Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

[Totenkampf]

Hello all, and yes it’s yet another *&#$(* noise suppressor thread. I have done a good bit of reading online and the opinions on many boards are all over the place and many of them are somewhat dated so I am curious about new opinions about the subject in a group that I trust. A bro got an ISP Decimator Pro Rack-G and made me a deal on his pedals so I now have an ISP Decimator, MXR Smart Gate, and two Boss NS-2 units. I play high gain death / thrash metal and am getting quite a bit of feedback and some hum from the preamp so NOT trying these things out isn’t really an option. I am wanting to know what the best combination of pedals will get the desired result with the least loss of tone and what some good starting settings might be so that I can tweak in from there. It seems that using two pedals in combination, much like the Pro Rack-G, may result in the ability to use less aggressive settings for the pedals in both the pre-amp and fx loop positions individually. I have been leaning toward the MXR up front and the ISP in the loop but am not sure if this is best. The equipment I am using is passive SH-8b and SH-6n pickups through a Peavey Triple XXX head on the crunch channel to a Mesa-Boogie Oversized Recto Cab with its original V30s. I will introduce modulation pedals in the FX and possibly a CS-3 Phase-90, and/or TS type overdrive up front once I get this sorted out. TIA.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

Under really high gain even guitars with humbuckers can sometimes benefit from shielding under the pickguard, in the control cavity, and in the pickup routes. For about 10$ worth of copper tape and an hour or two of time it might be worth trying out as well. . .

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

im a fan of mxr in the loop, and isp and an od up front.
:wizard:

 

[Warheart]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

Something like the ISP decimator Pro rack G is probably the best. It acts as a noise gate in your effects loop, but is triggered off of the guitar signal, not the post preamp signal.

You can get around this somewhat by using two different pedals.

I would recommend one noise gate in front to get rid of pickup buzz, and then another in the loop to get rid of preamp hiss. Personally, I'm using a MXR Smartgate in front and a Rocktron Hush in the loop for the hiss. The Hush isn't technically a gate, it just changes the noise floor, so it works better for that purpose.

I believe that the Boss NS-2 may be able to do something similar to that.

 

[ACE 4080]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

theres a new mxr pedal out, called the noise clamp

 

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

Im looking at getting the ISP decimator. A lot of outstanding reviews on it

 

[ACE 4080]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

WHat's the difference between a noise suppressor and a gate????

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

WHat's the difference between a noise suppressor and a gate????

Nothing.
It's basically Boss doing marketing stuff.

Noise gate.

MM

 

[John E Rokker]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

just run the boss ns-2 in X pattern and set the knobs to look like this / | \.

if you don't understand X patter:

guitar > NS-2 input > NS-2 Send > all pedals but verb and delay> pedals out > Amp Input > FX loop send > NS-2 Return > NS-2 Output > Delay and or verb pedals > FX Return.

This not only quiets the pedal noise but also the pre-amp and pickup noises.

 

[Wonker]

Re: Best noise suppressor / gate pedal combination

I have an NS-2 and a ISP decimator. I haven't used the NS-2 since buying the decimator. It's worlds better.