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DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

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  • #16
    Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

    See, my Express is dead silent. AC power. My signal chain is guitar (Steinberger Synapse in my avatar), Digitech Bad Monkey, JamMan Express, Tech 21 Trademark 10.
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    • #17
      Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

      Originally posted by Mincer View Post
      See, my Express is dead silent. AC power. My signal chain is guitar (Steinberger Synapse in my avatar), Digitech Bad Monkey, JamMan Express, Tech 21 Trademark 10.
      With no signal going thru the device I agree there's no noise. But have you ever listened for added hiss when you play clean, with no loop running? It's not an obvious loud hiss. I noticed in comparison with the guitar straight into the amp. Plugged straight into the amp, I hear no hiss when a chord is played and then eventually fades. But into the Solo XT the hiss is most audible when you let a chord ring out and fade.

      Maybe I should post a sound clip.

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      • #18
        Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

        Originally posted by Petros View Post
        With no signal going thru the device I agree there's no noise. But have you ever listened for added hiss when you play clean, with no loop running? It's not an obvious loud hiss. I noticed in comparison with the guitar straight into the amp. Plugged straight into the amp, I hear no hiss when a chord is played and then eventually fades. But into the Solo XT the hiss is most audible when you let a chord ring out and fade.

        Maybe I should post a sound clip.
        Dunno, mine is dead quiet in that scenario. I would like to hear it, though. I use mine mostly dead clean, too.
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        • #19
          Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

          Audio Clips attached.

          No compression used, so turn them up so you can hear. You won't hear anything odd when the guitar is straight into the amp. But listen as the chord rings if you hear more hiss when the guitar is thru the JamMan Solo XT.

          http://k003.kiwi6.com/hotlink/xxhz5e..._amp_mono_.wav
          http://k003.kiwi6.com/hotlink/tmsrqz...o_XT_mono_.wav



          Interesting note: The two clips above were recorded from the line out of my amp (Boss Katana-100). I hear the hiss when the Solo XT is plugged into the amp, as you hear in the recording. But I do not hear the hiss if I plug the Solo XT straight into the recording interface. I was looking at the specs for the Solo XT and it says: Input 500K ohms (mono)/ 1 M ohms (stereo); Output 100 ohms Unbalanced/ 200 ohms Balanced. I don't know if the hiss could be because of a mismatch in impedance between the Solo XT and this amp. Specs for the Boss Katana-100 only says Input Level is 1 M ohm.
          Last edited by Petros; 10-25-2018, 10:41 AM.

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          • #20
            Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

            Yeah, I hear it, but I gotta crank it up to hear it. I don't hear it in mine, but I also don't loop decaying chords like that.
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            • #21
              Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

              Originally posted by Mincer View Post
              Yeah, I hear it, but I gotta crank it up to hear it. I don't hear it in mine, but I also don't loop decaying chords like that.
              That's NOT a looped clip. It's the guitar played THROUGH the pedal. I don't hear the hiss with loops, but because the guitar signal must be fed thru the Solo XT and then out to an amp, it's still a problem for the guitar playing when there's no loop.

              Note: Wondering more about some mismatch between the Solo XT and the Boss Katana amp. I tried the pedal with another amp, a Rivera Pubster, which is a 25 watt tube amp so it inherently makes more hiss than the Boss Katana-100. I don't hear the same effect happening when the guitar is run thru the Solo XT into the Rivera amp. There's no additional hiss.

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              • #22
                Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

                Hang on.

                I have two Boss Katana-100 amps, and I'm just noticing now that I don't hear the hiss increase (like in the recording) when I use the second amp. And of course, both amps had the same EQ setting, including treble. I may have a noise gate activated on the Boss Katana, and that would make it sound like the hiss is increasing when a chord decays.

                I have to check the amp while it's hooked up to a computer.
                Last edited by Petros; 10-25-2018, 01:37 PM.

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                • #23
                  Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

                  That's what I think it is.

                  The Katana amps have a built-in noise gate that you can access thru software called the Boss Tone Studio. I just saw now that I had the noise gate on, which of course took all the noise away associated with the guitar input. With no input noise at all as the reference point (gate closed), I could hear the hiss coming thru that's a part of the guitar input that would get masked if you don't use a noise gate. It makes perfect sense that as the chord rings out and the guitar sound itself decays the hiss is more audible until the gate threshold turns off the signal and then it's silent again.

                  But one question remains then: Why does the hiss decrease if I'm plugging straight into the amp?

                  Again, the noise (including hiss) that's inherent in guitar amps, both solid state and tubes, is enough so that if the Solo XT is plugged in you can't hear additional hiss. I cranked the Katana amp that had the noise gate turned on and with the guitar plugged straight in I do hear some hiss as the chord decays and then eventually reaches the noise gate threshold and goes silent, unlike my recording in those audio clips above.

                  So now I'm thinking if you don't use a noise gate, and there's some degree of noise and hiss coming from your guitar amp (the case with just about all guitar amps), you won't notice that the Solo XT introduces some noise into the audio signal. Does that make sense?
                  Last edited by Petros; 10-25-2018, 12:03 PM.

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                  • #24
                    Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

                    Yes, it makes sense, but I've never heard that with my amp, which doesn't have an internal noise gate. Does your amp have an effects loop? Can you use the pedal in there? Is it before or after the gate in the signal chain?
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                    • #25
                      Re: DigiTech Solo XT Looper Pedal Introduces Hiss Into the Audio Signal

                      Yes, there's a Send/Return in the Katana-100. But most people use a looper in the front end of the amp.

                      The noise gate would be after the looper whether you connect thru the front end of the amp or use the FX loop. Amp specs say the order is:

                      Guitar input > Preamp > Effects Send/Return > Amp FX > Master Volume/Power amp out




                      Edit: Just tried the Solo XT looper in the Send/Return.

                      1. Loops I have stored already sound terrible because FX send/return bypasses the amp EQ section (the preamp).

                      2. If you record loops thru FX loop, then you have no EQ control on the amp for the loop, at least with my amp.

                      3. Distinct difference when recording new loops. Thru FX loop, when you create a loop you can't turn the level up on the Solo XT past about 12 o'clock (unity gain) without hearing distortion.

                      4. When you turn the amp way up, with the guitar plugged in, there's a little less noise when going thru the FX loop. That would be a plus.



                      At least I got that hiss problem figured out...
                      Last edited by Petros; 10-26-2018, 01:16 PM.

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