Many Pedals Much Noise

[brokenpretzel]

i am trying to set up a pedalboard (not clear which one i'll end up with) with my Highlander PAMDI as the centerpiece. It blends two inputs but i can only use a volume pedal in the inserts with two insert cables. That part is bulky but works ok. I have a Boss TU 2 on the tuner out which i now plan to keep on all the time and will therefore use the volume pedal to mute when i tune and change guitars which is often. i can live with that i think.
i have a Digitech Bad Monkey, Boss Digital Delay, Boss OC 3 Octave Pedal and a Morley Wah that are all ok quiet (and used somewhat sporatically)and cumulatively don't add up to a lot of noise. The bad thing is that the ones i keep on all the time which are the BBE Sonic Stomp and the Yamaha Magic Acoustic Stomp are very noisy. Short of replacing them with who knows what i'm not sure what to do. Since they are on all the time i can't very well put them in a loop and effect quietness. Help. do i need to buy the new TC Electronic G Natural or some other thing. I really like having everything on a pedalboard and the Higlander is very quality and quiet. Solutions? thanks in advance

[leehwd]

The ISP Decimator pedal will solve your problem. Put that pedal last in your signal chain just before the amp input or effect return.

Howard

[dahn8]

What are you using to power your pedals? You may need something with isolated outputs...

[brokenpretzel]

i looked up isp decimator. looked interestiing. this is an acoustic guitar set up believe it or not. but i guess it doesn't matter buzz is buzz. i tried powering from a small gator powered board which actually has better power it seems than the SKB 45 larger board where the transformers seem noisy. thanks for your replies

[Vaughanabe13]

How are you getting buzz from the BBE? I've never had any problems with the stomp or the acoustimax. Is it last in your chain as recommended? Also what about the cables, could there be any problems there? Also, what are you sending the signal to (amp, mixer, pa, etc.) because there could be a grounding issue that a direct box could fix.

[vcs700s]

Originally Posted by leehwd

The ISP Decimator pedal will solve your problem. Put that pedal last in your signal chain just before the amp input or effect return.

Howard

Ditto on the ISP. I had one in my bass rig and it worked perfectly and it can't be easier to use!

[jyee]

noise reduction/suppression pedals are great, but only as a last resort. check your power supply first, try something that's non-transformer based like a 1spot or powerall. Next try different outlets or better yet, different locations, because different outlets in your house may still be dirty, because it's on the same loop. check your cables. finally check your levels. you want as much volume out of your guitar before it starts peaking or distorting. often i find people setting their guitars too low, which means the signal to noise ratio is too low (i.e. signal is low, so the relative level of noise is high)... which means that when the signal is amped up later, so is the noise.

[brokenpretzel]

thanks for all the replies. let's see. the Stomp is not really buzzing but putting out a rather loud noise floor when it is engaged more in the white noise kind of range. The Yamaha Magic Acoustic Stomp is doing the same.
I am experimenting with power and discovered that the smaller cheaper Gator powered board has better sounding power as far as hum than the transformers on the SKB board. if i put the Highlander PAMDI near the 9 volt 100MA outputs on the SKB, everything hums. if i move it away it quiets but i don't want it near the front of the board where i put the important stomp boxes. If i put the Highlander near the outputs on the Gator board there really isn't hum. It may be that the Gator has a wall wart and transforms the power down right away. i'm not sure.
i will probably end up with a board where i can run wires underneath and have a better power supply and have it slanted so the pedals in the back are more reachable. and i might also get the Decimator and put it right before the fx return on the PAMDI.
i am using george L cables and though i am not an expert "builder" i have tested them with resistance which is now 0 on them
any more thoughts are appreciated

[dahn8]

So, i thought i wrote more on my previous post but i guess not. oops. anyways, I would suggest getting a VooDoo Labs Pedal Power 2+ if you have the money. its pricey but worth it IMO. The 1spot is cheap (and a pretty good power supply at that too) so it might be worth a shot too.

If you're not 100% sure if its the BBE or the Yamaha, then i would suggest you add each to the signal chain separately and listen for any noise. You may even want to try putting only one pedal in the signal chain at a time and listening. It could be due to some pedals not wanting to play nice with each other.

And i'd also second checking different outlets to see if theres any change. If you have anything else that could cause interference (dimmer light switches are a big one), you might want to turn those off too.

good luck

[Vaughanabe13]

Do you have the SKB PS-45 pedal board? That's what I have and use it with no noise. I used to have noise but I ran the whole chain into a Radial Pro DI unit I got from Guitar Center and now all my noise is gone. What I would do is just take your whole setup in to guitar center, take it to the pro audio dept. and ask them to troubleshoot with you and try to find out what the problem is and what will fix it. That's what I did when I had buzz and now I'm buzz free.

[brokenpretzel]

i do have SKB PS45 and my final link is the very quiet and cool Highlander PAMDI. hate to have to buy the Radial too. thinking about trying out Vodoo lab power and probably prefer a board that is angled maybe a pedal train.
i read some reviews at harmony central that said the isp decimator can steal some tone and it makes me shy away