I think my horn hisses...

[saustindavis]

OK, that sounded a little dirty... But seriously, I think the horn on my cab is the source of a really obnoxious hiss. I tried rolling the highs off on my bass and the head, and it was quieter but definitely still present. My rig is a Schecter Riot-5 (active) into an Acoustic B200H/B115, no effects. I used a TU-2 to mute my bass, and while some noise went away (which I expected), there was still that hiss. Finally, I turned off the horn and it went away. This would be a solution, but I really like the tone I get with the horn and cranking the highs didn't quite do it. Any ideas or suggestions?

[GrowlerBox]

Horns don't hiss -- they just reproduce hiss coming from somewhere else in your chain, so you'll need to go hunting for the source.

[jnewmark]

This is a common complaint. Do you hear the hiss when in a band situation? Usually, when playing alone, and sitting/standing close to your rig, you hear this noise. You ususally don't hear it once you play with the band.

[ddnidd1]

The hiss is generated by lower quality electronic components and the design of the various electronic circuits. So a preamp in a bass or the amp itself can generate hiss, as can pedals, etc. The horn just reproduces what's sent to it.

[will33]

A little hiss is normal, especially if you use a lot of treble. If it's overbearing, look for bad grounds/cords, dying batteries in anything that has one, "double-boosting" like gains on pedals and amp, treble on active bass and amp, etc. Just turning the tweeter down will make the hiss harder to hear but will not fix the cause of it.

[saustindavis]

Interesting... Would it be worth taking the amp to an amp tech and the bass to my guitar tech to diagnose, or would it be a waste of money? I don't really have money to spend on that stuff, but if I knew it would be fairly cheap and easily fixed I might pony up the dough.

[GrowlerBox]

Try some of the things Will suggested first -- try plugging into an outlet in a different part of the house (and turn everything else off, if you can), switch out cables, replace batteries, etc. Also, check how prominent it is when you're playing in a group situation, even if it's with a play-along track to start with. It's amazing how readily that stuff melts into the sonic background.

[will33]

I would define "normal" as- you can hear it fairly easily when the amp is idling in a quiet room but it's still not "loud"--and you don't notice it while you're playing solo at something over a bedroom volume, not even with a band.

It's usually caused by some up the chain as mentioned already.

[will33]

Not to be insulting but the Acoustic is a budget amp, it'll probably have more "normal hiss" than something higher up the food chain. It wouldn't hurt to compare it to others of the same model at Guitar Center and see if it's really any different. Or, if it's under warranty, show it to them and see what they think. Don't spend any money on it yet.

[sidez81]

Had the same issue......... got a new diaphragm, the result NO HISS

[BassmanPaul]

Originally Posted by sidez81

Had the same issue......... got a new diaphragm, the result NO HISS

No kids either!!