Off Topic Amplifier Help

[sambarugh]

Hey Everyone,

I've posted this in a few forums with no useful feedback, so I turn to you for some much needed help.

Recently I've started to use my amp to record rather than just play live, and I've noticed a strange occurrence when palm muting distorted notes/chords. I seem to be getting a residual hiss of some kind which is extremely frustrating.

I have been troubleshooting the problem but finally run out of ideas. The amp performs perfectly well other than this, so I'd rather not have to replace it. Here is my process so far

1. Seeing as I hadn't replaced the tubes in about 12 months, I started here first. It didn't help.

2. I contacted Line 6 directly with the issue and provided a sound file so they could hear the problem. Their suggestion was to purchase a noise gate of some kind.

3. So, I did. I picked up a BOSS NS-2 and turned it up all the way. It took away a lot of unwanted noise but didn't fix the root of the problem.

4. A friend suggested I turn down the reverb - I dialed it back with no luck.

So here it is - an outline my exact settings and a link to the sound clip. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Download Feedback.mp3

Guitar

JP7 (see it is somewhat relevant to the board )

Amplifier

Line 6 / Bogner Spider Valve 112.
Reverb set to 9 o'clock
Ground Lift - Lift

NS-2

Threshold - Max
Decay - Min

 

[ScoobySteve]

There can be a ton of reasons for getting hiss. Are you running pedals? Power supply for your pedals? Are there any electrical/radio hotstops in/near your home? Do you have a fully grounded/isolated power supply? Is the wall port your using shared with any other appliances etc?

 

[sambarugh]

There can be a ton of reasons for getting hiss. Are you running pedals? Power supply for your pedals? Are there any electrical/radio hotstops in/near your home? Do you have a fully grounded/isolated power supply? Is the wall port your using shared with any other appliances etc?

Only the NS-2 is in the chain which is being powered by an Ibanez AC109 adaptor. Both that and the amp are going into a Monster PowerCenter which is going to the outlet.

I have tested it in a few different locations/buildings with different outlets.

 

[walleye]

Only the NS-2 is in the chain which is being powered by an Ibanez AC109 adaptor. Both that and the amp are going into a Monster PowerCenter which is going to the outlet.

I have tested it in a few different locations/buildings with different outlets.

try using a battery instead of the adaptor. or just try it without the ns2

 

[TNT]

Sam,

What model Line 6 amp you using?

 

[wheres my pick?]

check your cables, and then check your speakers

 

[DrKev]

I listened to the track and I don't hear any hiss that is in anyway unusual at all. In fact, I think it's actually pretty quiet. Some small amount of hiss is normal, and background noise increases with gain and distortion. Some people never notice it at all.

Other than the weird high frequency ringing (which reminds me of a very short delay with a lot of feedback) I cant hear anything that could possibly be thought of as a problem.

 

[sambarugh]

try using a battery instead of the adaptor. or just try it without the ns2

I could try it with a 9V but then again, it was still there when the NS-2 wasn't part of the chain at all.

Sam,

What model Line 6 amp you using?

Spider Valve 112

check your cables, and then check your speakers

I wondered if the speaker was part of the problem. I think the cables are ok but I could try switching them out for the sake of covering everything.

I listened to the track and I don't hear any hiss that is in anyway unusual at all. In fact, I think it's actually pretty quiet. Some small amount of hiss is normal, and background noise increases with gain and distortion. Some people never notice it at all.

Other than the weird high frequency ringing (which reminds me of a very short delay with a lot of feedback) I cant hear anything that could possibly be thought of as a problem.

I did wonder if it was somehwat normal. I guess from just playing live it hasn't been an issue because I hadn't noticed it. It wasn't until I went to record that I heard it and thought it was abnormal. I think after I've ruled all the pieces out, I'll take a trip to GC and try another amp with the same settings and see what I get out of it.

 

[guitardan]

The 1st thing to do is unplug the input cable and see if the hiss goes away.
If so, it's something in the chain.
If not, then it's in the amp.

How much gain do you have dialed in?
The higher the gain, the more hiss you'll have.
Try different settings and different channels.