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Wana_make_a_guitar

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Finally got it, although there is a bump in the road. And I seem to have punctured a tire, and there may be no spare.

Interference. Crackly, spluttery electrical interference. When the volume on the pedal is down, and your amp is also turned down, it sounds alright, but of course that's not how I want to play. At the moment it's just insane and it's not nice at all to play. Sounds nothing like the youtube clips. The wiring in our house isn't that flash, but I know that it's not causing this sound.

Do you guys know whats causing this sound? And maybe how to stop it without having to buy a smart gate?

 
Sounds like a bad ground in the pedal somewhere?

I take it you don't get the interference when the pedal is not connected?  Does trhe interference change / go away when you put it in different position in the signal chain?
 
jimh said:
Sounds like a bad ground in the pedal somewhere?

I take it you don't get the interference when the pedal is not connected?  Does trhe interference change / go away when you put it in different position in the signal chain?

How about when it's on bypass.. are you running it from a wall outlet or a battery?
 
it does sound like an electrical/mechanical problem - loose wire like others have mentioned.

Have you opened it up yet?

P.S. That sucks!  I feel for you man!
 
I have this thing plugged into a wall socket. When I put it ether in from or behind my wah, there is still the sound. When it's bypassed there is sill a faint, but noticeable kind of white noise.
I haven't opened it up. I don't really want to.
 
After all the pain that Wanna went through to get the stupid thing - I think sending it back is not the best way.

I think you should contact the company and ask for some service - like advice and the schematic.  Then find a good local repair person to let them have a look.

... but they have to be good mind you...
 
Well here's the deal.

I think that the noise has died down now that i've played it a bit. Because it is basically a tube pre-amp, I might have to play in the tubes. Just a theory, although that noise is still there and I think no matter how much i'll play the thing, the noise will probably stay. So I will keep it for at least a week or two to see if I can't sort it out.

The other problem.

Now that i've got it so I can at least play it at a level at which I can hear it and not the yuk noise, i'm not all that impressed. It seems that I can ALMOST get the sound I want from it. It has the crushing amounts of gain that I wanted but it's not tight. It seems as though this is pedal designed for 80's metal, but marketed to the modern nu/black/death/screamo metal scene. No matter how much I play with the bass and mid, I can't get the sound I want. I wanted a Tool kind of a sound.

Mayfly, you hit the nail on the head. After all the pain I went to get it, I don't really want to return it. But if I can't get the sound I want (and eliminate the background noise), I might have to.

:-\
 
I'm sorry this isn't working out for you Wana.  Its so hard to know if any product is any good without first trying it yourself.  Sounds like you guys have it rough down there getting your hands on decent equipment at a decent price.

Sometimes it sucks living in the USA, the capitalist pig center of the universe (and the whole world hates us for that), but at least we don't have the problem of getting decent gear.

Toy with it for a few more days, but if its letting you down, it might be better to cut your losses and return it quickly.  I know it was expensive, and you can get something really cool with the funds.
 
I'm wondering if there's still something wrong with the pedal......or if it's your amp not getting along with it.  I know you're not playing through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, but that pedal should have more ass than that.
 
Blue313 said:
I'm wondering if there's still something wrong with the pedal......or if it's your amp not getting along with it.  I know you're not playing through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, but that pedal should have more ass than that.
It really should. I tried it through my school PA, same thing. Through the schools MG(same as mine, but with an FX loop), same thing. Through my mates fender amp, same result. It could be the pedal.

Tomorrow, i'm gonna give it to my guitar teacher for a little while (He's a magician on anything to do with guitars or guitar gear) to see if he can find any problems or find a different setting.

But the future for this pedal is looking bleak.

On The Other Hand.

I was having a chat with some other gear guru's, and they told me about blackstar pedal (I didn't even know they made pedals), I searched it on youtube and found a video with a quality recording. It sounded like the tone i've been looking for.
Conveniently, the musical shop closet to me sells blackstar products AND this pedal is pretty much the same thing (hopefully it's legit though) and costs $100 less.

I swore fairly loudly when I discovered this.  :doh:
 
Wana,
I remember you waiting for this, and it's sad to read that things aren't working out with the pedal.

IF it was a standard power 9v attachment I'd also suggest that the earth in the power cord was broken or the like. But that thing has the special connector & 16v, so you can't try another to see if that's the case. I'm half betting the Australian distributor has done a swifty and just swapped the plug over for an Australian 3 pin inhouse, and not done a very good job at it either.

On that issue too, I'd see if you could email SD and ask them if the 16v power adaptor can handle 240v as per the Australian power grid? If the distributor HAS done a plug swap BUT the adaptor cannot handle the voltage, it may fry pretty quick. Get confirmation from SD about what the go is there if you can.

You should not have to tolerate unwanted noise in the system due to this pedal.

Get in contact with the people you bought it from and tell them you want a refund.

I also feel that if you have to adapt the way you use your amp and guiatr, just so you don't get swamped with unwanted noise, then the pedal isn't up to scratch.

If you bought this using a credit card (your parent's?), put the purchase into dispute at the same time you contact the retailer & also tell the retailer you have put the purchase into dispute until YOU are satisfied.
 
Thanks for your concern Pete.

The buzz and hum and electrical kind of interference has stopped completely now. Strange, but i'm complaining. The actual sound that the pedal produces though still isn't what I thought it would be though. I'm gonna shoot the guys that I got the pedal from an email though, because I think I'm gonna return it. I really should have done more research into modern metal sounding pedals before I asked for this one, in the last week i've found three that sound better (supposedly) and range from $100-$300 cheaper than the Mayhem.

Edit: Email sent. Back to square 1, kind of. :D
 
Hi buddy
My Guitar knowledge is new for me and i want to share this with every one..
The guitar has been the king of rock & roll instruments for more than half a century. What you are about to read are twenty reasons why the present and future of rock guitar are as exciting and explosive as its history. In attack, technique, lyrical ambition and experimental drive, these players are all descendants of the original heroes — including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman and Jimmy Page — who transformed the electric guitar in the Sixties and Seventies. As John Frusciante says, "For me, the genuine guitar heroes had a lot to say musically and put themselves out there. They tried to take the instrument to new places."

But Frusciante, Derek Trucks, John Mayer and the other guitarists in these pages are all heroes and gods in their own, often extreme, right. They are also proof that, long after Chuck Berry minted the fundamental twang and addicting joy of rock & roll guitar on his 1955 debut single, "Maybellene," there remains much to discover and study in the unlimited alchemy you get from wood, six strings, electricity and the highly personal poetry of touch and strum. The distinguishing mark of rock's greatest guitarists is, Mayer insists, "they're all stuck on what they're seeking, not where they are."

This celebration differs from our 2003 survey, "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," in some ways. The guitarists here are, by the measure of rock's extended history, new. Most are under forty, and all have made their impact in the last two decades. Also, there is no ranking. Numbered lists can be fun; we still get blowback from last time about who should have been up, out, in or down. But nerve and originality are not easily quantifiable, and that goes for record sales too. Frusciante and Mayer are among the few multiplatinum sellers here. Yet everyone in these pages is a true star of the instrument.

In one central way, however, this tribute to the guitar and those who play it is exactly like the 2003 issue: You cannot turn a page without a reference or a deep bow of gratitude to Hendrix. Frusciante, Mayer and Trucks all speak of him with informed reverence, and Hendrix's cataclysmic influence appears repeatedly in the sound and vision of the other players. In the Rock & Roll Guitar Hall of Fame, Jimi Hendrix is, by every standard, Number One. Everyone else -- including the hundreds of great guitarists who will be cited in the blizzard of letters and e-mails sure to follow — is Number Two.
 
Nice post, but was probably new thread worthy.


Wana, sorry about your luck with your pedal.  This has nothing to do with age, 'cuz we've done it and will continue to do it.  Sometimes we want what we want for no reason.  All the research in the world won't change our minds.  Sometimes getting exactly what you want shows you wanted something else.  If buying this pedal helped you find three others that sound better, then I'd say you got your money's worth.
 
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom said:
Nice post, but was probably new thread worthy.


Wana, sorry about your luck with your pedal.  This has nothing to do with age, 'cuz we've done it and will continue to do it.  Sometimes we want what we want for no reason.  All the research in the world won't change our minds.  Sometimes getting exactly what you want shows you wanted something else.  If buying this pedal helped you find three others that sound better, then I'd say you got your money's worth.
Thats a quoteworthy post, all apart from the moneys worth part  :laughing7:

Thanks
 
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