Real Tone Cable or Regular Audio Cable.... static?

[Bluelight]

Alot of people trash the real tone cable for alot of reasons and I know in the past (maybe not now) some people had a way to use a regular audio cable into the line in or mic jack on the soundcard to get it to work.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried both and can see if there is any difference at all on quality?

I have an old Peavey Predator which is a Strat clone I guess and it has single coil pickups. I know from other experience that for whatever reason, my line in doesnt work and I have to go through my mic jack if I want to input my guitar to my PC but it comes with alot of static everytime I play a note.

I haven't played this yet but as mentioned, when doing past experiments with interfacing my guitar to my PC.. if I pluck a string I get static towards the end of the note as it is lowering in volume.

I'm not sure if this is an input to PC issue or if it may be caused by the single coil pickups. Or if its cause I'm using the mic jack instead of the line in. I want to get rocksmith but I don't want to have to upgrade to humbuckers cause it would be alot of trouble to swap them out.

Thoughts?

[Barabajagal]

Using the real tone cable (and that's what is officially supported), you're going from your Peavey to PC via an available USB 2 port. As for your static issue that would be difficult to troubleshoot because static can originate from so many different sources. Do you have a friend with RS and a real tone cable where you can try out your Peavey before making a purchase?

[Bluelight]

Originally posted by Barabajagal:

Using the real tone cable (and that's what is officially supported), you're going from your Peavey to PC via an available USB 2 port. As for your static issue that would be difficult to troubleshoot because static can originate from so many different sources. Do you have a friend with RS and a real tone cable where you can try out your Peavey before making a purchase?

No to the friend with the cable. I'd have to order the cable and buy rocksmith so it's kind of annoying.

But I have seen many people saying that they have this same buzzing/hissing sound when playing notes with rocksmith as well so that's why I'm asking.

I have no idea what causes it but somebody here has to know what I'm talking about.

I can also say that my guitar doesn't make this noise when plugged into the amp. So I'm thinking it has to be something about the computer interface that does it.

[MTZIGG]

The buzzing or static from the cable is from a poorly set up Rocksmith configuration.
Very few people never get it right .As posted above some of the lower end single coil guitars can cause alot out of phase but that is a trait of single coils . That is why they make noiseless ones.
Also quite a few complained about this only to find out it was just the crappy default tone on the lead path.;-) guitars with humbucker pickups are a lot less noisy

[woof]

I have used single coil pickups exclusively for over five years now with Rocksmith. I have never had any problems with hiss or static or anything else for that matter. But I also have always used the realtone cable into a USB 2.0 and onboard sound, so I haven't been trying to do anything fancy with sound or connections.

[Barabajagal]

I experienced some time ago noise & distortion with my Peavey tele clone after I played for a few minutes in RS 2014. The Peavey plays fine through an amp. For me the solution was to turn down my guitar volume within the game and turn-down the in-game music so I could hear my guitar. My pickups are active and I make sure I use a fresh battery. I haven't had any problems with my LP, strat, or bass but the pickups are passive. So I think my problem is related to my Peavey, its pickups and possibly wiring within the guitar and not RS or the real tone cable.

[Bluelight]

Originally posted by MTZIGG:

The buzzing or static from the cable is from a poorly set up Rocksmith configuration.
Very few people never get it right .As posted above some of the lower end single coil guitars can cause alot out of phase but that is a trait of single coils . That is why they make noiseless ones.
Also quite a few complained about this only to find out it was just the crappy default tone on the lead path.;-) guitars with humbucker pickups are a lot less noisy

U offered alot of possible reasons and no solutions.

Considering I get no hiss when plugged into my amp, it's not really the coils. U mentioned settings not being right, and that everyone gets it wrong so what has to be done to eliminate any noise??

[Bluelight]

Originally posted by Barabajagal:

I experienced some time ago noise & distortion with my Peavey tele clone after I played for a few minutes in RS 2014. The Peavey plays fine through an amp. For me the solution was to turn down my guitar volume within the game and turn-down the in-game music so I could hear my guitar. My pickups are active and I make sure I use a fresh battery. I haven't had any problems with my LP, strat, or bass but the pickups are passive. So I think my problem is related to my Peavey, its pickups and possibly wiring within the guitar and not RS or the real tone cable.

My Peavey has passive single coils, no battery but as u mentioned I get no issue when plugged into the amp. So it has to be something with the way the PC is dealing with the tone. I also don't have an issue with just plain clean direct input into the PC it usually is when virtual amp and fx are added.

[Sad dad]

reading the posts above are you saying you DONT have rocksmith & real tone cable? but have noise issues with other software/hardware? In my experiance rocksmith with realtone caable works fine with single coil pickups (washburn rocker wr150 & cable I've had since the original rocksmith)

[Barabajagal]

"U offered alot of possible reasons and no solutions."

Alluding to my first reply, it is difficult if not impossible to trouble-shoot someone elses static and noise since there are so many areas it can originate from; ie , improper grounding, a dirty pot, the cable itself, the input/output jacks, and the list goes on. It will be a process of elimination. You mentioned the "line-in" to your "sound-card" is inoperative and you're forced to use the "mic-in". You may well have hardware that is failing. Can you try playing using a different computer? That at least would point you in one direction or another; PC related or guitar related (maybe cable).

[Bluelight]

Originally posted by Barabajagal:

"U offered alot of possible reasons and no solutions."

Alluding to my first reply, it is difficult if not impossible to trouble-shoot someone elses static and noise since there are so many areas it can originate from; ie , improper grounding, a dirty pot, the cable itself, the input/output jacks, and the list goes on. It will be a process of elimination. You mentioned the "line-in" to your "sound-card" is inoperative and you're forced to use the "mic-in". You may well have hardware that is failing. Can you try playing using a different computer? That at least would point you in one direction or another; PC related or guitar related (maybe cable).

That response was clearly not directed at you.. why would you think otherwise? It was directed at MTZIGG who I quoted.

As for what you just said, I've already gone through a process of elimination which I've stated a few times here.

The fact that I can plug into my peavey amp with the same exact cord and get NO noise eliminates everything you just said related to the cord, guitar, pickups, etc.

The only thing that is left is the PC aspect. I'll figure it out though thanks.

[Bluelight]

Originally posted by Sad dad:

reading the posts above are you saying you DONT have rocksmith & real tone cable? but have noise issues with other software/hardware? In my experiance rocksmith with realtone caable works fine with single coil pickups (washburn rocker wr150 & cable I've had since the original rocksmith)

Yes thats exactly what I said that some people seem to have missed. Thanks for your response. I am tempted to try the real tone cable but I'm asking this because I have read some people having this same sort of hissing when playing notes with rocksmith 2014 and the real tone cable.

Just worried that because I am having this experience with my other setup, I will have it with rocksmith also... and dropping $40 on the game plus about another $30 or so on the cable (which I plan to order before the game if I do it) is alot to spend on something that may not be great quality.

I'm leaning towards trying it though. Its possible the issue is caused by the sound card inputs.

[Barabajagal]

You're able to play clean via the direct mic-input on your PC but the noise and static are introduced when you add-in the virtual amp and fx. To my thinking, its less likely to be the sound card other than the broken line-input unless the virtual amp and fx don't play well with a signal from the mic-input. Is the result the same if you plug-in a different audio device into the mic input and run that signal through your virtual amp and fx software? Have you combed the developers support forum? If you're leaning toward buying RS2014, Steam has sales where they cut the price. Unfortunately the RTC is a full price purchase unless you can come by one that was used on a ps3/4, xbox360. The cables all work on PC. Good luck. I hope you're able to get issue resolved and get into RS.

[Bluelight]

I've discovered that using my line in on my onboard sound card with the guitar doesn't work but if I plug my phone into it, it does work.

Im guessing that's because of not having enough power or something? Maybe the phone has more power than the passive guitar.

I guess that's why I see people using either preamps for that type of setup, or usb audio interfaces.

I also have a pedal if I can find it, that i can try to run the guitar through before the line in and see what I get with that.

I'd rather try that before dropping $30-$40 on the real tone cable.

[MTZIGG]

There is a RS ini file that can be edited . to help with static.If you have the game you can change some things in the tools>audio sections .Settings will vary from PC to PC.Once it was faulty grounding of the house wireing.but that was rare.If you are going to try without the cable you are in the wrong forum.Here is a guide to playing with your own amp and tones. .Its\ still requires the required canle.No way can we help trouble shot a system that dosn't exsist.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=208747982
BTW I have a small bit of noise from my single coils but it is not a problem.

[EarthRockerR]

Ditto to what MTZIGG stated and in the guide mentioned, you may be introducing a ground loop with all the additional gear in between your guitar and computer. Consider K.I.S.S. and just buy the RS cable already.