I only get white noise - need your opinions

[Bilaros the Peacemaker]

I recently bought a second-hand Washburn WI14 and the Real Tone Cable. Both in-game and outside of the game (where I go to the recording devices settings and make Windows play back the audio the guitar makes), I only get white noise/static. Very rarely, I get the occasional note ringing out, but very rarely. And yes, I have tampered with the audio levels both from Windows and the guitar, nothing changes.

What sucks is that I don't have an amp currently, and cannot troubleshoot effecively. But so far, I have three theories as to why this happens.

1) Faulty cable

I bought it online, it came to me sealed and brand-new, don't really know what the chances are it was defective from the start.

2) Grounding problems

The white noise gets louder when I touch the strings or any metal part. To me, the wiring seems to be OK, but then again I am a noob when it comes to this, there could be something wrong there.

3) My PC is causing interference somehow.

While I get crystal-clear audio from my on-board sound card, there have been cases where headsets and mics suddenly stopped working properly on my machine. I've never confirmed this but I think it may have something to do with my motherboard/sound card/wI don't even know what.

Your thoughts and opinions are highly appreciated.

[alexcustos]

Assuming you are on Win10, try to check the OS settings (Settings -> Privacy -> Microphone). Microphone access should be enabled for desktop apps, and the game is listed (since 1903 build, before there was a single switch for all apps). If all is enabled, you can use Audacity or any other DAW to check if Realtone cable and guitar are working.

[905]

Why do you rule out the guitar? It could be a loose soldier or maybe even a nut not tightened. Can you take off a back cover and check the wiring in the guitar?

[Bilaros the Peacemaker]

Originally posted by 905:

Why do you rule out the guitar? It could be a loose soldier or maybe even a nut not tightened. Can you take off a back cover and check the wiring in the guitar?

I did. Everything seems to be OK.

Originally posted by alexcustos:

Assuming you are on Win10, try to check the OS settings (Settings -> Privacy -> Microphone). Microphone access should be enabled for desktop apps, and the game is listed (since 1903 build, before there was a single switch for all apps). If all is enabled, you can use Audacity or any other DAW to check if Realtone cable and guitar are working.

I'm on Windows 7. I tried in-game, used an online recording tool, I tried the same on 2 other computers (all using the realtone cable), all I get is noise.

[grimlog]

I'd go with 2)

[alexcustos]

Originally posted by Bilaros the Peacemaker:

... used an online recording tool

What the hell is this? I don't think any web browser manages to access to USB audio interface directly. If it's something like WebUSB, it's not supposed to work well in most cases. Audacity is a nice, free, and open-source app, it's worth to give it a try. Also, RTC is just a common audio interface. You can plug a mic or line output into it, for testing purpose.

[grimlog]

Originally posted by alexcustos:

Originally posted by Bilaros the Peacemaker:

... used an online recording tool

What the hell is this?

https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/API/Web_Audio_API

[blueshift1980]

Do you have a real amp to plug the guitar into and test?

[Bilaros the Peacemaker]

[UPDATE - NOT YET SOLVED]

I figured out a way to see if the guitar works by plugging a normal 1/4" cable into a 1/4" to 3.5mm jack adapter and plugged this adapter to a microphone output jack. I used audacity to record what the microphone (i.e. the guitar) was picking up and I hear the sound just fine.

So we know the guitar works.

In-game, choosing the microphone option isn't doing anything, but that's to be expected, it's designed for acoustic guitars in mind. The problem is that the realtone cable refuses to work with my guitar. So, it's either my guitar being old or the cable being faulty...

[dc7Stm]

Originally posted by Bilaros the Peacemaker:

[UPDATE - NOT YET SOLVED]

So, it's either my guitar being old or the cable being faulty...

Old isn't so much the problem with a guitar not working, as poor care and maintenance. Since you don't seem to have an amp, take the guitar to a guitar store that also offers repair service and ask to plug it into an amp. They will have no problem letting you, because if your guitar has a problem, they will want to try to get you to pay them to fix it, or sell you a new one.
If the cable is faulty, you can really only check it by borrowing one from someone else that you know works, and seeing if that one works with your setup.