lonelysnakr
New member
Hi i am trying to earth my roland cube 30X and it has only 2 wires In the socket. Its giving me bad buzzing only when i plug pedals that are connected to the AC. Any suggestions.
Amp earthing
- Thread starter lonelysnakr
- Start date
Nicholasim
New member
i am having this problem too .. so its the amp ? nothing to do witht he pedals all ?
and uh , nt too sure but i think can get amp earthed at shop ...
and uh , nt too sure but i think can get amp earthed at shop ...
You need to sell that Cube 30X to me...afterwhich, I'd do this: http://soft.com.sg/web/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=11443
lonelysnakr
New member
i think its the amp cos when i brought my pedals to jamming studio it was alright. Dude i cant rewire it with an earth cos theres nly a blue and red cable from the amp
Nicholasim
New member
omg the earth is magic !!!
i earthed my amp just now ... its ALOT BETTER .. although still abit of hiss but i dont mind , its like 2/10 of what i used to have
i earthed my amp just now ... its ALOT BETTER .. although still abit of hiss but i dont mind , its like 2/10 of what i used to have
Destructos
New member
Alright, before all of you attempt to cut up any more plugs, you have to understand that there are some amps which are designed to explicitly have a pair of wires.
For the Roland Cube series (I used an old cube 15 model), the 2 pin configuration worked fine on its own (as in from guitar direct to amp).
Most of you will experience buzzing when plugging in an efx pedal or powering your efx pedal with external power.
For the first case, if you experience buzzing/hissing/squeeling without external power, try your very very best to invest in a good guitar cable (planet wave's higher-end cables are a great example).
What is happening is your cheap (unshielded) cable is acting as a pickup antenna for useless noise, of which your distortion pedal WILL amplify (distortion pedals are basically preamps meant to drive signal voltages to clipping voltages offered by clipping diodes).
So if you install a well shielded, high quality cable to between your guitar output to pedal input (pedal output can use cheap assed cable as long as it works), you should be able to cut a significant deal of buzz/hiss/squeel.
For the case of you guys powering your efx via external power supply and experiencing more of a buzzing (not so high pitched, a bit of a bassy hum in some cases) then you have a totally different issue altogether.
Assuming you understand electronics, your problem this time is that even though your power supply promises DC power, it isn't as stable as a battery's DC output.
This is because your powersupply is tasked with transforming a full form sinosudial AC wave form (that alternates at 50-60Hz, a very low bass frequency range) to DC by means of rectification.
This rectification (full bridge in most external powersupply cases) cuts out the -9V portion of the wave form but doesn't smooth out the +9V portion.
Coupled by the fact that your supply uses full bridge rectification, you will experience a pulsating +9v current that cycles between +9v and 0v at 100 - 120 cycles a second (in your distortion circuit, it will translate to a bassy hum-like buzz).
Side note: to read up more on rectification click here. D&T electronics or yr1 Electrical/Electronics/Mechatronics students; this is one of the important topics.
Now, most power supply manufacturers will provide a large uF rating capacitor to attempt to smooth out the pulsating DC current to a smoother (albeit unstable) current. BUT this will NOT be enough for distortion circuit use.
Most other distortion circuits DO include a few capacitors to attempt to smoothen it out a bit more, but it's all useless in my opinion.
CONCLUSION (I'm sure most of you would rather i just say this, sorry I couldn't help myself).
Try to refrain using external power on your distortion pedal, you can still use it on your chorus or delay pedal and the like.
Or you can attempt to build your own linear 9V DC supply with capacitance multiplier circuit (a very popular solution for true tube/class-A hi-fi enthusiasts) just for your distortion kit. Schematic here (last pic is for full fledged DC filtering).
For the Roland Cube series (I used an old cube 15 model), the 2 pin configuration worked fine on its own (as in from guitar direct to amp).
Most of you will experience buzzing when plugging in an efx pedal or powering your efx pedal with external power.
For the first case, if you experience buzzing/hissing/squeeling without external power, try your very very best to invest in a good guitar cable (planet wave's higher-end cables are a great example).
What is happening is your cheap (unshielded) cable is acting as a pickup antenna for useless noise, of which your distortion pedal WILL amplify (distortion pedals are basically preamps meant to drive signal voltages to clipping voltages offered by clipping diodes).
So if you install a well shielded, high quality cable to between your guitar output to pedal input (pedal output can use cheap assed cable as long as it works), you should be able to cut a significant deal of buzz/hiss/squeel.
For the case of you guys powering your efx via external power supply and experiencing more of a buzzing (not so high pitched, a bit of a bassy hum in some cases) then you have a totally different issue altogether.
Assuming you understand electronics, your problem this time is that even though your power supply promises DC power, it isn't as stable as a battery's DC output.
This is because your powersupply is tasked with transforming a full form sinosudial AC wave form (that alternates at 50-60Hz, a very low bass frequency range) to DC by means of rectification.
This rectification (full bridge in most external powersupply cases) cuts out the -9V portion of the wave form but doesn't smooth out the +9V portion.
Coupled by the fact that your supply uses full bridge rectification, you will experience a pulsating +9v current that cycles between +9v and 0v at 100 - 120 cycles a second (in your distortion circuit, it will translate to a bassy hum-like buzz).
Side note: to read up more on rectification click here. D&T electronics or yr1 Electrical/Electronics/Mechatronics students; this is one of the important topics.
Now, most power supply manufacturers will provide a large uF rating capacitor to attempt to smooth out the pulsating DC current to a smoother (albeit unstable) current. BUT this will NOT be enough for distortion circuit use.
Most other distortion circuits DO include a few capacitors to attempt to smoothen it out a bit more, but it's all useless in my opinion.
CONCLUSION (I'm sure most of you would rather i just say this, sorry I couldn't help myself).
Try to refrain using external power on your distortion pedal, you can still use it on your chorus or delay pedal and the like.
Or you can attempt to build your own linear 9V DC supply with capacitance multiplier circuit (a very popular solution for true tube/class-A hi-fi enthusiasts) just for your distortion kit. Schematic here (last pic is for full fledged DC filtering).
Destructos
New member
For those of you who use amps like Marshall's MG15, with a plug like this:
These circuits are ACTUALLY designed to be earthed/grounded, but will work fine without grounding/earthing nonetheless.
As you can see in that picture, the plug has an earth hole instead of pin. I have yet to find out which country uses such a peculiar socket solution but rest assured you will be able to follow the procedure that df posted.
For those whose amps are using plugs like this:
You CAN still change to a 3 pin plug BUT you can forget about experiencing the "magic" of earthing. It will more be a procedure for convenience, if you are going to find yourself moshing your amp from one location to another.
There is also an option to star-cluster gound/earth the entire circuit, but I don't think I should go into that. Never attempt to take apart your amp for self-servicing UNLESS you absolutely know what is what.
Big capacitors like the big ones in this pic:
still carry a charge even when your amp is turned off and unplugged and WILL hurt if your finger shorts any of it... may kill if you mukk around a tube amp (tube amps run in voltages in excess of 230V, please don't attempt to even poke the enclosure with a screwdriver).
These circuits are ACTUALLY designed to be earthed/grounded, but will work fine without grounding/earthing nonetheless.
As you can see in that picture, the plug has an earth hole instead of pin. I have yet to find out which country uses such a peculiar socket solution but rest assured you will be able to follow the procedure that df posted.
For those whose amps are using plugs like this:
You CAN still change to a 3 pin plug BUT you can forget about experiencing the "magic" of earthing. It will more be a procedure for convenience, if you are going to find yourself moshing your amp from one location to another.
There is also an option to star-cluster gound/earth the entire circuit, but I don't think I should go into that. Never attempt to take apart your amp for self-servicing UNLESS you absolutely know what is what.
Big capacitors like the big ones in this pic:
still carry a charge even when your amp is turned off and unplugged and WILL hurt if your finger shorts any of it... may kill if you mukk around a tube amp (tube amps run in voltages in excess of 230V, please don't attempt to even poke the enclosure with a screwdriver).
Destructos
New member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_AC_power_plugs_and_sockets
Finally found it... it's a Type E/F hybrid used within France and Germany.
Finally found it... it's a Type E/F hybrid used within France and Germany.
lonelysnakr
New member
so theres no way i can solve this problem of my roland cube then you are saying?
Eh, will earthing your amp actually do something to the quality of the sound?
I mean, come on! Do you guys learn your Physics? Earthing an electrical appliance is meant to protect the appliance in case the live wire gets loose or the live wire is in direct contact with the appliance.
I have never then heard the second use of the additional earth wire...
But, if you want to protect your amp, be satisfied knowing that the 2-pin plug cable is double insulated.
I mean, come on! Do you guys learn your Physics? Earthing an electrical appliance is meant to protect the appliance in case the live wire gets loose or the live wire is in direct contact with the appliance.
I have never then heard the second use of the additional earth wire...
But, if you want to protect your amp, be satisfied knowing that the 2-pin plug cable is double insulated.
markedymark
New member
as researchers have said, theory and practical are two different things.
