Noise Reduction Pedals

[LunaticFringe]

I don't know much about these, but I do know that my growing pedalboard is making my amp sound like an idling transport truck. I've heard of the ISP Decimator, MXR M-135 Smart Gate, and what seems to be the standard Boss NS-2. Has anyone had any experience with this type of pedal they could share with me? I hear that they can affect your tone. I don't want something that will affect my feedback, sustain or rapid picking.

 

[BG00]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Any and all of these pedals will affect your tone to a certain degree. That being said, for general background hum and noise elimination, the ISP seems to be the best I have tried. For playing on very high gain settings with a noisy amp, the smart gate can work wonders. I have only tried the boss noise suppressor very limitedly and was not all that impressed with it compared to the smart gate that I own and the ISP that the other guitarist in my band owns.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

i like the ehx hum debugger

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Can you tell me more about the ehx one? I've had nothing but good experiences with ehx.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

it claims that it's not a gate, so honestly i have no idea how it works

but it does, really well

i think someone on here complained that it gave them some compression at high volumes or something like that, but that's about the only complaint i've heard

 

[V!N]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Do you want long sustaining notes in solos ? Then turn the reduction down low, creating hiss in staccato style. Don't want that hiss when you play staccato ? Turn the reduction up high and listen to your sustaining notes fading out way to soon .. I believe the ISP even filters out feedback.

I only tried the BOSS and some of the gates that came in rack effects. All suck away some of your highs. I could live with that, but I like sustaining notes in my solos and feedback is one of the ways I make that happen.

That said, instead of getting rid of noise at the end, you might want to take the money you'd spend on the pedal and get some high quality cables to wire your board. Also, a decent power supply can make a day/night difference in noise and I don't know how many pedals you have one there, but maybe a looper/switcher would be good for you. It keeps your signal as clear as possible, switching your effects completely out of the chain when you're not using them.

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Can you suggest to me some good looper/switchers? All my pedals are in my sig. The small stone runs on it's own power adaptor, the rest are run on my Godlyke daisy chain style power supply.

 

[baritone]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

I like the Boss and the ISP the best. The Boss is also capable of powering up your other pedals.

 

[V!N]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Can you suggest to me some good looper/switchers? All my pedals are in my sig. The small stone runs on it's own power adaptor, the rest are run on my Godlyke daisy chain style power supply.

For your number of pedals, you don't really need such a switching system. But if your board may grow in the future, a true bypass strip from pedalboards.com might be nice for you:
http://pedalboards.com/true bypass.htm
However, these aren't programmable, you still have to tap dance each and every effect on and off. If you like to have such freedom, that's up to you but it can be a hassle.
I wired and programmed a couple of custom racks for professional clients that didn't want to dance that much and just wanted to have complete presets. I used the Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher for that because it also switches the channels and reverb on the amps.
Not to blow my own trumpet, but those setups kicked ass: all the sound of good and honest pedals and a good honest amplifier, yet completely midi !

But again, that's too much for your current rig. They seem like reasonable quality pedals that shouldn't give you too much noise with the right power supply and wiring, so let's look how to improve there first.


Instead of your Godlyke wall wart or anything else where your pedals share the same ground (daisy chain or the BOSS) you want a power supply with isolated outputs so there's no possibility of a ground loop. For your use, the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 pops to mind, since it has dedicated Line 6 outputs. Also, two outputs have little pots so you can turn down the voltage, simulating a battery that's about empty. This works great with Tube Screamers !

As for the cables, you don't want to have them any longer than necessary. Therefore, I'd advise you to go to a music store with your board and make your own George L's cables right on the spot. They don't need soldering so a pair of wire cutters, a penknife and a little screwdriver are all you need.


Don't let the prices scare you ! I know it's quite a bit more than a wart and bright coloured patch cables and you could buy a noise gate pedal for that. But what would you rather have:

1) A lifeless sounding pedal board where the noise gate interferes with your tone and sustain. And it will only get noisier if you add pedals like this.

2) A pedal board with uncompromising tone and sustain where you won't even need a noise gate. Beside that, there's still room for your collection of pedals to grow without getting noise !


I certainly know what I'd choose.

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

I still plan on eventually adding a ts9 or sd-1 or both, a teese rmc2 wah, a tremolo and maybe even a univibe. Oh and once my playing deserves it I'd like to get my hands on a sunlion before the parts for those become extinct as well. I just discovered that they aren't making the '69 fuzz from fulltone anymore .

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

For your number of pedals, you don't really need such a switching system. But if your board may grow in the future, a true bypass strip from pedalboards.com might be nice for you:
http://pedalboards.com/true bypass.htm
However, these aren't programmable, you still have to tap dance each and every effect on and off. If you like to have such freedom, that's up to you but it can be a hassle.
I wired and programmed a couple of custom racks for professional clients that didn't want to dance that much and just wanted to have complete presets. I used the Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher for that because it also switches the channels and reverb on the amps.
Not to blow my own trumpet, but those setups kicked ass: all the sound of good and honest pedals and a good honest amplifier, yet completely midi !

But again, that's too much for your current rig. They seem like reasonable quality pedals that shouldn't give you too much noise with the right power supply and wiring, so let's look how to improve there first.


Instead of your Godlyke wall wart or anything else where your pedals share the same ground (daisy chain or the BOSS) you want a power supply with isolated outputs so there's no possibility of a ground loop. For your use, the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 pops to mind, since it has dedicated Line 6 outputs. Also, two outputs have little pots so you can turn down the voltage, simulating a battery that's about empty. This works great with Tube Screamers !

As for the cables, you don't want to have them any longer than necessary. Therefore, I'd advise you to go to a music store with your board and make your own George L's cables right on the spot. They don't need soldering so a pair of wire cutters, a penknife and a little screwdriver are all you need.


Don't let the prices scare you ! I know it's quite a bit more than a wart and bright coloured patch cables and you could buy a noise gate pedal for that. But what would you rather have:

1) A lifeless sounding pedal board where the noise gate interferes with your tone and sustain. And it will only get noisier if you add pedals like this.

2) A pedal board with uncompromising tone and sustain where you won't even need a noise gate. Beside that, there's still room for your collection of pedals to grow without getting noise !


I certainly know what I'd choose.

Hey thank you V!N. I really appreciate this information, you went into far more detail than I expected. I knew of george L's but I didn't know they were that easy to put together. Also I didn't know that the voodoo labs worked like that, I thought mine was the same deal.

 

[V!N]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Hey thank you V!N. I really appreciate this information, you went into far more detail than I expected. I knew of george L's but I didn't know they were that easy to put together. Also I didn't know that the voodoo labs worked like that, I thought mine was the same deal.

Sure thing ! Glad to be of any help. Don't worry too much about germanium fuzz faces, it's the most cloned boot-eek pedal around ! You'll find there are plenty of other brands that still make them by the time you're ready to buy one.

 

[timorousme]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

If you're playing a Strat, I'd recommend the Suhr backplate. Works wonders.

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Nah, I'm strictly limited to my LP right now. One day I'd like to get a strat.

 

[Jeff5]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

I have a question, and Vin maybe you can help. I usually run my set up with a pick up booster and my overdrive pedal. What I hate is having to hit both off then my clean channel on my preamp. I also don't like have the pedals all over the floor etc., just messy. That voodoo labs set up looks like I would be able to basically hit a button on the midi controller and turn both pedals off and switch to my clean channel. Then hit another button and be back on dirty etc. Am I reading that right? I'm really looking for something to do that, but I'm not really that knowledgeable about it. (sorry to de-rail the thread)

As for noise reducers, I've had pretty good experience with the basic boss pedal. Seems to do the trick. I really don't need it unless I'm putting on a ton of gain though. With only the amp distortion I can usually get away without it. Now I do have a dunlop DC power brick which I've stopped using due to the noise it creates, I just couldn't stand it. So I've gone back to just battery powering my pedals.

 

[V!N]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

I have a question, and Vin maybe you can help. I usually run my set up with a pick up booster and my overdrive pedal. What I hate is having to hit both off then my clean channel on my preamp. I also don't like have the pedals all over the floor etc., just messy. That voodoo labs set up looks like I would be able to basically hit a button on the midi controller and turn both pedals off and switch to my clean channel. Then hit another button and be back on dirty etc. Am I reading that right? I'm really looking for something to do that, but I'm not really that knowledgeable about it.

You're exactly right ! The GCX can do 8 "things", either true bypass loops or on/off or switches like the basic pedals do that come with amps for switching channels and reverb.

For example:
You could put your booster in loop 1, overdrive in loop 2 and set those two to go to the input of your amp. Then you can set a chorus in loop 3, a delay in loop 4 and put those in the effects loop. Loop 5 can switch your channels (not really used as a "loop" then) and loop 6 the reverb.

Programming is a piece of cake. Lets say you want preset 1 on your midi board to be clean with a bit of chorus and reverb. Press the button to activate loop 3 and 6 and then store.
Preset 2 is your crunch with the pickup booster the distorted channel on your amp, activate loop 1 and 5 and store.
Preset three is your solo, with both the booster and the overdrive on, the distorted channel of your amp and reverb and delay. Activate loop 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 and hit store.

Now all these sounds and changes come with just pressing 1, 2 or 3 on your midi board ! The above was quite simple, but you can connect and switch anything with it. A tuner without it being in the signal chain, take out your amps pre-amp section and run a rack or pedal pre-amp with all the effects and the power-amp section of your amp. You can even switch guitars ! :approve:

Then if you could get a flightcase where your amp fits in with a couple of rack units (they're a lot of those on eBay) You'll only have to connect your guitar(s), midi board, power cable and you're done. Below are some pictures of a very succesful rack setup with the GCX, made for the guitarist of a professional Dutch coverband.

 

[Jeff5]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Thanks Vin! That's really good information. I looked at the price of the voodoo labs stuff and ouch! Lol, a bit pricey P.

 

[V!N]

Re: Noise Reduction Pedals

Thanks Vin! That's really good information. I looked at the price of the voodoo labs stuff and ouch! Lol, a bit pricey P.

You got it bro ! Always glad to share some of my knowledge. They're pricey indeed, but worth every penny !

So while you save up for the GCX, :cool2: how about buying a non-midi one with only one or two loops ?

one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180142163785
two: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180143856567

You could put your booster and overdrive in one loop and if you go for the one with two loops, I'm sure you'll find some use for the second loop. This would reduce the tapdancing a little.