Help! May I have some advice on a noise suppressor pedal?

[Tollywood]

Hello everyone!

Well, I've expanded my pedalboard, and the unwanted hiss in the background is bad. It was sort of bad before, but now it is louder. It was sort of bad before because my house is 160 years old and much of the wiring is old fashioned knob and tube, which is ungrounded. Now, the electrical panel is grounded, but I've always had some tube amp hum.

Can you all chime in on your recommendations for a noise gate, please? I only play Van Halen, so I never play clean, always with distortion and gain.

Thank you!

-Bryan

 

[ozzyrules]

Bryan,
I had the MXR Smartgate & hated it. It cut the noise, but sucked the signal right out of my chain. I've learned to just live with the noise of my pedals.

 

[MJK28]

I got the Boss NS-2 a couple of months ago and it's working just fine

 

[QuietSpike]

Just got the micro-hush from rocktron for my small rig (have ISP pro-g rack for big rig), and it is awesome. One knob, simple, eliminates all noise from my pedals and MK V:25, takes up very little room, transparent on tone. Check it out.

Agree about the MXR smart gate... I used it at one gig and hated it.

 

[Alistair Taylor]

The ISP Decimator 2 is the most transparent out there. If you use the effects loop, get the Decimator G string instead which plugs in both pre amp and in the loop and balances the two out. Also worth getting a proper mains conditioner power supply for the amp to reduce some of the background hum. Also worth checking if any dimmer switches in the house are causing the interference, and switch the lights on and off to see if the bulbs are interfering as well. You'd be amazed at what an amp picks up!

 

[Cover'd]

It's worth remembering that a noise gate is exactly that - a 'gate'.

Once it's open - i.e. by having any kind of signal from the guitar - then any inherent noise or hiss from the setup will also pass through the gate. It might not be *that* noticeable during full-on riffage, but on more subtle parts, it'll be there. Unless the hiss is really bad, then it'll be audible at all playing times (silent in between though, once the gate had 'closed' again).

Of course, this will not be any kind of news to many people, but it's surprising how many think that a noise gate will fix everything...

 

[mystixboi1]

When I did the whole pedalboard thing, I used the ISO decimator. Fantastic pedal that is very transparent.

 

[Alistair Taylor]

What amp are you using? I had weird noises from my PT100 until I realised it was a microphonic valve causing the problem.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

I've got a Rocktron Hush (rack mount) that is awesome -- I've heard great things about the pedal version

 

[ScottO]

I have the ISP Decimator on my pedalboard. To my ears, I found it to be the most transparent one that I could find.

 

[Bob123]

The decimator is the best I've heard. All others make the guitar sound sterile, I hate it!

 

[tekwerk]

What is the signal chain? You mention hiss but also mention amp hum. Two different things. Curious about the chain.

 

[Screamindv]

Don't waste your money on anything else. Get the ISP Decimater. I have the 2 stage rack version but they are all great.

 

[DrKev]

Power conditioner instead of noise gate?

 

[Tollywood]

What amp are you using? I had weird noises from my PT100 until I realised it was a microphonic valve causing the problem.

My amp is a Roccaforte Custom 80. It does not have an effects loop, which I believe I need for the decimator?

What is the signal chain? You mention hiss but also mention amp hum. Two different things. Curious about the chain.

korg tuner > buffer > morley wah > wampler pinnacle overdrive > suhr riot overdrive > mxr flanger > mxr phaser > boss digital delay

I'd say my problem is not hum, more of a static hiss. The overdrives are an either/or situation. I never use both at once. The pinnacle is early vh, the riot is set with more gain.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies so far. I will check out that rocktron, Pete.

Power conditioner instead of noise gate?

Is my Buffer pedal a power conditioner? It boosts the signal to get through the long distance to the amp, as far as I know.

 

[beej]

I agree with Kev- I'd suggest a good power conditioner first (Furman, etc.).

Is my Buffer pedal a power conditioner? It boosts the signal to get through the long distance to the amp, as far as I know.

Different thing. A power conditioner filters the AC power to remove the noise on the line (which can be substantial, esp. in places with bad wiring). The sort of thing you'd want to have if you were playing a lot of bars with bad power, etc. Depending on the model, it can also keep the voltage constant (which may or may not be an issue for you).

The idea is to feed your amp good power and you'll lose a lot of the noise.

 

[QuietSpike]

So... A power conditioner is like a glorified power strip... The glorified part being it provides a steady stream of power to your amp-- something tube amps don't like is fluctuating power. I wouldn't plug any tube amp in to anything else, just MO.

Back to the noise... If you play with your guitar volume always on 10, the ISP will work fine- both in front and in the loop (which you don't have). I have the ISP Dec Pro Rack G, and the Fx loop part is great, but the pre-amp part I have to keep so low that it is basically useless because I will be constantly rolling off and on my volume control... And if I have the front end knob up to where it is actually doing something, when I roll my volume off I lose everything. That said, just using the loop part and it works fantastically with absolutely no signal molestation. I use this on my "big" MK V rig.

The Rocktron Hush Super C... I used to have... And it was great, but did color the sound slightly.

The Rocktron Micro Hush is a different animal with the same insides... 100 bucks and my amp is quiet, tone is transparent, and super simple to use... Keep turning up until noise is gone. Works in front or in the loop. I use this on my "small" MK V:25 rig.

Just make sure whatever you go with that the noise suppressor is after all drives/compression, but BEFORE any delays/verbs so that anything that makes it thru gets the delay.... Otherwise your gate/suppressor may cut off the tail end of your delay/verb.

 

[QuietSpike]

Darnit... Beej beat me to the Pc explanation while I was typing.... Hate it when that happens!

 

[DrugDM]

If the hiss is getting louder, I would check the cables on your pedal board and depending on how much you use the amp, a tube may have become micro phonic. Additionally I found the MXR flanger and phase to be noisey...

 

[Tollywood]

Thank you very much, guys. I will get a power conditioner right away as "step 1" in resolving my problem.