AMP without a hiss
- Thread starter mupi
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Re: AMP without a hiss
The following was in that thread. They didn't say all that sustain would also be accompanied by a lot of noise by the compressor itself and any noise from the amp would also be enhanced by the compressor. I did read elsewhere that the Boss CS-3 does add a lot of noise by itself. Well you never know unless you try it.
Even if I use a PC guitar amp, I will have the same problem i.e rely on the equipment more than my fingers. At least if the PC guitar amp does not add a lot of noise, I will take that solution for now but will also work on the pull off's.
Rings for days and will go on and on and on but also with a lot of objectionable noise which makes all that sustain useless as I cant enjoy playing with all that noise i.e amp hiss, finger noise, plucking noise etc. It gets worse with the headphones as I can hear every pluck noise and finger gliding noise more than the damn note that I am trying to play. More than the plucking noise, I am bothered by the noise of the finger sliding on the string. This sliding is the reason I wanted the longer sustain but now that noise is the reason I hate the sustain!
"Fast attack, max sustain: A heavily compressed, but very even signal that rings for days.
Slow attack, max sustain: All the note attack glory and dynamics are there, but that note will go on and on and on....
Fast Attack, low sustain: Adds bite and definition and even outs all of that sloppy picking, but the notes fade naturally."
The following was in that thread. They didn't say all that sustain would also be accompanied by a lot of noise by the compressor itself and any noise from the amp would also be enhanced by the compressor. I did read elsewhere that the Boss CS-3 does add a lot of noise by itself. Well you never know unless you try it.
Even if I use a PC guitar amp, I will have the same problem i.e rely on the equipment more than my fingers. At least if the PC guitar amp does not add a lot of noise, I will take that solution for now but will also work on the pull off's.
Rings for days and will go on and on and on but also with a lot of objectionable noise which makes all that sustain useless as I cant enjoy playing with all that noise i.e amp hiss, finger noise, plucking noise etc. It gets worse with the headphones as I can hear every pluck noise and finger gliding noise more than the damn note that I am trying to play. More than the plucking noise, I am bothered by the noise of the finger sliding on the string. This sliding is the reason I wanted the longer sustain but now that noise is the reason I hate the sustain!
"Fast attack, max sustain: A heavily compressed, but very even signal that rings for days.
Slow attack, max sustain: All the note attack glory and dynamics are there, but that note will go on and on and on....
Fast Attack, low sustain: Adds bite and definition and even outs all of that sloppy picking, but the notes fade naturally."
Re: AMP without a hiss
BTW the PC is some 12 feet from the guitar. So there may not be a lot of interference. Plus I have the isolation transformer which very clearly cuts a lot of low frequency noise. I do hear a lot of low frequency noise without the isolation transformer but most of that is from the junky amp as I get the low frequency noise even with the guitar not connected. The hiss becomes part of the sound from the amp so I guess a noise gate cant get rid of just the hiss alone.
The guy who designed this amp should have put a low pass filter to cut that hiss?? I wonder why amp manufacturers dont put a combination of low pass and high pass filters to get rid of the low and high freq noise from the amps, at least for the guitar amp if not the bass amp? A guy on youtube showed that you can design a high pass filter (50/60 hz filter) for 2 bucks, just a resister and a capacitor. So why cant they put that in the amp?
BTW the PC is some 12 feet from the guitar. So there may not be a lot of interference. Plus I have the isolation transformer which very clearly cuts a lot of low frequency noise. I do hear a lot of low frequency noise without the isolation transformer but most of that is from the junky amp as I get the low frequency noise even with the guitar not connected. The hiss becomes part of the sound from the amp so I guess a noise gate cant get rid of just the hiss alone.
The guy who designed this amp should have put a low pass filter to cut that hiss?? I wonder why amp manufacturers dont put a combination of low pass and high pass filters to get rid of the low and high freq noise from the amps, at least for the guitar amp if not the bass amp? A guy on youtube showed that you can design a high pass filter (50/60 hz filter) for 2 bucks, just a resister and a capacitor. So why cant they put that in the amp?
devastone
New member
Re: AMP without a hiss
Actually, I did sort of indirectly mention in post #51 of the other thread that a compressor will add more noise, so yes, when you crank the sustain and/or gain on a compressor they will bring the floor up which will increase any noise from anything in front of it, meaning the guitar, finger noises, string squeaks, etc...
Sorry, I don't know what a HTPC is, is it a "home theater pc"? It could be the amp, but again, I will recommend an interface that is made for what you are trying to do instead of kludging something together that is not made to work together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kludge
Unfortunately, not matter what technique you wish to employ there is no shortcut around practice, if playing music was easy everyone would do it whenever they wanted to without putting in the time an effort that is apparently necessary.
Actually, I did sort of indirectly mention in post #51 of the other thread that a compressor will add more noise, so yes, when you crank the sustain and/or gain on a compressor they will bring the floor up which will increase any noise from anything in front of it, meaning the guitar, finger noises, string squeaks, etc...
Sorry, I don't know what a HTPC is, is it a "home theater pc"? It could be the amp, but again, I will recommend an interface that is made for what you are trying to do instead of kludging something together that is not made to work together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kludge
Unfortunately, not matter what technique you wish to employ there is no shortcut around practice, if playing music was easy everyone would do it whenever they wanted to without putting in the time an effort that is apparently necessary.
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Re: AMP without a hiss
Yes Home Theater PC. It is just a fancy name when people use a PC tor audio/video stuff. I put together my PC and there is nothing extra for a HT. It just has many input/outputs options on the motherboard.
It is not a clumsy set up. Instead of using the USB on the soundcard, I am using line-in with the 3.5mm cable. I dont need USB as I am not interacting with the AMP from the PC. I tried the useless Insider software by Blackstar. It really has nothing. Also when I use with USB, that useless software keeps asking to do firmware update. But the firmware update kills the amp due to some bug. This is also mentioned by other users. The first Blackstar amp died this way and I got a replacement. I am not hooking up the amp headphone out to PC via USB as the line-in gets the job done.
Now will the USB connection from AMP to PC will reduce the noise. Probably not as the damn boise is not a problem with the PC. The source of the noise is the amp and the stupid pedal. This Boss CS-3 junk is going back to Sweetwater.
I hate to return but this is just a waste of $99. After spending $99 I also realized that it does not come with a power afapter. The original battery only lasted a couple of hours and it is dead now. Did Sweetwater say that the A/C adapter does not come with the pedal on their website? I have to check. That alone is a good reason to return.
Why is it that many musical gear do not come with the A/C adapter. The Yamaha keyboard had the same issue i.e they dont shiip the keyboard with a power adapter and I had to spend another $25 to get one. The $10 grey market adapters are no good. They are good in blowing up the circuit and setting the house on fire. Already the so called original stuff made in China is junk. Now they are making knock offs in China and many so called 3rd party vendors in Amazon sell only knock offs. When will ths offshore crap end. 80's and early 90's was probably the best period I guess for consumer electronics. Genuine made in Japan stuff or made in USA stuff. NAFTA has brought nothing but junk to USA. Time to shut it down. Anyway.. didnt mean to create a diversion.
Yes Home Theater PC. It is just a fancy name when people use a PC tor audio/video stuff. I put together my PC and there is nothing extra for a HT. It just has many input/outputs options on the motherboard.
It is not a clumsy set up. Instead of using the USB on the soundcard, I am using line-in with the 3.5mm cable. I dont need USB as I am not interacting with the AMP from the PC. I tried the useless Insider software by Blackstar. It really has nothing. Also when I use with USB, that useless software keeps asking to do firmware update. But the firmware update kills the amp due to some bug. This is also mentioned by other users. The first Blackstar amp died this way and I got a replacement. I am not hooking up the amp headphone out to PC via USB as the line-in gets the job done.
Now will the USB connection from AMP to PC will reduce the noise. Probably not as the damn boise is not a problem with the PC. The source of the noise is the amp and the stupid pedal. This Boss CS-3 junk is going back to Sweetwater.
I hate to return but this is just a waste of $99. After spending $99 I also realized that it does not come with a power afapter. The original battery only lasted a couple of hours and it is dead now. Did Sweetwater say that the A/C adapter does not come with the pedal on their website? I have to check. That alone is a good reason to return.
Why is it that many musical gear do not come with the A/C adapter. The Yamaha keyboard had the same issue i.e they dont shiip the keyboard with a power adapter and I had to spend another $25 to get one. The $10 grey market adapters are no good. They are good in blowing up the circuit and setting the house on fire. Already the so called original stuff made in China is junk. Now they are making knock offs in China and many so called 3rd party vendors in Amazon sell only knock offs. When will ths offshore crap end. 80's and early 90's was probably the best period I guess for consumer electronics. Genuine made in Japan stuff or made in USA stuff. NAFTA has brought nothing but junk to USA. Time to shut it down. Anyway.. didnt mean to create a diversion.
Ascension
Well-known member
Re: AMP without a hiss
PS my Mesa DC5 ,Subway Rocket , my Zinky Velvet and the new Carvin X50 I just got are all VERY quiet amps at high gain so---.
Ace some of us play in enviorments where that noise floor matters and matters a LOT. I just swapped my Jet City at Church for my DC5 because of the noise. I'm set up off stage with my cab and am running some volume for tone and miced so if every time I'm not actually playing there is a waterfall of noise coming out of the cab it gets amplified through the system into the FOH it's a problem. Legit issue man chill!
PS my Mesa DC5 ,Subway Rocket , my Zinky Velvet and the new Carvin X50 I just got are all VERY quiet amps at high gain so---.
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devastone
New member
Re: AMP without a hiss
Single Boss pedals don't come with power supplies, haven't since they came out in the 70s. Most pedals don't unless they are a high current digital pedal or have special power requirements.
The CS-3 is far from junk when used correctly though, but yes, it, as well as any compressor used to increase sustain, will also raise the noise floor.
I don't know anything about the Blackstar ID amps, sorry, I've played their tube amps and really liked them.
This is most likely the main problem, most likely an impedance mismatch or floating ground.
It sounds like a decent multi-effects pedal might be a better option for you, you might look at the Digitech RP360 or Zoom G3 or similar that will also function as an interface via USB.
Good luck.
Single Boss pedals don't come with power supplies, haven't since they came out in the 70s. Most pedals don't unless they are a high current digital pedal or have special power requirements.
The CS-3 is far from junk when used correctly though, but yes, it, as well as any compressor used to increase sustain, will also raise the noise floor.
I don't know anything about the Blackstar ID amps, sorry, I've played their tube amps and really liked them.
This is most likely the main problem, most likely an impedance mismatch or floating ground.
It sounds like a decent multi-effects pedal might be a better option for you, you might look at the Digitech RP360 or Zoom G3 or similar that will also function as an interface via USB.
Good luck.
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Re: AMP without a hiss
Yes, a decent multi-effects with some amp simulation is probably the best bet. Depending on what your budget is and what you have access to, modern multi-effects can be very quiet. If things are noisy after that, it is probably not the guitar rig.
Yes, a decent multi-effects with some amp simulation is probably the best bet. Depending on what your budget is and what you have access to, modern multi-effects can be very quiet. If things are noisy after that, it is probably not the guitar rig.
Ascension
Well-known member
Re: AMP without a hiss
Try playing in some of the Churches i do with serious wiring issues and florescent lighting!!
Try playing in some of the Churches i do with serious wiring issues and florescent lighting!!
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Re: AMP without a hiss
You can have both. I am OCD when it comes to line noise. I play super high gain with a pretty long signal chain, but when I don't hit a chord, there is silence. Being intolerant of noise does not mean you are not focusing on other parts of your game. Good cords and pro effects are your start.
You can have both. I am OCD when it comes to line noise. I play super high gain with a pretty long signal chain, but when I don't hit a chord, there is silence. Being intolerant of noise does not mean you are not focusing on other parts of your game. Good cords and pro effects are your start.
Lake Placid Blues
New member
Re: AMP without a hiss
I can't comment on the complexities of your rig, but going just by the thread title; the mini Jubilee is hiss free even operating at high gain levels. It is astonishingly noise free- if your guitar is. You would need to mic it to do what your trying to do, and you would need to be careful that the additional equipment does not introduce noise, though.
I can't comment on the complexities of your rig, but going just by the thread title; the mini Jubilee is hiss free even operating at high gain levels. It is astonishingly noise free- if your guitar is. You would need to mic it to do what your trying to do, and you would need to be careful that the additional equipment does not introduce noise, though.
Re: AMP without a hiss
The Blackstar ID15TVP would be worth a try.
When linked to a PC it has extensive editing which includes a noise gate.
Not too sure about hiss as I have never really turned mine up all that loud.
The Blackstar ID15TVP would be worth a try.
When linked to a PC it has extensive editing which includes a noise gate.
Not too sure about hiss as I have never really turned mine up all that loud.
Re: AMP without a hiss
If it is a ground problem, shouldnt I get a 60Hz hum instead of a high frequency hiss?
The hiss is from the amp at high gain, high volume. Not due to the PC or 3.5mm headphone cord. if I turn down the gain and volume, I dont get the sustain.
So I am not sure how changing the pedal would eliminate the hiss. The Boss CS-3 pedal is adding its own noise to the chain and that gets amplified by the amp. In adidtion, it is also amplifying the unwanted noise like the noise of the finger sliding on the string, the noise of the plucking etc. So I dont like this pedal.
If the only way a guitar amp or a pedal can give high gain is by giving a high noise floor, I dont want them, What I want is an amp and a compressor pedal that ARE NOISE FREE AT HIGH GAIN. I will look into some of the options suggested here. If a PC guitar amp can accomplish what I want i.e high sustain without noise, I will also look into that.
If it is a ground problem, shouldnt I get a 60Hz hum instead of a high frequency hiss?
The hiss is from the amp at high gain, high volume. Not due to the PC or 3.5mm headphone cord. if I turn down the gain and volume, I dont get the sustain.
So I am not sure how changing the pedal would eliminate the hiss. The Boss CS-3 pedal is adding its own noise to the chain and that gets amplified by the amp. In adidtion, it is also amplifying the unwanted noise like the noise of the finger sliding on the string, the noise of the plucking etc. So I dont like this pedal.
If the only way a guitar amp or a pedal can give high gain is by giving a high noise floor, I dont want them, What I want is an amp and a compressor pedal that ARE NOISE FREE AT HIGH GAIN. I will look into some of the options suggested here. If a PC guitar amp can accomplish what I want i.e high sustain without noise, I will also look into that.
Re: AMP without a hiss
BTW the Boss CS-3 pedal seems to have some problem. First day I turned it off (LED was turned off) before going to bed. When I tried to turn on the pedal the next day by pressing the pedal, the light didnt turn on. I though the original battery was probably bad and so I replaced the battery. Today again I tried to turn it on and it wont turn on. I am 100% sure I left it off as I checked that the LED was off. Looks like the it is consuming the battery even if I turn it off by pressing the pedal. If that is the case, it is going back. Well it is going back anyway due to the high noise floor.
BTW the Boss CS-3 pedal seems to have some problem. First day I turned it off (LED was turned off) before going to bed. When I tried to turn on the pedal the next day by pressing the pedal, the light didnt turn on. I though the original battery was probably bad and so I replaced the battery. Today again I tried to turn it on and it wont turn on. I am 100% sure I left it off as I checked that the LED was off. Looks like the it is consuming the battery even if I turn it off by pressing the pedal. If that is the case, it is going back. Well it is going back anyway due to the high noise floor.
Gtrjunior
New member
Re: AMP without a hiss
I haven’t been following this thread so this may have already been suggested.
Disconnect the amp from your computer 100%. Just plug the guitar straight into the front of the amp with only a cable....no pedals.
Is the hiss still there?
If so, the amp is indeed the culprit.
If not, the hiss is coming from somewhere else.
Add one component back into the signal chain until you find the offending unit.
I haven’t been following this thread so this may have already been suggested.
Disconnect the amp from your computer 100%. Just plug the guitar straight into the front of the amp with only a cable....no pedals.
Is the hiss still there?
If so, the amp is indeed the culprit.
If not, the hiss is coming from somewhere else.
Add one component back into the signal chain until you find the offending unit.
Gtrjunior
New member
Re: AMP without a hiss
When a cable is plugged into the jack, it can sometimes drain the battery...similar to EMG pickups in a guitar. You have to unplug the jack.
I’m not sure if that is the case with the pedal or not....somebody else here may be more familiar with that particular pedal.
When a cable is plugged into the jack, it can sometimes drain the battery...similar to EMG pickups in a guitar. You have to unplug the jack.
I’m not sure if that is the case with the pedal or not....somebody else here may be more familiar with that particular pedal.
Re: AMP without a hiss
They do consume the battery even if off. You must unplug the input cable or have an external supply in the power jack so that you can leave the input in.
You could always use a dummy plug in the power if it's on a board and/or you don't want to unplug the input every time, or just use extrernal power.
They do consume the battery even if off. You must unplug the input cable or have an external supply in the power jack so that you can leave the input in.
You could always use a dummy plug in the power if it's on a board and/or you don't want to unplug the input every time, or just use extrernal power.
Re: AMP without a hiss
duh! how am I suppose to know that when there wasnt anything mentioned at the web site. Cant read the manual of every product before buying. Anyway it is going back due to the noise floor.
If there is a knob that is meant to be turned and if I turn it all the way and all I hear is noise, then it is junk. If they had told me not to turn the knob beyond 12'oclock position, I would not have bought this
But we know that a lot of consumer electronics are like that these days. Just junk made in China. In all probability they spent some 20 bucks to make this junk and they are selling for $99. Dont we know all those profit margins from Shark Tank. Anyway... I dont want Aceman to get pissed off again.
duh! how am I suppose to know that when there wasnt anything mentioned at the web site. Cant read the manual of every product before buying. Anyway it is going back due to the noise floor.
If there is a knob that is meant to be turned and if I turn it all the way and all I hear is noise, then it is junk. If they had told me not to turn the knob beyond 12'oclock position, I would not have bought this
But we know that a lot of consumer electronics are like that these days. Just junk made in China. In all probability they spent some 20 bucks to make this junk and they are selling for $99. Dont we know all those profit margins from Shark Tank. Anyway... I dont want Aceman to get pissed off again.
devastone
New member
Re: AMP without a hiss
Yep, that's what happens with a lot of gain, hence a noise gate, but the noise will still be there when you are playing, but normally playing covers the noise.
I meant to replace the amp with a multi-effects pedal that also works as a USB interface so you can plug into the PC via USB instead of mismatched analog signal lines, the headphone out direct to a PC mic input never works well, they are not well matched electrically. The headphone out would probably work better into a real interface made for recording, but there are lots of affordable multi-effects pedals out there with USB connectivity that will work better for your application, especially since you aren't using the amp as an amp anyway. Like I mentioned, the Zoom G3 or Digitech RP360 are good ones to look at and should be readily available and have really good built in amp models.
Compressors do increase signal noise as well as string and finger noise if they are used to increase sustain, if they didn't amplify the low level signals, they couldn't increase sustain, think about it, they can't make the string vibrate more, they just have to amplify the signal more as the vibrations are falling off. FWIW, it isn't making that much noise internally, it is amplifying the noise going into it, hence, the cleaner the signal it gets fed, the less noise it makes. Single coil pickups are notoriously noisy, and the Squier ones are definitely not the quietest of the single coils.
I suggest you take Gtrjunior's advice and try one thing at a time, straight into the amp, using it as an amp, without it plugged into the computer to see what happens. If it isn't as noisy there, the problem is in how it is hooked up. But yes, high gain = noise, even a expensive Bogner or Soldano amps at full gain will have some noise, granted, not as much as less expensively built amps, but there is noise. FWIW, your Blackstar is digital so there can be noise associated with digital circuits as well, especially the more affordable ones. Even my Boss GT-1000 will have noise if I crank the gain on the high gain models, especially if I add overdrives and compressors, but I don't have the gain maxed, that just turns playing to mush, and I do use a noise gate in the signal chain on the high gain settings.
And yes, 99.9% of pedals use the input jack as the switch to turn on power, it's accepted common knowledge, but I do understand that all of this is new to you, hence your current struggles. But I'm sure the manual would have told you that also.
You want something for nothing, that doesn't exist anywhere that I am aware of.
If you want to see someone who does hammer on and pull off techniques beautifully without tons of gain, distortion, and noise, look up Stanley Jordan. But again, he didn't get there overnight, he spent years developing his technique. There is no way around putting in work, not saying it will take you years to be able to play something meaningful, but it won't happen overnight.
Good luck, I have nothing else to offer.
Yep, that's what happens with a lot of gain, hence a noise gate, but the noise will still be there when you are playing, but normally playing covers the noise.
I meant to replace the amp with a multi-effects pedal that also works as a USB interface so you can plug into the PC via USB instead of mismatched analog signal lines, the headphone out direct to a PC mic input never works well, they are not well matched electrically. The headphone out would probably work better into a real interface made for recording, but there are lots of affordable multi-effects pedals out there with USB connectivity that will work better for your application, especially since you aren't using the amp as an amp anyway. Like I mentioned, the Zoom G3 or Digitech RP360 are good ones to look at and should be readily available and have really good built in amp models.
Compressors do increase signal noise as well as string and finger noise if they are used to increase sustain, if they didn't amplify the low level signals, they couldn't increase sustain, think about it, they can't make the string vibrate more, they just have to amplify the signal more as the vibrations are falling off. FWIW, it isn't making that much noise internally, it is amplifying the noise going into it, hence, the cleaner the signal it gets fed, the less noise it makes. Single coil pickups are notoriously noisy, and the Squier ones are definitely not the quietest of the single coils.
I suggest you take Gtrjunior's advice and try one thing at a time, straight into the amp, using it as an amp, without it plugged into the computer to see what happens. If it isn't as noisy there, the problem is in how it is hooked up. But yes, high gain = noise, even a expensive Bogner or Soldano amps at full gain will have some noise, granted, not as much as less expensively built amps, but there is noise. FWIW, your Blackstar is digital so there can be noise associated with digital circuits as well, especially the more affordable ones. Even my Boss GT-1000 will have noise if I crank the gain on the high gain models, especially if I add overdrives and compressors, but I don't have the gain maxed, that just turns playing to mush, and I do use a noise gate in the signal chain on the high gain settings.
And yes, 99.9% of pedals use the input jack as the switch to turn on power, it's accepted common knowledge, but I do understand that all of this is new to you, hence your current struggles. But I'm sure the manual would have told you that also.
You want something for nothing, that doesn't exist anywhere that I am aware of.
If you want to see someone who does hammer on and pull off techniques beautifully without tons of gain, distortion, and noise, look up Stanley Jordan. But again, he didn't get there overnight, he spent years developing his technique. There is no way around putting in work, not saying it will take you years to be able to play something meaningful, but it won't happen overnight.
Good luck, I have nothing else to offer.
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