Noise Gate for Bass???

andrizzle

andrizzle

New member
Hey guys,

I've been doing a little research on noise gates because I recently got a SansAmp Bass Driver for my bass rig that I REALLY REALLY dig... and obviously the only problem with it I'm having is it's a bit noisy... some swishing and hiss sort of sounds.

Anyway, there's a good bit of info out there on noise gates for guitar and I'm assuming there wouldn't be that big of a difference for a bass but I wanted to see if anyone had any personal experience b4 I pull the trigger on one... The ones I'm currently looking at are:

*ISP Decimator
*Rocktron HUSH
*MXR Noise Gate
(no particular order so far)
*NS-2 (this one is last place for a reason... don't really want to go this route unless I found out something life altering about how it works really well for bass)

Also, I would like to keep it to pedals only... Rack-gear isn't a direction I want to go at the moment.

Thanks!

:friday:
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

AFAIK, noise gates aren't supposed to add tonal coloration to any sound.
Just change the threshold settings a bit, and any good guitar noise gate should be good for bass also.
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

Hmmmm...

My experiences with the bass sans amp have never been all that noisy... never enough to require a noise gate anyway. Maybe something is out of whack... like the driver isn't quite right to start with... or your gain staging is bad... wonky cables or power supply...
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

J Moose said:
Hmmmm...

My experiences with the bass sans amp have never been all that noisy... never enough to require a noise gate anyway. Maybe something is out of whack... like the driver isn't quite right to start with... or your gain staging is bad... wonky cables or power supply...
Click to expand...

I agree with this...
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

I'm sure, it did the same thing when run through a PA as it did through my practice amp
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

Have you tried running the thing off a power supply or 48volt phantom?

The only thing I can think of that would make it noisy is if you've got the gain & treble cranked all the way up... and even then it shouldn't be too bad unless the bass is noisy too.

How old is the battery in the bass? Got the treble cranked up there?

You really shouldn't need a noise gate with the sansamp...
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

andrizzle said:
Hey guys,

I've been doing a little research on noise gates because I recently got a SansAmp Bass Driver for my bass rig that I REALLY REALLY dig... and obviously the only problem with it I'm having is it's a bit noisy... some swishing and hiss sort of sounds.

Anyway, there's a good bit of info out there on noise gates for guitar and I'm assuming there wouldn't be that big of a difference for a bass but I wanted to see if anyone had any personal experience b4 I pull the trigger on one... The ones I'm currently looking at are:

*ISP Decimator
*Rocktron HUSH
*MXR Noise Gate
(no particular order so far)
*NS-2 (this one is last place for a reason... don't really want to go this route unless I found out something life altering about how it works really well for bass)

Also, I would like to keep it to pedals only... Rack-gear isn't a direction I want to go at the moment.

Thanks!

:friday:
Click to expand...

I dont think andrizzle's questions has been answered yet.

I've owned and used the ISP and the NS-2. This NS-2 is the worst noise gate I've ever used, and I've compared it to the ISP, ME-50 and Johnson J-station noise gates, all of which I own. The NS-2 killed my guitar tone.

The best noise gate pedal has been the ISP. Did not change my tone at all, and so good I now use 2 on my 2-channel pedalboard.
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

Does it make noise when both pickups are full on (humbucking mode for a jazz bass)?
Sounds like it might be 60-cycle hum exaggerated by an active preamp! Never had a noise problem unless I used a Jazz bass, which is why I asked earlier.
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

Hey guys... thanks for all the responses... I should have mentioned in my original post that I had tried all the usual suspects:

*replacing the battery in my bass
*going straight from bass to amp to see if there was any noise there
*trying different power supplies with the SansAmp (1Spot, Pedal Power II, Battery)
*trying different 1/4" cables
*checking problems with the pickups
*different settings on the SansAmp (including checking the levels of different things... it's basically set to some of the included models within the book that came with it... i.e. the Bassman and Warm Tube settings)
*etc.

I also should have explained it was more of a swooshing / washy kind of sound.... It says in the SansAmp's manual that it tends to be noisy so I'm just gonna chalk it up to that

Anyway, maybe it's just me... who knows...

But I went to Guitar Center today and when I went in they instantly tried to get me to buy the NS-2. Then I found the Rocktron Hush... THEN I found it..... The ISP Decimator!!!

I asked him how much and he said $130 and that he'd have to go to the back to grab one.... He couldn't find any so he gave me the floor model for $100... 2 year warranty and all. I got this sucker home and was so pumped to try it out. Got it plugged in and ready to roll and NO LIGHT / NO POWER / NO SOUND / NOTHING!

Called them up and asked if I could return it and it was a different guy and he said he found another one....

Long story short I got a new one for the price of the floor model after a bit of finagling.

So here's the new bass rig (simple but effective):

sorry for the crappy pics... lots of light and my poor excuse for a camera iPhone = bad pics... but with a Photobucket app, Convenience is King!

8ab02854.jpg


325e1ad1.jpg
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

it could be the power supply. power conditioners help with this; do these noises occur only at home, or do they occur in any setting you play your rig at? if not, Id get a diagnostic from a repair shop to avoid future issues...
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

everdrone said:
it could be the power supply. power conditioners help with this; do these noises occur only at home, or do they occur in any setting you play your rig at? if not, Id get a diagnostic from a repair shop to avoid future issues...
Click to expand...

checked different power supplies in different settings... still the swishing sound... it's coming from the SansAmp
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

bummer dude, sounds like its fine till you plug that box in and then you get the swoosh noise; like the very experienced above are saying its not supposed to do that. I would not tolerate that noise cause people will just keep asking what it is and stuff.
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

I think your choice of the ISP is perfect what you need. I used to have an NS-2 and I briefly tried the Decimator, but I preferred the NS-2 because it was more of a gate, where as the Decimator was noise reduction (not exactly what I wanted). If I didn't need a chopping gate I would have stuck with the ISP, so congrats on getting a deal!
 
Re: Noise Gate for Bass???

Coupla observations.
1) Fender Noiseless J Bass pickups are not active, just the accompanying EQ network.
2) The biggest source of noise in all my active PU bass guitars is pre-amp hiss.

If the unwanted noises through the Sans Amp increase when you crank up the bass guitar's onboard Treble and/or Mid EQ pots, pre-amp hiss is what you are hearing. High gain exaggerates this phenomenon. The Sans Amp bass driver is a fairly grungy beast - which is why Geddy Lee uses it. :D
 
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