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Posted: 8/1/2016 4:50:06 PM EDT
Ok! So here is the deal! I just bought a Blackstar HT5 mini stack. Whenever I turn up the gain on the amp and switch to the dirty channel via the amp footswitch I get a lot of that soft hiss. I looked into getting a noise gate but I don't know if that will work since the footswitch has just a single lead going into the back of the amp and that seems to be where all the noise is coming from. Or is this hum coming from all the doodads going directly into the amp? I am including a basic set up of what I have. The Yellow is the channel select foot switch going into the back of the amp. The magenta is the volume, wah and OD pedal. The blue is modulation, reverb and delay in the effects loop. Would a noise gate like a Boss NS-2 help? Can I plug the channel select footswitch into it somehow? I could use some help figuring this out! Thanks
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Posted: 8/1/2016 5:45:09 PM EDT
[#1]
Is it just hissing when you are in the distortion mode? The foot switch itself should have no link to the signal chain. Is it switching automatically to the distortion channel when the foot switch is plugged in? A noise gate will reduce the noise as long as something else outside the signal chain isn't making the noise.
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Posted: 8/1/2016 6:25:59 PM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Is it just hissing when you are in the distortion mode? The foot switch itself should have no link to the signal chain. Is it switching automatically to the distortion channel when the foot switch is plugged in? A noise gate will reduce the noise as long as something else outside the signal chain isn't making the noise. Correct! Its just hisses when I switch the amp from the clean channel to the OD channel. I just unplugged the pedal chain going into the front of the amp and turned on the OD with the footswitch. No hum! So I think its the pedals creating the noise. You are right the footswitch has no effect on the chain. Looks like ill get a noise suppressor this week! Any suggestions. I was thinking the Boss NS-2. Anything better out there? |
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Posted: 8/1/2016 6:30:32 PM EDT
[#3]
A noise gate can help somewhat. A good power conditioner like a Furman helps a ton, as do isolation transformers put in the signal line. I use both and it gets rid of almost all noise and hum. The isolation transformers are a bit trial-and-error to find out where they work best though, but you know when you get them in the right spot.
Here's what I use: https://www.amazon.com/Furman-M-8X2-Outlet-Conditioner-Protector/dp/B003BQ91Y6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470090550&sr=8-1&keywords=furman+power+conditioner https://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PHE400-Eliminator-2-Channel-Outputs/dp/B00BARTW42/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1470090600&sr=8-11&keywords=audio+isolation+transformer |
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Posted: 8/1/2016 6:37:20 PM EDT
[#4]
Thanks for the info! Ill try the noise gate first and see how that works. If it doesn't ill look into these items!
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Posted: 8/1/2016 8:36:18 PM EDT
[#5]
Dude,
You'd be surprised at all the shit that causes 60 cycle hum. First, check all your cables. Shit cables hum like crazy. Wireless routers and other electronic dodads also create hum and hiss. Check your speaker cables. These are always overlooked and usually responsible for letting hiss and hum get to your speakers. I just bought a new 3' speaker cable and it is microphonic as fuck and noisy as hell. With such proximity to your transformers and tubes, make sure you have a good one. Most are fuckin junk. |
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Posted: 8/1/2016 9:42:56 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Dude, You'd be surprised at all the shit that causes 60 cycle hum. First, check all your cables. Shit cables hum like crazy. Wireless routers and other electronic dodads also create hum and hiss. Check your speaker cables. These are always overlooked and usually responsible for letting hiss and hum get to your speakers. I just bought a new 3' speaker cable and it is microphonic as fuck and noisy as hell. With such proximity to your transformers and tubes, make sure you have a good one. Most are fuckin junk. I got brand new Livewire cables for everything. |
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Posted: 8/1/2016 9:59:46 PM EDT
[#7]
Extra ground cables never hurts.
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Posted: 8/2/2016 5:11:34 AM EDT
[#8]
If it is 60 cycle hum money will get rid of a lot of it.
If it is just hiss from the overdrive channel...well that is going to stay. When ever you start cranking up the volume there is going to be a point where the floor of the signal to noise ratio is going to become audible. Some just sooner than others. |
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Posted: 8/2/2016 3:21:50 PM EDT
[#9]
How are those pedals powered?
Are the loop pedals powered from a separate isolated source from the chain going to the input? I've had noise issues from a Ceriatone build and a Fryette amp where I had the loop and input chain pedals powered off the same source. When I split the loop onto a second isolated power supply it made my noise trouble disappear. Fairplay also makes a good point.. turn a drive channel up on any amp high enough and you'll likely introduce some noise. |
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Posted: 8/2/2016 3:36:56 PM EDT
[#10]
Can you record some of it for us?
60 cycle hum is something that tossing money at the problem actually solves. Hiss from gain isn't going to be solved. |
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Posted: 8/2/2016 10:24:24 PM EDT
[#11]
Get a good power supply for your stomps. I like Voodoo Lab products and run their ISO5 for my stomps. And I'd stay away from the MXR DC Brick, from reviews I've read, they don't isolate as well as others on the market.
Then get a good noise gate. The Boss NS2 is alright, I used one for awhile, but got a deal on a good used MXR Noise Clamp and like it much better. Also, a friend of mine swears by his MXR Smart Gate. If you have more money to spend, the ISP Decimator line are some of the best noise gates on the market. Oh, and the TC Electronic Sentry has also been getting good reviews. |
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Posted: 8/3/2016 9:31:15 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can you record some of it for us? 60 cycle hum is something that tossing money at the problem actually solves. Hiss from gain isn't going to be solved. I'm gone for the week. I'm pretty sure it's just the pedals. With the main guitar lead unplugged from the amp with the OD channel selected on with the gain cranked there is no hiss. I only get the hiss when the pedals and guitar are plugged in with the OD channel selected and gain cranked up. |
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Posted: 8/3/2016 11:08:20 PM EDT
[#13]
My Blackstar HT5 needs no OD/ Distortion pedal in front.
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Posted: 8/4/2016 11:49:33 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My Blackstar HT5 needs no OD/ Distortion pedal in front. No it doesn't! I love it. I have a Boss OD 20 up front for some extra gain in the clean channel if I want it. |
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Posted: 8/4/2016 5:22:36 PM EDT
[#15]
I've never used a Boss NS-2, but do use what's probably a similar circuit in a Boss GT-8. It works pretty well at taming noise on a Mesa MkV.
My Peavey 5150 combo makes enough hiss to double as a white noise generator. An ISP Decimator G-String does wonders. For that one, I run it like the "X" method on the NS2. The gate uses guitar input as the trigger, but clamps the audio on a separate loop. That allows higher gain without needing to run the input threshold so high that you hurt sustain. Some pedals are inherently noisy. I have a Visual Sound Route 66 compressor/Tubescreamer dual pedal. The hiss from that can punch through the noise gate. For 60 cycle hum, my mistake at one point was driving the pre and post pedals from the same power chain, plus the noise gate. Isolating those like suggested above mostly took care of the issue. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Posted: 8/5/2016 9:59:52 AM EDT
[#16]
What kind of guitar and pickups? Sometimes wiring on the guitar is shoddy or if it is single coils you will have noise.
Also if you have fluorescent lights they can induce noise as well. What about just guitar into amp and cranked as you were talking about? When everything is unplugged of course there is no noise, there is no signal to amplify. Sit down and test guitar + each pedal one by one into the amp. It could be a single pedal causing it, it could also be pedals messing with others through a cheap daisy chained power supply. |
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Posted: 8/6/2016 3:14:57 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: What kind of guitar and pickups? Sometimes wiring on the guitar is shoddy or if it is single coils you will have noise. Also if you have fluorescent lights they can induce noise as well. What about just guitar into amp and cranked as you were talking about? When everything is unplugged of course there is no noise, there is no signal to amplify. Sit down and test guitar + each pedal one by one into the amp. It could be a single pedal causing it, it could also be pedals messing with others through a cheap daisy chained power supply. Noise issues can be caused by so many outside forces. some you just have to live with. I run a noise gate on my board for the times I have noise sources I cant control otherwise. |
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Posted: 8/8/2016 10:02:56 AM EDT
[#18]
the "shhhhhhh" sound is heat dissapating from the components in the audio path. because you set it to overdive, you have exponentially increased its sensitivity and reduced the signal-to-noise ratio.
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Posted: 8/8/2016 3:16:13 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
No it doesn't! I love it. I have a Boss OD 20 up front for some extra gain in the clean channel if I want it. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
My Blackstar HT5 needs no OD/ Distortion pedal in front. No it doesn't! I love it. I have a Boss OD 20 up front for some extra gain in the clean channel if I want it. Most of my amps have more available gain that most of us could ever use (5150, 50 Caliber+, Mark V). Lately, though, I've really liked the result of putting a Tubescreamer in front of the preamp, with the drive set just a little dirty. How can we get this far into a thread about an amp humming and not have anyone suggest teaching it the words? 
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Posted: 8/8/2016 9:45:40 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Most of my amps have more available gain that most of us could ever use (5150, 50 Caliber+, Mark V). Lately, though, I've really liked the result of putting a Tubescreamer in front of the preamp, with the drive set just a little dirty. How can we get this far into a thread about an amp humming and not have anyone suggest teaching it the words? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
My Blackstar HT5 needs no OD/ Distortion pedal in front. No it doesn't! I love it. I have a Boss OD 20 up front for some extra gain in the clean channel if I want it. Most of my amps have more available gain that most of us could ever use (5150, 50 Caliber+, Mark V). Lately, though, I've really liked the result of putting a Tubescreamer in front of the preamp, with the drive set just a little dirty. How can we get this far into a thread about an amp humming and not have anyone suggest teaching it the words? Yep. And an overdrive can tighten up a loose sounding amp (this is why they're so popular with guys that have Mesa Rectifiers), plus it can improve the overall tone, or give a little extra bite for leads or different song parts. |
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Posted: 8/9/2016 7:29:37 PM EDT
[#21]
My cellphone phone (iPhone 6S) is noisy as shit. My guitar picks up all kinds of noise from it.
I live on an Air Force base and deal with a lot of emi that I can't eliminate. |
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Posted: 8/9/2016 9:14:54 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My cellphone phone (iPhone 6S) is noisy as shit. My guitar picks up all kinds of noise from it. I live on an Air Force base and deal with a lot of emi that I can't eliminate. If you sit your phone on the amp, that's probably part of the problem. Transformers can pickup interference, and alot of the RF your picking up may be the amp itself and the cable acting like an antenna. Older amps are worse for this. I have a Peavey VTM120 that occasionally picks up a radio station. |
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Posted: 8/11/2016 1:05:03 PM EDT
[#23]
Got the Boss NS-2 hooked up and it got rid of most of the noise. There is still a soft hiss when the dirty channel is selected and the gain is turned up. I just ordered a Voodoo Labs ISO 5 to hopefully clear that up. All I'm using now is some Walmart power strip to run the pedals. Its night and day when I turn off the suppressor. Overall its a definite step up!
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Posted: 8/11/2016 1:06:31 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What kind of guitar and pickups? Sometimes wiring on the guitar is shoddy or if it is single coils you will have noise. Also if you have fluorescent lights they can induce noise as well. What about just guitar into amp and cranked as you were talking about? When everything is unplugged of course there is no noise, there is no signal to amplify. Sit down and test guitar + each pedal one by one into the amp. It could be a single pedal causing it, it could also be pedals messing with others through a cheap daisy chained power supply. I have a PRS SE and a Steinberger SS-2F. |
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Posted: 8/11/2016 1:35:43 PM EDT
[#25]
Another thing dawned on me, if your guitars' control cavities haven't been painted with that thick black paint that has iron in it or doesn't have that adhesive backed foil in there, that can pick up interference.
But I don't think that's your problem. That soft hiss that you're still experiencing is coming purely from gain. I don't remember if you can run the Boss in a four cable setup or not, but the ones I recommended do. With a noise suppressor in that setup, you plug your guitar into the NS, then run the designated output to the front of the amp, and then run the send and return of the effects loop into the remaining jacks of the NS (see your owner's manual). What this does is isolates the preamp in it's own loop and allows the NS to clamp down on the noise while triggering directly off your guitar signal. |
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Posted: 8/11/2016 2:22:35 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Another thing dawned on me, if your guitars' control cavities haven't been painted with that thick black paint that has iron in it or doesn't have that adhesive backed foil in there, that can pick up interference. But I don't think that's your problem. That soft hiss that you're still experiencing is coming purely from gain. I don't remember if you can run the Boss in a four cable setup or not, but the ones I recommended do. With a noise suppressor in that setup, you plug your guitar into the NS, then run the designated output to the front of the amp, and then run the send and return of the effects loop into the remaining jacks of the NS (see your owner's manual). What this does is isolates the preamp in it's own loop and allows the NS to clamp down on the noise while triggering directly off your guitar signal. Yup I did the X thing with the NS-2. I ran the reverb and the delay through the effects loop. |
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