[desafio]

I bought a IB1964 Texan a few weeks ago to use for gigs once in a while. I heard the Nanoflex system was good sounding, so I decided to give this guitar a try.
The first time I used it I plugged it into a active DI, going into a soundcraft expression 3. It sounds incredible if I pluck the strings, but when I try to strum (preferably quite hard), it sounds like the PA speakers are torn apart. The sound cracks like if you have a cheap poor cable and shake it while plugged into an instrument (you probably get the idea).
I tried to adjust volume on both mixer and guitar, swapped DI to a passive one, changed cables and at last changed channel on the board, but nothing worked. I then plugged my old guitar into the system (noname nobrand with cheap poor quality active pickup system) and it worked like a charm! So I sent the guitar back to the store and asked for a new one. I got a new one, with the exact same problem.
So now I'm asking if this is a problem with these guitars?

If you plug the guitar into a PA system and hit the strings quite hard, does the sound crack?
I will try to capture this on video tomorrow so you can hear what's going on.

[LPS1976]

are you overloading the preamp on the board?

[charlie brown]

LPS1976, on 21 October 2015 - 02:37 PM, said:

are you overloading the preamp on the board?

Sounds like it, huh? Nanoflex systems, and many other's of that type are
designed, primarily, to reproduce the subtleties, and complexities, of an
acoustic guitar, single note, finger picking, and light to moderate strumming,
from under the bridge/sound board. Not "thrashing" or seriously heavy strumming,
without some serious distortion expected. If your primary objective, is to beat
it to death, then possibly use a SM-57 (or other) mic, instead of an on-board system,
or an magnetic (P-90, or equivalent) as is found on the J-160E, as just one example.

Just a thought..

CB

[fromnabulax]

I know this is going to sound stupid but, have you tried turning it down at the guitar when your hammering the poor ol' gal?I mean really turn it down? Like on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being loudest, way down to below 1 and ever so slowly cranking it up?

[Mickthemiller]

Could it possibly be that you needed a new battery?

[desafio]

Mickthemiller, on 22 October 2015 - 01:10 AM, said:

Could it possibly be that you needed a new battery?

I've changed both batteries and guitar. I am noe on my second IB64, and still facing the same problem. I've tried to hook it up to a blues jr, and it sounds awesome. I'll just stick with that.

And I'm not beating the guitar to death! I play rythm, and strumming with a pick (preferably without being afraid of standing out because of noise) should be doable!

And of course I've tried turning down both the preamp and the gain on the mixer. Even padded the signal on various parts of the chain. Could any of you with the same guitar try out the scenario? Guitar -> DI -> mixer -> PA

[Mickthemiller]

I reckon acoustics are for pickin' or gentle strummin' - Telecasters or SGs are for thrashing - maybe that's what you need for the load stuff

[desafio]

I'm reviving this thread as the issue is still at hand.
When I strum the guitar, or fingerpick more intense than I would sitting in my couch at home, the pickup distrorts. The sound cracks, as if I was using a bad cable or the input for the jack was loose or something.
It doesn't really sound like I overload the preamp (even if that's probably what's going on). I'll try to upload a sample sound, cause the guitar is more or less unusable at this point. If you read higher up on this page, you'll see that I'm on my second IB1964 and the problem is exactly the same.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone else is experiencing the same problem?

Every time I hook up the guitar to a PA system, I must be REALLY careful not to strum the strings too hard. I've basicly ended up not using it very much because of this..

[Leonard McCoy]

desafio, on 19 April 2017 - 11:33 AM, said:

I'm reviving this thread as the issue is still at hand.
When I strum the guitar, or fingerpick more intense than I would sitting in my couch at home, the pickup distrorts. The sound cracks, as if I was using a bad cable or the input for the jack was loose or something.
It doesn't really sound like I overload the preamp (even if that's probably what's going on). I'll try to upload a sample sound, cause the guitar is more or less unusable at this point. If you read higher up on this page, you'll see that I'm on my second IB1964 and the problem is exactly the same.

It would be interesting to hear if anyone else is experiencing the same problem?

Every time I hook up the guitar to a PA system, I must be REALLY careful not to strum the strings too hard. I've basicly ended up not using it very much because of this..

I've found that the Nanoflex pickup system is highly susceptible to malfunction. In my case after a week or two the pickup would produce background noise like crazy with the guitar plugged into my FocusRite (no overloading, though, as in your case). The IB Texan may be a legit guitar, the Nanoflex pickup, however, is not.

[rct]

Instrument level signal with multiple pre-amping is hitting the mic-level preamps too hard. Not volume, not how hard you hit it, it's signal level and you can't fix it without either switching the output on the DI to line level or the input on the mixer/PA to instrument level.

rct

[OldCowboy]

rct, on 19 April 2017 - 01:09 PM, said:

Instrument level signal with multiple pre-amping is hitting the mic-level preamps too hard. Not volume, not how hard you hit it, it's signal level and you can't fix it without either switching the output on the DI to line level or the input on the mixer/PA to instrument level.

rct

No idea what all that means, but it sounds like you know your stuff for sure! If I were having the problem I'd try your solution ASAP.

[desafio]

rct, on 19 April 2017 - 01:09 PM, said:

Instrument level signal with multiple pre-amping is hitting the mic-level preamps too hard. Not volume, not how hard you hit it, it's signal level and you can't fix it without either switching the output on the DI to line level or the input on the mixer/PA to instrument level.

rct

I sort of understand what you mean, but if I switch the DI to line level, there's no sound at all coming through to the mixer. What I did today was hook the guitar directly to the stagerack, turn the gain to just about right, and played a bit both strumming and fingerpicking. I know it sounds like I hit the guitar, but I promise you, I'm treating her no harder than I should be able to in a live setting.
Ok, here goes nothing.. https://soundcloud.c...o/guitar-cracks

[rct]

desafio, on 20 April 2017 - 02:54 AM, said:

I sort of understand what you mean, but if I switch the DI to line level, there's no sound at all coming through to the mixer. What I did today was hook the guitar directly to the stagerack, turn the gain to just about right, and played a bit both strumming and fingerpicking. I know it sounds like I hit the guitar, but I promise you, I'm treating her no harder than I should be able to in a live setting.
Ok, here goes nothing.. https://soundcloud.c...o/guitar-cracks

"Hitting" meaning the signal at one of the pre-amped inputs of whatever you are using is not designed to accept the gain level of the signal that is hitting it.

Not you, not your strum, not your volume settings. The Signal. You will futz with gains and EQs forever, but it is the Signal. Look up line balancer, look up line-level vs instrument-level, read up on the manuals for the pre-amps on your mixer and PA.

rct

[desafio]

rct, on 20 April 2017 - 07:27 AM, said:

"Hitting" meaning the signal at one of the pre-amped inputs of whatever you are using is not designed to accept the gain level of the signal that is hitting it.

Not you, not your strum, not your volume settings. The Signal. You will futz with gains and EQs forever, but it is the Signal. Look up line balancer, look up line-level vs instrument-level, read up on the manuals for the pre-amps on your mixer and PA.

rct

I've used several other guitars, skilled technicians at the venues I've played at, and this guitar is a complete mystery to everyone. I'm THIS close to buying a new pickup for this guitar, cause the sound unplugged is awesome.

[rct]

desafio, on 20 April 2017 - 01:58 PM, said:

I've used several other guitars, skilled technicians at the venues I've played at, and this guitar is a complete mystery to everyone. I'm THIS close to buying a new pickup for this guitar, cause the sound unplugged is awesome.

Ok well, good luck with it. I wouldn't screw with it at all, if I got it down to that guitar was the problem I'd fix it or get rid of it.

rct

[desafio]

rct, on 20 April 2017 - 03:03 PM, said:

Ok well, good luck with it. I wouldn't screw with it at all, if I got it down to that guitar was the problem I'd fix it or get rid of it.

rct

The guitar itself is all good, but the Nanoflex sucks. It seems the Nanoflex can't handle volume above a certain level (and that limit is waaaay to low). The guitar distrorts no matter what I plug it into, and when plugged into a PA or amp or whatevery, is only useful for careful fingerpicking. Unplugged however, it's all good. I'm not going to replace the Nanoflex pickup, but I'll probably buy an iRig mic or something and put in the soundhole.

BUT what I wanted to know really was if this is a known problem with these guitars/the Nanoflex system?

[dhanners623]

I had a crackling sound on my IB'64 Texan and I think I have isolated it to a loose battery pack issue. When you strum hard, the the battery thingie (the dohinkie holding the two batteries) seems to have some play in it. If I hold or tape the thingie down, it seems to go away. And it's not much of an issue when I play gently because the unit isn't moving that much.

Not saying this is the cause of your problem, but I thought I'd mention it. Guitar electronics are always finding new and unique ways to fail.

[Jinder]

My Nanoflex is prone to occasional earth buzz and random string imbalance (occasionally the bottom E will be deafeningly loud compared to the rest, despite making sure the saddle base and slot floor are flat and well mated), which drives me nuts. Alongside performing, I work as a guitar tech and I'm of the opinion that the Shadow electronics are fragile and prone to failure as I've experienced various problems with other artists' Shadow kit, especially the blend pickup on EJ200s.

It's a shame that they didn't put a little more into the build quality as when they're working properly they're fantastic sounding systems.

[Leonard McCoy]

Jinder, on 18 May 2017 - 02:20 AM, said:

My Nanoflex is prone to occasional earth buzz and random string imbalance (occasionally the bottom E will be deafeningly loud compared to the rest, despite making sure the saddle base and slot floor are flat and well mated), which drives me nuts. Alongside performing, I work as a guitar tech and I'm of the opinion that the Shadow electronics are fragile and prone to failure as I've experienced various problems with other artists' Shadow kit, especially the blend pickup on EJ200s.

It's a shame that they didn't put a little more into the build quality as when they're working properly they're fantastic sounding systems.

I couldn't agree more. Same experience.