thor666
New member
This isn't a complete or fully reliable guide to diagnosing your equipment. It's just based on my experience with guitar equipment. Comments and criticisms highly welcomed, I'll edit and change the info as more corrections are made by other softies.
Intro
Most of the problems I've seen on soft regarding guitar equipment setup are of the following:
1. No sound
2. Signal is too soft
3. Noise
4. Weird signals
The underlying principle imo is the same though - something(s) in the chain is having a problem. It could be one, more than one, or a combination of equipment that contributes to the problem.
A systematic approach to eliminating all problems with the chain would be helpful, hence the purpose of this post.
This guide does not teach you how to fix the individual equipment that is causing the problem though. It only covers how to isolate the problem.
Method
In this step by step approach, fix each problem before going to the next step. Don't compound the problems together.
1. Amp: With nothing plugged into the amp, switch on the amp. If you hear anything other than silence or small amounts of noise, there is a problem with the amp. Fix the amp.
2. Guitar -> Amp: Find a cable you know that works properly, and plug the guitar straight into the amp, with nothing in between the guitar, cable and amp. Play your guitar, listen for any problems.
3. Test cables: Test all of the cables in your chain. To do this, repeat 2. for different long cables. Eliminate all faulty cables (put them aside). Next, for patch cables, find a pedal that works, plug Guitar -> Long Cable -> Pedal -> Patch Cable -> Amp. Repeat and eliminate until all cables are tested.
4. Test individual pedals: Test each pedal individually. Use batteries if possible, otherwise the AC adaptor if the pedal does not use batteries. Plug Guitar -> Cable -> Pedal -> Cable -> Amp, play your guitar, listen & fix for any problems.
5. Build up the chain: Now it's time to slowly build up the chain that you had designed. starting from the pedal that is closest to your guitar, plug guitar -> pedal 1 -> amp. Then introduce each pedal in sequence towards the amp. (Guitar -> pedal 1 -> pedal 2 -> amp, Guitar -> pedal 1 -> pedal 2 -> pedal 3 -> amp). Avoid using adaptors in the process. Listen and fix each problem you may encounter. For loopers, test each loop in sequence.
Do note, at this point, you are also testing for problems caused by the interaction of pedals. If you suspect such a problem exist, take out that last pedal you introduced and continue to build your chain.
6. Test your adaptors: Slowly introduce adaptors to each of the pedal you want to power with the adaptor. Most of us use daisy chains, and it is important to know that some pedals do not like sharing power with other pedals/models/etc. Again, follow the sequence of powering pedal 1, then pedal 2, etc.
7. Fully working?: If you've finished the 6 steps, you should have a proper working sound; otherwise, the problem isolation is probably out of the scope of this amateur guide. Some of the things (electrical sources, interferences) are not covered here (yet), so you'll have to ask an expert to help you out.
Conclusion
It shouldn't be that hard to understand this guide if you've been playing with pedals and stuff for a while. The guide basically isolates the problem in sequence, so it tries to take the guesswork out of the diagnosis. If you haven't had a pedal,a guitar or an amp, don't ask questions regarding the guide; I won't be able to help you since you haven't tried playing anything like that.
Have fun, and happy rocking!
Raymond
Intro
Most of the problems I've seen on soft regarding guitar equipment setup are of the following:
1. No sound
2. Signal is too soft
3. Noise
4. Weird signals
The underlying principle imo is the same though - something(s) in the chain is having a problem. It could be one, more than one, or a combination of equipment that contributes to the problem.
A systematic approach to eliminating all problems with the chain would be helpful, hence the purpose of this post.
This guide does not teach you how to fix the individual equipment that is causing the problem though. It only covers how to isolate the problem.
Method
In this step by step approach, fix each problem before going to the next step. Don't compound the problems together.
1. Amp: With nothing plugged into the amp, switch on the amp. If you hear anything other than silence or small amounts of noise, there is a problem with the amp. Fix the amp.
2. Guitar -> Amp: Find a cable you know that works properly, and plug the guitar straight into the amp, with nothing in between the guitar, cable and amp. Play your guitar, listen for any problems.
3. Test cables: Test all of the cables in your chain. To do this, repeat 2. for different long cables. Eliminate all faulty cables (put them aside). Next, for patch cables, find a pedal that works, plug Guitar -> Long Cable -> Pedal -> Patch Cable -> Amp. Repeat and eliminate until all cables are tested.
4. Test individual pedals: Test each pedal individually. Use batteries if possible, otherwise the AC adaptor if the pedal does not use batteries. Plug Guitar -> Cable -> Pedal -> Cable -> Amp, play your guitar, listen & fix for any problems.
5. Build up the chain: Now it's time to slowly build up the chain that you had designed. starting from the pedal that is closest to your guitar, plug guitar -> pedal 1 -> amp. Then introduce each pedal in sequence towards the amp. (Guitar -> pedal 1 -> pedal 2 -> amp, Guitar -> pedal 1 -> pedal 2 -> pedal 3 -> amp). Avoid using adaptors in the process. Listen and fix each problem you may encounter. For loopers, test each loop in sequence.
Do note, at this point, you are also testing for problems caused by the interaction of pedals. If you suspect such a problem exist, take out that last pedal you introduced and continue to build your chain.
6. Test your adaptors: Slowly introduce adaptors to each of the pedal you want to power with the adaptor. Most of us use daisy chains, and it is important to know that some pedals do not like sharing power with other pedals/models/etc. Again, follow the sequence of powering pedal 1, then pedal 2, etc.
7. Fully working?: If you've finished the 6 steps, you should have a proper working sound; otherwise, the problem isolation is probably out of the scope of this amateur guide. Some of the things (electrical sources, interferences) are not covered here (yet), so you'll have to ask an expert to help you out.
Conclusion
It shouldn't be that hard to understand this guide if you've been playing with pedals and stuff for a while. The guide basically isolates the problem in sequence, so it tries to take the guesswork out of the diagnosis. If you haven't had a pedal,a guitar or an amp, don't ask questions regarding the guide; I won't be able to help you since you haven't tried playing anything like that.
Have fun, and happy rocking!
Raymond
