noisy effects loop
- Thread starter shanejw
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Hum is usually the result of multiple paths to ground ...
Are your pedals on batteries or AC ? If AC, then are they plugged into the same source as the amp ? Do you have the same hum when the pedals are plugged into the front of the amp ?
Which type of effects are you plugging into the FX loop ? Generally speaking, gain-based effects (distortion, compression, EQ, wah) don't work well in FX loops. You want those plugged into the front of the amp. (Although, even if you are running these thru the FX loop, I can see them adding NOISE, as opposed to hum).
The loop is usually for time-based FX .... chorus, delay, pitch shift, etc.
Are your pedals on batteries or AC ? If AC, then are they plugged into the same source as the amp ? Do you have the same hum when the pedals are plugged into the front of the amp ?
Which type of effects are you plugging into the FX loop ? Generally speaking, gain-based effects (distortion, compression, EQ, wah) don't work well in FX loops. You want those plugged into the front of the amp. (Although, even if you are running these thru the FX loop, I can see them adding NOISE, as opposed to hum).
The loop is usually for time-based FX .... chorus, delay, pitch shift, etc.
Patrick from Davis
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I always have to check if I have used an amp cable instead of a guitar cable. I have a number of cables that look alike, and I have made that mistake on more than one occasion. I marked the amp cables with a piece of electrical tape on the plugs to try and keep myself from messing up that again.
Patrick
Patrick
Yeah, the BBE pedal should be plugged into the front of the amp ... not the loop. The DDL pedal should be fine in the loop.
In your amp, the FX loop lives between the preamp section and the power amp section. That pedal is designed (as far as I understand) to boost an instrument-level signal (ie: your guitar), not an already preamplified signal. The delay, however, will live very happily in the FX loop, because in an ideal world, you want to delay the distorted signal, as opposed to distort the delayed signal.
In your amp, the FX loop lives between the preamp section and the power amp section. That pedal is designed (as far as I understand) to boost an instrument-level signal (ie: your guitar), not an already preamplified signal. The delay, however, will live very happily in the FX loop, because in an ideal world, you want to delay the distorted signal, as opposed to distort the delayed signal.
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
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I disagree slightly. BBE has the habit of putting a Sonic Maximizer in everything they sell whether it be a compressor, crossover, or whatever. They throw the Sonic Max in there too. Although they gear them towards different applications, the sonic max itself is not application specific. There is no guitar, bass, or PA system Sonic Maximizer. The guts of the stomp versions are no different from the rackmount versions (which by their rack mount nature imply that go in the loop) other than the physical dimensions of the enclosure. Added to that, the BBE Sonic Maximizer technically is a (inaudible) delay. It is done in nano seconds, so you don't actually hear the delay, just the result of it. In other words it delays the bass and allows the highs to hit your ears first, then the bass, resulting in a less muddy, fuller sound. BTW, one of the rack mount Sonic Maximizers I bought came with a 2 prong power chord, no ground. The elimination of this ground may eliminate one of the parallel ground paths that can cause a ground loop. IMO, it's chasis becomes grounded/shielded by borrowing the ground of one of the other (hopefully) 3 prong power chords by being mounted in the same rackcase. But your's is stomp box, and while having no third prong (ground) on the power supply....this can get complicated. Try it with the battery and see if the hum goes away.
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
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Ooops. Sorry. I confused the Sonic Maximizer and Boosta Grande because they are both made by BBE. So yeah, put the delay and Sonic Max in the loop and the boost betwwen the guitar and amp, and try with batteries.
shanejw said:
Guitar cables are instrument cables ... although quality does differ from brand top brand.
Speaker cables should ONLY be used for speakers ... because while they may look the same on the outside, their innards are quite different ....
Guitar / instrument cables have the "hot" lead connected to the tip of the connector, and a shield connected to the sleeve. This shield actually covers the inner, hot lead, hence the name.
Speaker cables have the "hot" lead connected to the tip, and a "cold" lead connected to the sleeve. Within the cable itself, however, the 2 leads are (usually) running side by side, kinda like the AC cable you would see on a table lamp.
In the instrument cable, the shield is designed to minimize/eliminate RF and other nasty interference by giving it a path to ground before it reaches the "hot" lead ... the one your signal is running down. You won't get any kind of shielding if you are using a speaker cable for your pedals.
mayfly
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Didn't read all of it, but if you've got a 60Hz or 120Hz hum, then you've got a ground loop somewhere.
To diagnose where it is, switch to batteries in the units, and remove the ground in the last 1/4" cord in the chain. If you have units that are plugged into the mains, then remove the ground in the patch cord just before it.
That should help figure it out.
To diagnose where it is, switch to batteries in the units, and remove the ground in the last 1/4" cord in the chain. If you have units that are plugged into the mains, then remove the ground in the patch cord just before it.
That should help figure it out.
