Help! New JP6 - whining sound coming from mono-output jack

[The_Logod]

I just got my JP6 this Friday - which I am absolutely in love with - however, there's a noticeable whining sound coming from the mono output jack. It's silent enough not to be noticeable on most clean sounds but anything with distortion / compression on it will bring out this whine quite noticeably. Using the stereo-jack works fine.

Any ideas on what it could be? (I use a regular mono guitar cable into a Fractal Audio FM3; though the whine is also there when used straight into my interface and DAW and with different cables).

Not sure it's a shielding issue since the position, direction or me touching metal or not has no influence on it. When I plug the cable into the mono jack I can hear a slight pop with the whining starting shortly after - so I assume it's coming from the piezo-preamp / electronics? I never had this issue with any of my other guitars, and as mentioned the stereo-jack (used with a mono cable) works fine.

I just wanna make sure I am not missing anything before taking it back to my dealer to have it checked.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I do recall that active electronics can sometimes not play well with others.

 

[Lax]

Did you try another battery and another cable ?

 

[The_Logod]

It seems that I am having an issue with my grounding somewhere. The whining did not persist at my dealer, but I can't get rid of it at home. It's strange that it only affects this guitar...though at least it doesn't seem to be a "hardware problem" of the guitar.

 

[StereoB]

It seems that I am having an issue with my grounding somewhere. The whining did not persist at my dealer, but I can't get rid of it at home. It's strange that it only affects this guitar...though at least it doesn't seem to be a "hardware problem" of the guitar.

I have something that sounds a bit like this - only when I use the top piezo jack on my JP6.

I am not actually sure how those 2 jacks work on this guitar - am not sure I am hearing both mag + piezo on the lower one.

Been busy with other stuff but will investigate further.....

 

[The_Logod]

I have something that sounds a bit like this - only when I use the top piezo jack on my JP6.

I am not actually sure how those 2 jacks work on this guitar - am not sure I am hearing both mag + piezo on the lower one.

The lower one is a stereo-jack, so if you plug your standard, mono guitar cable in the lower jack you will only hear the magnetic PUs.

On the top jack (the mono jack) the magnetic and piezo signals are combined and will work on a standard mono guitar cable. On this one I have a persistent whine, no matter which power-outlet I use, no matter what other devices are connected. The only constant is the guitar - which didn't show this behaviour when tried out at the dealership...

Honestly this is damping my excitement a bit ... this guitar is so awesome and I just wanna play it after waiting more than a year to get it. Having to deal with this is a pain now...

 

[The_Logod]

Again an update on this - plugging a pair of headphones directly into the mono-output will also result in the whining sound. So even without any outside power / device connected the noise is there - which points right back at the preamp / electronics of the guitar.

Guess another trip to my dealer is on order. Really frustrating.

 

[Fusionman]

Take the battery out and use the magnetic pickup output jack alone. Should act normally. Yes you will not be able to use the piezos that way. See if the whining tone stops.

I’m also wondering if the preamp trim pot volume on the back of the gtr is set too hot or loud. Try lowering it with the gtr plugged in.

 

[tbonesullivan]

Does the Fractal have a stereo input? Usually one of the issues that can be seen with active electronics on guitars is that they use the barrel of a mono 1/4 jack as a connector to tell the guitar when something is plugged in. Most guitar equipment is designed for simple passive guitars, so they sometimes pick up signals from the ground.

 

[StereoB]

OK - I got to try this again. I have the whining only when I put a wireless transmitter in the upper piezo only socket. Switch to a cable and there is no whining and just piezo pickup. I didn't have a screwdriver handy but reckon there is a good chance that backing off the output will remove the whining. Will let you know.

 

[tbonesullivan]

OK - I got to try this again. I have the whining only when I put a wireless transmitter in the upper piezo only socket. Switch to a cable and there is no whining and just piezo pickup. I didn't have a screwdriver handy but reckon there is a good chance that backing off the output will remove the whining. Will let you know.

Ahh... should have asked if you were using wireless. Active electronics causing issues with wireless transmitters is a well known problem. Many use a stereo input jack, and they end up picking up the shorting signal from the guitar output jack.

 

[The_Logod]

Take the battery out and use the magnetic pickup output jack alone. Should act normally. Yes you will not be able to use the piezos that way. See if the whining tone stops.

I’m also wondering if the preamp trim pot volume on the back of the gtr is set too hot or loud. Try lowering it with the gtr plugged in.

I'll give lowering the volume on the back trim pot a try. Thanks for the tip!

 

[The_Logod]

Does the Fractal have a stereo input? Usually one of the issues that can be seen with active electronics on guitars is that they use the barrel of a mono 1/4 jack as a connector to tell the guitar when something is plugged in. Most guitar equipment is designed for simple passive guitars, so they sometimes pick up signals from the ground.

Nope, it's a mono jack. Also, it seems the issue is not connected to the amp / modeller / interface as far as I can tell - as I can hear the whining even when plugging headphones directly into the guitars output jack.

 

[The_Logod]

Another strange thing:

* Plugged in mono jack
* PU Selector: Magnetic only
* Magnetic Volume: OFF
* Piezo Volume: FULL

I can hear the magnetic signal with low output - I shouldn't be able to hear anything from magnetics right? What the heck is going on? ��

 

[Etudica]

I've struggled with this on one of my JPs for a long time and finally gave up trying to figure it out. Same exact behavior. I've tried the TRS-TS adapter with multiple wireless systems into multiple setups (in different locations too). I even swapped out the entire output jack with a replacement from customer service... no dice. This particular guitar also has a brand new preamp since the original was defective (that was before I tried to go wireless). I have just accepted that I can't use a wireless system with this particular guitar and need to be physically cabled. It's 100% normal when using a cable.

I have 3 JPs currently, all BFRs. One of them has no issues whatsoever with any wireless system. The other exhibits the same behavior but it is barely audible to the point no one would notice it in a live situation. The third I have given up on.

 

[The_Logod]

Well, I knew about the issues with wireless - but I am only using cables. So...

 

[Etudica]

Well, I knew about the issues with wireless - but I am only using cables. So...

Sorry... saw the post from StereoB stating it only happens with wireless and confused him with you, the OP.

 

[The_Logod]

Alright - so I have narrowed it down; it must be some interference from outside, likely some wireless data tower close to me (cellular, LTE, 5G whatever...). The JP6 does these whining shenanigans only at my home; completely dead silent anywhere else I tried it.

Happy about that on one hand; pi**ed on the other since I have limited influence on that.