AT MY WITS END!

[MattyH]

Ok people. I've posted some threads concerning my problem, but now I'm at my wits end. I can not get rid of the loud obnoxious hiss from my cab. I've tried everything. It seems to be the horns in the amps. Here's the run down.

Hiss kicks in when I raise my trebles/highs on any 3 of these heads past 11 o clock.

Hartke LH1000 -> Ampeg 410HLF - Hiss, unless horn is turned completely off, killing my tone.

Hartke HA3500 -> Ampeg 410HLF - Hiss, unless horn is turned completely off.

Hartke LH1000 -> Hartke 2x12 - Hiss, unless horn is turned completely off.

Hartke HA3500 -> Hartke 2x12 - Hiss, same as bove.

Carvin 120 watt practice amp -> Ampeg 410HLF - Hiss, same as above.

Any of the above heads -> SVT 1x15 - NO HISS! No Horn = No hiss.

I used BRAND new cables, into multiple basses. The basses don't matter because the results are the same with nothing in the input. So it's not the basses. I tried on various outlets, from the kitchen, to the garage practice room. Dimmers, on, lowered, off, disconnected, everything is the same. My Boss NS-2 helps my 60's cycle hum on my 62 Reissue, but does nothing for the cab.

PLEASE HELP! I'm this close to getting rid of everything and crawling into a hole. Or, replacing everything I own

[BassmanPaul]

Stay cool Matty.

Hiss is not produced by the cabinet. It only reproduces what it is given by the amplifier it's connected to. The high frequency drivers in your cabinets are predominant to your problem thus nothing from the cabinet without such drivers. You can try turning down, but not off, the high attenuator on your cabinets. Some guys even go so far as to block these drivers with foam to cut down the highs enough.

[MattyH]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

Stay cool Matty.

Hiss is not produced by the cabinet. It only reproduces what it is given by the amplifier it's connected to. The high frequency drivers in your cabinets are predominant to your problem thus nothing from the cabinet without such drivers. You can try turning down, but not off, the high attenuator on your cabinets. Some guys even go so far as to block these drivers with foam to cut down the highs enough.

I might have to get some kind of boost because my 62 jazz is a very quiet bass. But I see what you're saying. Maybe an equalizer of some sorts, and I'll be able to keep my head on a low volume setting. As far as the attenuator goes, it needs to be completely off to silence the hiss. Theres no turn to 12 o clock or 75% of the way off. Its gotta be 100% OFF to stop the hiss. I've always wanted to try the SanAmp pedals, so maybe I'll try one of those. I wasn't a HUGE fan of the Boss equalizer.

[MattyH]

Bump for other suggestions!

[RickenBoogie]

You can't ADD a piece of gear to remove a sound from your amp. Anything to add to the signal chain will only potentially add more noise. I assume this problem occurs when you play alone, because in a band setting, it would be drowned right out. I'd just turn the tweeter off if it bothers you so much, or cut the treble from the amp's eq, and boost the upper mids instead.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by MattyH

Bump for other suggestions!

Paul's answer was definitive. Tweeters don't hiss, amps do. If you must run a cab with a tweeter for the tone you want then try amps until you find one that doesn't hiss. If you don't use the tweeter remove it and the crossover, wire the woofers direct to the jack.

[MattyH]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

You can't ADD a piece of gear to remove a sound from your amp. Anything to add to the signal chain will only potentially add more noise. I assume this problem occurs when you play alone, because in a band setting, it would be drowned right out. I'd just turn the tweeter off if it bothers you so much, or cut the treble from the amp's eq, and boost the upper mids instead.

Well with the LH1000 theres only a "mid", no upper mids no low mids. The problem is with the horn off, my tone is killed, and I can't really get it back, no matter what I set the head too. It's an easy head to use, yes. Low, Mid, Treble, but I now see how limited it is when I can't use my horn. I play in a wedding band so its on again off again all night. It gets drowned out, but it's still loud, and I don't think quality gear should do that at all no matter what. Its frustrating! The set up (Ampeg 410/Hartke LH1000) are both less than a year old. I had a MarkBass Super Booster a few months ago for a little bit. I didn't get hiss. It wasn't my Booster, and I didn't care for it all that much, pretty much just testing it. Maybe trying a different volume boost or equalizer will help. I'll try before I buy of course.

[MattyH]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Paul's answer was definitive. Tweeters don't hiss, amps do. If you must run a cab with a tweeter for the tone you want then try amps until you find one that doesn't hiss. If you don't use the tweeter remove it and the crossover, wire the woofers direct to the jack.

Yea I have coverage through GC. I don't think I can just return it though. I would have to get it sent out if they thought it was broken, or they would give me a gift card and take it back. In that case I could find a new cab, but I think the store credit is a slim to none possibility. I'll have to research it.

[murphy]

My tweeters have never hissed.
Sounds like there is a problem.
Can you try a same model cab in the store and see if that one hisses too?

[Sartori]

If the tweeters are giving you problems, why not just disconnect them?

[Floyd Eye]

I have the horn in my cab turned off. I think I have it disconnected altogether now.

If I had that LH1000 I'd get another matching Ampeg cab and use a SansAmp. I think that amp is full power at 4 ohms right, so 2 8 ohm 4x10s would kill.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Paul's answer was definitive. Tweeters don't hiss, amps do. If you must run a cab with a tweeter for the tone you want then try amps until you find one that doesn't hiss. If you don't use the tweeter remove it and the crossover, wire the woofers direct to the jack.

My simple solution: turn the horns off. You're a bass player - you don't really need them.

[lbwdog]

Originally Posted by MattyH

Yea I have coverage through GC. I don't think I can just return it though. I would have to get it sent out if they thought it was broken, or they would give me a gift card and take it back.

Apparently there's nothing broken.

In that case I could find a new cab, but I think the store credit is a slim to none possibility. I'll have to research it.

I think you misunderstood. the cabinet isn't the problem. To be 100% free of hiss, you need to shop till you find an amp that is totally quiet. The other alternative is a good graphic or parametric EQ, and cut the offending frequency.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by lbwdog

Apparently there's nothing broken.

I think you misunderstood. the cabinet isn't the problem. To be 100% free of hiss, you need to shop till you find an amp that is totally quiet. The other alternative is a good graphic or parametric EQ, and cut the offending frequency.

+1

Cabinets only produce what you feed them, at least the good ones do. You're feeding your amp hiss (by way of the heads you're using) therefore you're getting it out of the cab. Nothing broken with your cab.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

My simple solution: turn the horns off. You're a bass player - you don't really need them.

If you play flats through buckers while wearing mittens true. But if God intended for you to do so he'd have cut your hearing off at 500 Hz.
I agree that tweeters as usually employed are a bad idea, that midrange drivers work much better for our instrument. But as long as tweeters are all that most of the electric bass industry offers to those who want more range than woofers offer they have no other option. It's too bad that many of the same manufacturers who insist on using tweeters instead of midrange drivers won't make an amp that doesn't hiss through them.

[fdeck]

+1

All amps produce some hiss. In fact, every stage of every amp contributes hiss. The only question is how much. A preamp that is chock full of generic TL072's, followed by a power amp with high gain, is unavoidably a hiss machine.

[EpiRipper]

Are you using the bright switch on the LH1000? It adds instant hiss through my rig and I don't have tweeters.

[omnimutant]

Speaker Cables? You mention new cables into your basses, but maybe you got some quirky speaker cables that some of your amps like and others don't.

[MattyH]

I'll try and answer everyhitng in one shot here haha.

The horn actually helps my tone. I can turn it off and be ok, but the tone I get with it on is stellar. It just comes with a hiss.

All the cables I tried were all new. Front to back.

The bright switch enhances the hiss tenfold.

I can't pair 2 8ohm cabs because I do weddings and I carry loads of other gear, but I'm a huge fan of big rigs of doom!

I don't think my cab is broken. I don't think anything is really "broken", I was more or less looking for suggestions.

I can take the head to the store, and try it through an exact Ampeg 410HLF. I know they have one in stock because I was there today. That's the next step in my search for a solution.

At tonight's wedding I used the LH1000 through my Ampeg SVT 1x15. Some minor interference, but some other pieces of equipment were humming as well due to crappy power at the venue. All I can say is wow. It sounded great. But I love my 410. The 15 can get a tad hollow sometimes. I understand the hiss will come from the horn, being fed by the HEAD. So, I may need to try the head at GC through a cab that doesn't have a horn, or try other heads through my cab, that does have a horn. Either way, it looks like I have to replace something.

Again, it could also be a master volume issue too. My 62 Jazz is very quiet, and requires a little more oompf. Maybe my volume is too high, pushing my trebles too much. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I'll go for an SVT7 Pro and a SansAmp for good measure. When I tried my friends MarkBass Super Booster, I could keep my heads volume super low, boost my bass volume via pedal, and be hiss free. But I didn't care for the MB pedal. I hate problems! Haha.

Thanks for all the responses though! Any help freeing me of the noise and getting back my wonderful tone is GREATLY appreciated and helpful. TBers are the sh!t.

[TimmyP]

I've yet to hear a 2-way bass cab in which I though sounded as good as one w/o the horn and letting the woofers run all the way up (no low pass). All the horns do is add clicks and clacks that emphasize when a note is played, but not what the note is - just more stuff to muck up the mix.