distortion static

[fenderrules]

uhm hi

okay so its like this. everytime i turn on my ds-1 distortion, theres this annoying static noise. what do i do to prevent this? i also read that boss pedals also have this pedal noise suppressor ns-2 which i think cuts out that static noise. is that true??

and it boggles me, how do guitarists cut out that static noise when at concerts???

thanks!

 

[mamemo]

single coils are prone to humming, its normal

 

[bizzynick]

i got the same problem wif my ds1 too.

 

[ShredCow]

use less gain.


Serious. Ever heard an MT2 at 3 oclock? Noise? No.

A DS1 on max gain, will have noise. Drop the gain to maybe 3 oclock, while on the amp's clean channel, that might work out.


Other than that, it could be a ground issue if you are using adaptors or daisy chaining.

 

[ShredCow]

i also read that boss pedals also have this pedal noise suppressor ns-2 which i think cuts out that static noise. is that true??

and it boggles me, how do guitarists cut out that static noise when at concerts???

That NS2 is a noise gate. Been discussed in several threads here. Do a search. Tone purists hate the NS2 as it literally cuts out ANY audio at a preset level... hence you get a "quiet", hum-less tone.

How do guitarists cut out that noise? Well, try using some mesa boogies... Thing is, if you want hi gain, get hi gain pedals, or use multiple gain stages.

multiple gain stages meaning, you have a couple of dist/od pedals cascading into each other.

Say, TS7 -> DS1 -> MT2

Set MT2 gain to like 10 oclock.
TS7 to same volume, a little bit of gain.
DS1 to same volume, a littbe bit of gain.

MT2 on, its like a light crunch.
TS7 add on, its a nice 80s rock tone.
DS1 jumps in? Its heavy metal chugg.

SOmehting to that effect. Minimal noise, minimal compression, maximum footwork.

 

[The-Warlord]

Gets me thinking...Wise man So they have more than one distortion pedal? Why have 2 doing nothing? Are you having them on low enough gain to not get noise then just stacking them up?

 

[theblueark]

More than likely its that your guitar is not shielded properly. One distortion pedal on its own usually will not cause overly irritating noise even on full. What guitar are you using?

 

[thor666]

is your guitar a SSS strat? if you switch to 2nd or 4th position on your pickup selector, do you hear the noise go away? if it is, it's 60 cycle hum that you're referring to.

Otherwise, it's either

1) wiring problem on the guitar
2) noise from the DS1
3) noise from the amp
4) noise from electrical interference
5) some other thing which i don't know or may have missed out.

 

[theblueark]

Many possibilities. Jack loose, lousy cable, etc. Try everything one by one find out. Try someone else's guitar through your distortion and amp. Try another amp. Try another pedal. Try another cable. Slowly eliminate until you know exactly where the noise is from first then only you can start to fix it.

 

[ShredCow]

Gets me thinking...Wise man So they have more than one distortion pedal? Why have 2 doing nothing? Are you having them on low enough gain to not get noise then just stacking them up?

No no.... professionals, if they are hi gain users, most prob, they use a hi gain amp, a good one like Mesa Boogies. However, ppl like Vai? His Carvin Legacy is not hi gain... more 80s rock on its own. He uses a Keeley TS9DX to boost.

The idea of the 3 stage gain (or 2 stage) is versatility... you can use the other low gain pedals too for some crunch or what not.

If you have them at low gain, adding them up, you can get hi gain but very little noise.

 

[fenderrules]

is your guitar a SSS strat?

yes my pups is SSS as seen in my siggy.

well, theres less noise when i switch to the 3rd and 4th, and when my ds-1 is in a cutsom setting. the setting will be the tone knob at roughly 10 o clock, the distortion at maybe 1 or 2 o clock, and the level at 12 o clock.

 

[fenderrules]

More than likely its that your guitar is not shielded properly. One distortion pedal on its own usually will not cause overly irritating noise even on full. What guitar are you using?

its a sx stratocastor.

 

[thor666]

1) Is there noise when you turn on amp distortion?
2) Is there noise when you use another distortion/overdrive pedal?
3) Is there noise when you play elsewhere with less electrical interference? (TV, Lights, fridge, computer, etc)

Singlecoil 60 cycle hum CANNOT be removed - it's the nature of the beast. (Hence you perceive more noise on the 1,3,5 pickup selector position if your strat is wired stock.)

Electrical Interference can be minimized by shielding your strat.

Noise can also come about if your DS1 or amp has grounding issues.

Try your setup with different equipment - try a jam studio or something - take your time to debug the problem and we can help better.

 

[fenderrules]

1. yes. before i had my ds-1, i used my amp distortion. theres that humming sound, even today. its super annoying and it drives me nuts.

2. hmmm, back last year i tried my friend's ibanez stompbox distortion (forgot which model sorry), and yeah, it was making alot of noise.

3. well, from wher my room is, its far from those appliances you mentioned. i play with even the computer off, lamp off, lights off, but fan running only. there is still noise.

huh, is that so?? im a fan of 60s SSS cuz of the nice warm tone. but not the humming which comes with the distortion. bummer

are all fender strats of every model (50's, highway, american standard etc..) like this????

 

[thor666]

i'm referring to 60cycle hum, not 60's singlecoils.

it's probably your guitar in need of a shielding. If you bring to a jam studio with the amp distortion on and hear the hum, that's the likely cause.

if you want, send it to a tech to diagnoise and shield your guitar.

(No don't ask me who to look for. I DIY and I'm not going to DIY for others because my skills are not up to par for that level that should be required.)

 

[psionic]

c'mon...its an SX strat copy...

 

[thor666]

c'mon...its an SX strat copy...

hehe. point noted...

 

[theblueark]

1. yes.

Looks like its cos you have a cheap guitar that was lousily wired with cheap parts and no sheilding. Gonna take quite a bit of work to clear the noise.

 

[DarknessFury]

Probably all SX-s are like this. Mine has the annoying humming sound too...not that I really care though, sounds like you're at a concert or something. And I don't think it's the guitar's fault, more like the amp. 'Coz even before I plugged in the guitar, there's already a humming sound.

 

[thor666]

don't have to quote everything lah guys.

anyway it could be a mix of everything. u need to get every single piece of equipment grounded and shielded to stop the noise. even a poor cable can introduct significant amounts of noise.

the other possibility is that you're dialling in too much distortion. a DS1 is not meant for extreme metal distortion settings. Get something like a Sansamp GT2 which is meant for more heavier stuff.