally I have noiseless Kinman pickups in almost all my single coil guitars (4 Stratocasters and 1 Tele). That doesn't remove all the hum, so I have also treated my guitars with copper foil as shielding inside the relevant cavities. You can buy this stuff as selfadhessive tape: www.stewmac.com And for shielding advice try www.guitarnuts.com You may also find good advice at www.kinman.com

You can have sources of noise in your studio. Fluorescent lamps will generate electrical noise. Televisions, radios and other electronic things may too.

One method I have used with much succes is to just ground the guitar with a wire. Attach a wire to a radiator or some other plumbing tube or other metal that gives you a good ground. Use a long wire and attach the other end to the guitar. I usually have one of those crocodile things which can be attached to one of the tuners (if they are metallic). Otherwise find elsewher on the guitar to attach it, so that the guitar is connected to ground all the time.

The ground wire makes a huge difference, and you get rid of that click whenever touching the guitar. Actually just touching the guitar removes a lot of hum too, but while playing you can't make sure you touch the strings all the time, and letting go immediately gives a hum. Particularly if you use compression in the chain. That's why the ground wire works so fine.

[bishopthomas]

Pianoman:
Radial DI's are excellent DI's, I'm sure you'll be happy with yours. However, there is nothing magical about this particular DI that will eliminate ground loops. Most mid-high end DI's have ground lifts that usually do the trick. The Radials are built like a tank and have excellent components, so you won't be displeased.

tombuur:
It sounds like what he's experiencing is more than just standard single coil hum (although I don't know for sure). While your grounding method is a quick fix, it's better to do it properly from inside the guitar. All of your pots should be connected, the bridge should be in there, then to the sleeve of your 1/4" jack. It sounds like the original poster is missing one of those key elements. But, he needs to try a different DI before taking the soldering iron to the guitar.