Do Noise Supression Pedals work?

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My rig is a bit noisy. Mainly it's just accumulated hiss from the Tele, FX etc, but also there's a lowish freq hum on the OD channel. Nothing too untoward, but I wouldn't mind reducing it if I can. Any thoughts?

― Dr.C, Monday, 5 December 2005 16:25 (nineteen years ago)

The Rocktron Hush is pretty good at what it does, although you will probably be able to hear an effect on the sound... It just depends what you think is the lesser of the two evils.

If I were you I'd think about other ways to reduce noise. Better cabling, perhaps a better sheilding job on the guitar, figure out which effects are making the most noise and possibly upgrade them with quieter units that do the same thing.

If you don't mind the noise while you're actually playing, you could always invest in a gate pedal. But if the low freq hum on the od channel is coming from your amp and not the rest of your set up, then a pedal noise reducer or gate isn't gonna help it, right?

― martin m. (mushrush), Monday, 5 December 2005 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

I think the source of the hum is possibly the guitar pickups, but its only really noticeable when the amp is on v.high gain. I have tried all kinds of leads, but there's no difference.
It's the same, even without FX. What can you do about shielding on the guitar?

― Dr.C, Tuesday, 6 December 2005 10:57 (nineteen years ago)

You could always EQ the hum off. Though obviously this would affect the sound of the guitar.

Also, are you sure it's not noisy mains power?

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 6 December 2005 11:55 (nineteen years ago)

Could be - it varies with location, so maybe.

― Dr.C, Tuesday, 6 December 2005 12:54 (nineteen years ago)

I would say this is almost definitely bad power in that case. You could buy a mains filter, or EQ 50Hz and the harmonics thereof with a very tight Q. However, it may be your amp which is going a bit wrong in the power supply stage, and has become very sensitive to line noise.

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Tuesday, 6 December 2005 13:46 (nineteen years ago)

I had a similar issue with a friend's Wurlitzer where the main transformer was pulling lots of noise from building mains. It'd be different at each location and could be very overwhelming through some amps.

Have you tried borrowing a different amp/guitar/cables/etc to try and isolate the issue?

― Polysix Bad Battery (cprek), Tuesday, 6 December 2005 15:03 (nineteen years ago)

"Polysix bad battery" ha ha ha ha ha.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 6 December 2005 16:46 (nineteen years ago)

pashmina wins the prize!

― Polysix Bad Battery (cprek), Tuesday, 6 December 2005 19:04 (nineteen years ago)

Try using a power conditioner...could be a grounding issue if it changes at different locations.

― Misty Briggs, Saturday, 17 December 2005 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

We rehearse in a barn, which I think has pretty dodgy mains supply. This week, the hum was there, but variable depending on where I stood - so I'm thinking that it's some kind of interaction between guitar and amp. It only happens on the hi-gain channel. I'm still not really sure what to make of it.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Sunday, 18 December 2005 11:00 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

I finally figured out that much of the noise is due to my set-up picking up interference from the lights in our rehearsal place. I turned off the lights just above where I was standing and the problem reduced dramatically. Anyone know if this indicates a fault with either the guitar or the amp - something not shielded correctly? Is it something that could be fixed?
Even after I turned off the lights the hum was louder than from our other guitarist's rig (he uses a Marshall AVT100 and an SG), so I figure something is not right, although I can live with it for now. It only happens on the high gain OD2 channel setting. I'm worried that it some venues or other rehearsal rooms I may not be able to supress it.

― Dr.C (Dr.C), Wednesday, 18 January 2006 16:28 (nineteen years ago)

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