Strymon Timeline - Noise issues?

[Mr. Nice]

Hi there,

I just got my timeline in the mail on Wednesday. I was really excited as I had waited almost a month for it to arrive.


PROBLEM
I used it on one of the channels of my Loop Master true bypass looper strip. However, when I engaged its channel on my looper, I realized there was a weird humming sound from it. When I tapped on certain buttons on the timeline, the humming changed pitch and some beeping sounds ensued i.e. when i pressed save presets, a new beeping sound different from the usual hum was produced, and when the preset was saved, it reverted back to the normal hum. The hum was especially loud when i engaged my drive pedals.

Also, I noticed some static on the enclosure of the pedal itself when I ran my finger across it. Not a big issue, but still slightly worrying nonetheless; a 600 dollars odd pedal shouldn't be having such issues.


Tech Support
The strymon tech support told me it was most likely my power source, and I am currently using the OneSpot adaptor and daisy chaining a couple of other pedals with the OneSpot. When I tried my boss PSA adaptor solely for the timeline, the timeline worked, humming stopped, but the static increased. (Moreover, the boss PSA adaptor only provides 200mA, which does not meet their stated requirements of at least 300mA)


Does any one have any idea/thoughts/solutions to this problem?

 

[pujangga]

Sorry to hear about the problem bro. When I had the Timeline a few months back, I didn't experience any of the problems you are facing now, and the tech could be right about it being a power source problem. Does it still happen when you use the OneSpot without daisy-chaining it? For the record, I used a Cioks DC-10 which worked just fine for me.

 

[Godspeed64]

What you are facing is clock noise from daisy-chaining any time-based effect like delays & reverbs.

Other than that, make sure to run some tests on your rig:
Patch cables (quality and 100% working)
Amp has 3-pin plug not 2-pin
adaptor is not faulty (I'm talking about those Belkin type)

I suspect it's a power source issue though so do yourself a favour and get something reliable like a CIOKs.

 

[Mr. Nice]

Hey! Thanks so much for the answers! The patch cables, amps and adaptors are working fine, so i guess the noise is because I'm daisy chaining it. But strangely enough, my boss DD20 did not have any issues with noise at all when I daisy-chained it to my other effects, it was dead quiet. Thats why when my timeline had such problems I was really confused.

I have another question, does the amount of current running through it matter? Like if the timeline requires at least 300mA and I supply it with 400mA, would it still work?
I know the voltage supplied matters the most as an excessive voltage to a pedal can fry it, by what about the current then? Most manuals I have read only state specifications for the voltage but not the current too.

Thanks for the replies once again! Sorry I'm a real newbie when it comes to power supplies

 

[ryechua]

Hey! Thanks so much for the answers! The patch cables, amps and adaptors are working fine, so i guess the noise is because I'm daisy chaining it. But strangely enough, my boss DD20 did not have any issues with noise at all when I daisy-chained it to my other effects, it was dead quiet. Thats why when my timeline had such problems I was really confused.

I have another question, does the amount of current running through it matter? Like if the timeline requires at least 300mA and I supply it with 400mA, would it still work?
I know the voltage supplied matters the most as an excessive voltage to a pedal can fry it, by what about the current then? Most manuals I have read only state specifications for the voltage but not the current too.

Thanks for the replies once again! Sorry I'm a real newbie when it comes to power supplies

using a 400mA power source is OK. less than the required 300mA is not. What you can do is to isolate the Timeline and see if the problem still occurs (remove power plugs from all the other pedals except the timeline). the issue is either ground loop or insufficient current being drawn by the Timeline.

 

[gunihoon]

Bro,

Definitely due to the OneSpot. I had the same issue. Got a CIOKS DC10 and never look back