Obtaining A Good Quality Electric Guitar Sound; Obtaining A Goo Quality Acoustic Guitar Sound - Focusrite Platinum ToneFactory Manuel D'utilisation

with the output level set high, as it may damage the next
unit in the chain.
If you are inserting the ToneFactory™ into a channel of a
mixing console, you normally set the Master Fader at 0 and
adjust levels using the console.
Obtaining a Good Quality
Electric Guitar Sound
With a guitar plugged into the instrument input, you
should get a great sound straight away. Use the Tone
Controller to get the sound you want; in particular:
The Hi-Mid button should be lit, so that the controls
are centred round the guitar frequencies.
When using Overdrive, the Bright switch should not
normally be lit, so that speaker simulation is enabled.
Adding effects using foot pedals
Put all effects in bypass, and use the Tone Controller to
set the tone you want, then switch in the effects you
want to use.
If the effects add noise, use the Noise Gate to remove it.
Make sure the Hold button is not lit, and adjust the
Release/Hold control so that the Noise Gate doesn't cut
off the tail of the signal.
If necessary, use the Parametric Equaliser to modify the
tone after the effects have been added. For example, if
you have added reverb and it is too brilliant, use Band 2
(with the Bell button not lit) to reduce the treble. If you
have a lot of effects, and the sound is muddy, use Band 2
with the Bell button lit to boost frequencies around 2.5
kHz.
Using Compression and Overdrive
The Overdrive on the ToneFactory™ is a dynamic tool,
since varying the volume of the input signal varies the
amount of overdrive that is applied.Therefore, by varying
the dynamics of your playing, from soft to loud, you can
influence the amount of overdrive you get.This is great for
blues, for example, since you can get more bite by playing
more aggressively.
If you want to make sure that your guitar is overdriven
evenly (particularly for a heavily overdriven sound), use the
Opto-Compressor to reduce the dynamics of the signal. Set
the Threshold quite low, and increase the output control to
compensate for the loss in volume. Now the signal enters
the Tone Controller at a fairly constant volume, so more of
the signal is overdriven instead of just the peaks.
Recording Electric Bass
Since you normally want the bass to stay at a constant
volume in the rhythm track, you tend to use quite a lot of
compression. Set the Opto-Compressor as follows:
Try experimenting with the Release control and the Hard
Ratio to get the sound you want. If you want a bass sound
that has a lot of attack, make sure the Fast button is not lit.
If you want a more rounded bass sound with less attack,
switch on the Fast button.
Obtaining a Good Quality
Acoustic Guitar Sound
The easiest way to get a good signal into the
ToneFactory™ is from a piezo pickup into the instrument
input. If miking up an acoustic guitar, the position of the
microphone is very important.
Positioning the Microphone
In front of the guitar, about 6 inches (15 cm) from the
sound hole.This gives a loud signal (which is good if
there is background noise in the room), but tends to be
bassy and boomy. Switch in the Filters, use the Low
control to roll off the low frequency to compensate.
Also, moving the mic back towards the bridge tends to
give a brighter sound.
In front of the guitar, about 2 ft (60 cm) from the sound
hole.This gives more of an ambient sound, including
some room characteristics, which may or may not be a
good thing!
About 6 inches (15 cm) above the guitar, pointing down
at the bridge.This gives a bright but realistic sound.
Guitar Tone
To accentuate or reduce the sound of the main body of
the guitar, use Band 1 of the Parametric Equaliser with
Bell lit. Set the Freq control at around 240 Hz, and
increase or decrease the dB control, depending on how
thick you want the sound to be.
To increase presence and clarity, use Band 2 of the
Parametric Equaliser with Bell lit. Boost frequencies in
the range 2.5 kHz – 5 kHz.
For a thin and bright sound, use the Filters, adjusting the
Low control to remove bass.
Removing Fret Buzz
When mixing down, you can use the Parametric Equaliser
to notch out a frequency (for example, to remove fret buzz
or string rattle).To notch out a frequency:
1. In Band 2, switch on the Bell button, and add gain using
the dB control. Ensure that the Fine button is not lit.
2. Adjust the Freq control until you are boosting the
frequency you want to remove. For example, when you
have isolated fret buzz, it sounds a lot louder when the
Parametric Equaliser is on.
E n g l i s h
page 8