Joe Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 I'm having some trouble revamping my sound. With the recent posts about effects loops, I thought I would start to use mine. I have an older Delta Blues 115. When I put my Carbon Copy and Boss Super Chorus in the loop, the amp buzzed rather loudly. The tubes aren't very old, 6 months or so. I havent gone to the Peavey site yet, I thought I would try you guys first. I don't post there and I trust you guys. Thanks.
111518 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Whenever I hear "loop" and "buzz" in the same question my first response is: ground loop. Are you using a power supply with the pedals? If so, is its polarity the same as the amp's? If not, that could be a culprit. A quick way to check is to lift the ground on the power supply (plug it into a three-to-two prong adapter. If the buzz goes away, it's a ground loop. Then, you need to figure out a solution that ensures all your gear is in some way grounded. ... not necessarily the problem, but something to check.
DetroitBlues Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 I have the same amp and use a BF3 and DD3 in the loop. No noise there, however, I suspect your input jacks are dirty, might want to clean them out....
Joe Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 Tried two prong adaptor on the pedal board (BCB 60), no luck. Then on the amp also, still no luck. Even tried turning the fluorescent lights off, still no luck. I have 200 amp service in my house so that shouldn't be an issue.We play Friday so I can try it at bar. I'll chopstick test the tubes to double check that. It's still a mystery so far.
Joe Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 I have the same amp and use a BF3 and DD3 in the loop. No noise there, however, I suspect your input jacks are dirty, might want to clean them out.... Thanks DB, I'll try that. I did have an issue with a dirty input jack a few months ago. Couldn't believe how much dirt was in there. I keep a cover on the amp now. D2F, nice cover.
Steiner Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Whenever I hear "loop" and "buzz" in the same question my first response is: ground loop. Are you using a power supply with the pedals? If so, is its polarity the same as the amp's? If not, that could be a culprit. A quick way to check is to lift the ground on the power supply (plug it into a three-to-two prong adapter. If the buzz goes away, it's a ground loop. Then, you need to figure out a solution that ensures all your gear is in some way grounded. ... not necessarily the problem, but something to check. This seems quite reasonable. You may have a bad instrument cable, or...
111518 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Excuse me if this is obvious, but the next step would seem to be to isolate the source. Try it with just each pedal in the loop, then with the loop simply patched with a cord. That will tell you if there is perhaps an input level mismatch on one or the other pedal, or in fact a bad jack (if the problem is a jack on the amp, the noise should be there even with only a cord in the line.) I'm sure there are some out there that can provide more detail than I, but my understanding is that the signal sent through most effects loops is hotter than the signal generated by a guitar. Some effects loops allow you to adjust the output (and some the input), but some don't allow the adjustment of either. So, the issue could be a mismatch of the levels that the effects want to "see." That's about where my diagnostic abilities end, and I start kicking stuff.
kbp810 Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Did you happen to notice any degradation in volume as well? I know you already said it's a "buzz", but to clarify, is it more of a buzz, or perhaps more of a hum? - and perhaps to quickly clarify... are the effects actually working through the effects loop? (as in, does everything "work" as expected, with the exception of the annoying noise?) Given that the sound is not present when the effect loop is not in use, it doesn't seem like a tube to me... though if you have a spare to try, you could swap V2 and see if it perhaps goes away (seems highly unlikely that it would be V1 or V3 since it sounds just fine otherwise) The next thing that comes to my mind could be a frayed end on a cable, either an open, or even some frayed bits shorting across... - have you tried another cable? (if one were available to try, of course) ...and just to make sure I'm covering all basis (forgive me, but just have to ask!) - I assume you are certain you have the right signal path? (don't have the send and return cables reversed) - by chance using a speaker cable in the effect loop? They're not shielded and can pick up all sorts of unwanted noises.
Joe Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks DB, I'll try that. I did have an issue with a dirty input jack a few months ago. Couldn't believe how much dirt was in there. I keep a cover on the amp now. D2F, nice cover. Tried cleaning the jacks, no luck. Tried guitar alone, has a slight hum and small pop when I turn the power off. Pops real loud when the effects are in the loop.
Joe Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 Excuse me if this is obvious, but the next step would seem to be to isolate the source. Try it with just each pedal in the loop, then with the loop simply patched with a cord. That will tell you if there is perhaps an input level mismatch on one or the other pedal, or in fact a bad jack (if the problem is a jack on the amp, the noise should be there even with only a cord in the line.) I'm sure there are some out there that can provide more detail than I, but my understanding is that the signal sent through most effects loops is hotter than the signal generated by a guitar. Some effects loops allow you to adjust the output (and some the input), but some don't allow the adjustment of either. So, the issue could be a mismatch of the levels that the effects want to "see." That's about where my diagnostic abilities end, and I start kicking stuff. Yesterday I tried just the Carbon Copy with the same results. Before that I was using a Boss ME-20 in line and every thing was fine. Next I'll put the BCB-60 in line to compare that. I used to practice with this BCB-60 without any problems.
Joe Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 Did you happen to notice any degradation in volume as well? I know you already said it's a "buzz", but to clarify, is it more of a buzz, or perhaps more of a hum? - and perhaps to quickly clarify... are the effects actually working through the effects loop? (as in, does everything "work" as expected, with the exception of the annoying noise?) Given that the sound is not present when the effect loop is not in use, it doesn't seem like a tube to me... though if you have a spare to try, you could swap V2 and see if it perhaps goes away (seems highly unlikely that it would be V1 or V3 since it sounds just fine otherwise) The next thing that comes to my mind could be a frayed end on a cable, either an open, or even some frayed bits shorting across... - have you tried another cable? (if one were available to try, of course) ...and just to make sure I'm covering all basis (forgive me, but just have to ask!) - I assume you are certain you have the right signal path? (don't have the send and return cables reversed) - by chance using a speaker cable in the effect loop? They're not shielded and can pick up all sorts of unwanted noises. I think you're correct that I am hearing a hum not a buzz. The effects do work when switched on. The hum is just constant. I do have some old tubes to try. I only have one extra cable but will try switch them out. Tomorrow I can get sme more to try. I only have tow that can be inspected. As in my reply to 111518, ther is a slight hum with just my git, and a slight pop when powering off.
Joe Posted January 17, 2012 Author Posted January 17, 2012 Did you happen to notice any degradation in volume as well? I know you already said it's a "buzz", but to clarify, is it more of a buzz, or perhaps more of a hum? - and perhaps to quickly clarify... are the effects actually working through the effects loop? (as in, does everything "work" as expected, with the exception of the annoying noise?) Given that the sound is not present when the effect loop is not in use, it doesn't seem like a tube to me... though if you have a spare to try, you could swap V2 and see if it perhaps goes away (seems highly unlikely that it would be V1 or V3 since it sounds just fine otherwise) The next thing that comes to my mind could be a frayed end on a cable, either an open, or even some frayed bits shorting across... - have you tried another cable? (if one were available to try, of course) ...and just to make sure I'm covering all basis (forgive me, but just have to ask!) - I assume you are certain you have the right signal path? (don't have the send and return cables reversed) - by chance using a speaker cable in the effect loop? They're not shielded and can pick up all sorts of unwanted noises. kbp, you are the man. New tube, no problem. If I ask what led you to that conclusion, would I understand the answer? New question. Should I replace any other tubes? By the way, I did double check the signal chain. If I ever meet you I'm buying you a beer. Thanks to everyone, especially kbp810. Is he Batman?
DetroitBlues Posted January 17, 2012 Posted January 17, 2012 Tried cleaning the jacks, no luck. Tried guitar alone, has a slight hum and small pop when I turn the power off. Pops real loud when the effects are in the loop. The amp is supposed to make a pop when it shuts off... So with the effects loop completely unplugged it still does it? Have you tried plugging the effects in the input jack and use the clean channel? Which makes me think, does it happen on both channels? Elimination of each cable and pedal at a time should help. If that's not it, then KBP is probably right... Bad wire in the amp or a tube going bad....
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