Noise Issues with my Dual Rectifier Reborn :-(

[guitarbloke]

Hi all,

I'm getting some probs with a Dual Recto Reborn that I've recently acquired.

It's very noisy and I can't seem to pinpoint what the problem is - I think it might be a shielding issue somewhere but I really don't know enough about this sort of thing to make a properly educated guess.

Here's how it plays out:

1. Going straight into the amp with no effects at all, even on Channel 3 there is barely any audible hum or noise. It's great!

2. Putting my delay, harmonizer and chorus/flanger in the FX loop powered by my T-rex fuel tank, there is barely any change to situation 1 (so far so good!). No pedals running into the front of the amp at this point. Hardly any noise, or hum beyond what would normally be expected on channel 3.

3. The moment I put any pedal into the front of my amp powered by my fuel tank e.g. booster, wah etc I get significant additional hum/noise/buzz from the amp. This is with the FX loop pedals/power set up as per situation 2.

4. If I put batteries into all the pedals going into the front of my amp, with no change to FX loop pedals/power set up, it significantly reduces the buzz…………….but here’s the killer…………I then start getting a great reception to a South Korean late night radio talk show, that’s even louder than the buzzing noise I was trying to eliminate. WTF!!!!!

If anyone has any bright ideas it’d be greatly appreciated!

I’ve just tried changing guitars, it makes no difference either.

Thanks guys

 

[bendo]

Sounds like you need some good shielded guitar cables. I have been using these:

http://www.conquestsound.com/

They are far and away the best cables I have ever used.

Also, I have heard of guys that live close to the big radio plants in the UK and they have all kinds of crazy interference on their rigs. Shielded cables will help.

 

[guitarbloke]

Thanks bendo -

It's strange though, I always thought my cables were decent enough and that they were all shielded - I use George L's on my pedalboard, and then Planet Waves and Whirlwind cables for my guitars/fx loop

Sounds like you need some good shielded guitar cables. I have been using these:

http://www.conquestsound.com/

They are far and away the best cables I have ever used.

Also, I have heard of guys that live close to the big radio plants in the UK and they have all kinds of crazy interference on their rigs. Shielded cables will help.

 

[bendo]

No Offense, but Planet Waves products are like Walmart quality (if you have WalMart there, you know what I am talking about). Whirlwinds are cheapies too. A good shielded cable will start around 25.00. The ones I use cost 50.00 a piece and they are worth EVERY penny.

 

[guitarbloke]

No offence taken! It's always good to get a fresh perspective!

I'll take a look at some other cables and see how I get on with them

 

[cheameup]

are you sharing any power spots with a daisy chain?

You can create weird noises if you power daisy chain pedals together inside and outside and effects loops

 

[domct203]

Hi all,

I'm getting some probs with a Dual Recto Reborn that I've recently acquired.

It's very noisy and I can't seem to pinpoint what the problem is - I think it might be a shielding issue somewhere but I really don't know enough about this sort of thing to make a properly educated guess.

Here's how it plays out:

1. Going straight into the amp with no effects at all, even on Channel 3 there is barely any audible hum or noise. It's great!

2. Putting my delay, harmonizer and chorus/flanger in the FX loop powered by my T-rex fuel tank, there is barely any change to situation 1 (so far so good!). No pedals running into the front of the amp at this point. Hardly any noise, or hum beyond what would normally be expected on channel 3.

3. The moment I put any pedal into the front of my amp powered by my fuel tank e.g. booster, wah etc I get significant additional hum/noise/buzz from the amp. This is with the FX loop pedals/power set up as per situation 2.

4. If I put batteries into all the pedals going into the front of my amp, with no change to FX loop pedals/power set up, it significantly reduces the buzz…………….but here’s the killer…………I then start getting a great reception to a South Korean late night radio talk show, that’s even louder than the buzzing noise I was trying to eliminate. WTF!!!!!

If anyone has any bright ideas it’d be greatly appreciated!

I’ve just tried changing guitars, it makes no difference either.

Thanks guys

I'm wondering if the noise is getting in though the AC line voltage. Are you using any kind of power conditioner with RFI/EMI filtering?

Dom

 

[elvis]

The buzz, especially since it is reduced with batteries, is likely ground loops. Use an isolated DC supply like the Voodoo Labs pedal power. You may also have to use isolation transformers, though less likely with isolated supplies. Make sure everything is plugged into the same outlet. Often people put the amp on the backline and send a different power source to the pedalboard. Definitely better to run an extension cord from the amp power to the board.

The radio pickup is probably the cable, but may be a bad pedal as well. If there is a bad ground connection or no RF shunt capacitor on a pedal that is installed before a lot of gain, you're in trouble. You could either go with a noise gate or add a shunt cap or both. But try a new high quality cable first.

If the guitar volume is rolled back to zero, the radio signal should go away. If not, then it is either not the cable, or the cable has a disconnected shield.

 

[domct203]

The buzz, especially since it is reduced with batteries, is likely ground loops. Use an isolated DC supply like the Voodoo Labs pedal power.

The OP stated he is using a T-Rex Fuel Tank, which has isolated supplies (according to T-Rex) as long as there is only one pedal per 9V jack.

Dom

 

[guitarbloke]

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions guys!

Dom, in answer to your question, I'm not using any power conditioning, however the other guys in the band run off the same ac power and don't have any problems. None of the pedals on my board are daisy chaining power either. It's really stumped me! I'll try a completely different set of cables at the weekend to see if it's a shielding issue as suggested above

 

[Tone1026]

Pedals create line noise. Your preamp is amplifying and re-amplifying that noise... see if you get the same noise and hum in the clean channel. Try a noise suppressor in the loop. I utilize 2 in my boss gt10. 1 in front of the preamp for feedback reduction, 1 after the loop to eliminate noise.

 

[Mr.Boogie]

Hi all.
I have the exact same problem with my DUAL REC.
I do use power conditionning (MXR BRICK) and still get the noise.

I wrote to Mesa support.
One of the tests the tech asked me to do is to plug a cable between send and receive on the FX loop (no pedals at all).
Still got some noise as soon as I plug ma effect pedals in serie.

Heres a recap:
If my guitar alone is in the input jack (no serial effect) I got no noise.
If my guitar alone is in the input jack (no serial effect) but use few pedals on the FX loop, no noise. FX works great.
If I use serial effects only to the input jack, no noise eighter. Perfect.
ONLY the combination of serial effects AND FX loop effect create the noise.
Independently, everything is great. Together, I got noise.

Other tests I made when noise is prensent:
Guitar volume down = noise
FX loop ON or OFF = noise
With or without serial effects activated = noise
With or without FX loop effects activated = noise

Only standby will cut the noise OR unplug BOTH send and receive cable from FX loop.
(interesting note here: both cables need to be unplugged from the loop for the noise to stop. So if I unplug the RECEIVE, noise still present until I remove the send cable)

Any help will be welcome!

Thx!

 

[SumDood]

So I'm having the same issue, but have a semi-solution.

Got to be the power supply to the pedals. I had the same thing, pedals in front, with batteries, quiet, with a power supply, super noise. Happens at home, practice room and my tech's place. I tried several power supplies (my bassist's, brand new ones, several spares), all had the buzz. My tech had one that was quiet. I have no idea what was special about it, but it worked. It was an old generic one with a volt selector on it. I can't find the exact model anywhere.

Anyone run into this issue? Any ideas what is unique about a power supply that would be quieter than others?

 

[Eevil]

So I'm having the same issue, but have a semi-solution.

Got to be the power supply to the pedals. I had the same thing, pedals in front, with batteries, quiet, with a power supply, super noise. Happens at home, practice room and my tech's place. I tried several power supplies (my bassist's, brand new ones, several spares), all had the buzz. My tech had one that was quiet. I have no idea what was special about it, but it worked. It was an old generic one with a volt selector on it. I can't find the exact model anywhere.

Anyone run into this issue? Any ideas what is unique about a power supply that would be quieter than others?

I had the TREX fuel tank and it does not have isolated outputs for the 9v outputs.. and same seems to be case with MXR as wel as the symptoms are similar. A similar noise was present when daisy chaining from Boss 2 amp power..

I bought a Voodolab Pedal power 2+ some time ago and the noise was gone :shock: