How Can I Reduce Noise on a Moogerfooger?

warwick.hoy · #1 02-07-2010, 05:23 PM

I love my Bass MuRF but in the right conditions it is one noisy mofo. I don't mean a slight hum or hiss,...it's an ear assaulting (albeit not very loud) squeal. It's especially noticeable since I no longer fear the tweeter on my bass cab.

I've seen several TBer's mod their Moog pedals. I'm inclined to think that the common mod is a TBP mod and this is done to alleviate it's noise issues.

Have I made and ass out of you and me?

warwick.hoy · #2 02-08-2010, 08:41 AM

before heading to work bump

Grimoire · #3 02-08-2010, 08:46 AM

What are you using to power it?

markjazzbassist · #4 02-08-2010, 09:49 AM

is it near a power brick (PP2, dunlop, fuel tank) or the power supply?

that's the only thing i can think of.

warwick.hoy · #5 02-09-2010, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimoire

What are you using to power it?

The stock wall wart plugged into a power bar with 2 other wall warts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

is it near a power brick (PP2, dunlop, fuel tank) or the power supply?

that's the only thing i can think of.

I have the G-Bus-8 glorified daisy chain that I use to power my other pedals. It is mounted on the underside of the opposite end of a PT-2.

rcubed · #6 02-09-2010, 11:23 AM

Someone around here had a thread (or maybe it was another forum) showing how to shield the interior to help reduce noise.

OilcanRacer · #7 02-09-2010, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcubed

Someone around here had a thread (or maybe it was another forum) showing how to shield the interior to help reduce noise.

i wrap my head in tin foil. the more tin shielding i use in my ears the less buzz i hear. i wrap the cat too just in case its coming from him.

Gearhead43 · #8 02-09-2010, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OilcanRacer

i wrap my head in tin foil. the more tin shielding i use in my ears the less buzz i hear. i wrap the cat too just in case its coming from him.

+1 and don't forget to prime the flux-capacitor.

warwick.hoy · #9 02-09-2010, 11:45 PM

So the issue is not as noticeable at home (It's still there),..but definitely worse in a rehearsal space with questionable wiring (It could be fine but how should I know).

Edit: I did a forum search and a google search for "Moog Noise" "Moog Shielding" as well as "Moogerfooger Shielding" and got nary a thang.

Matt Dead · #10 02-10-2010, 12:03 AM

What cables are you using? I was using some cheapy cables to get my way through once I bought my pedal. When I got it, it hissed like crazy. Upgraded my cables to Monster cables, gold coated. All the hiss went away, so this might be your problem.

warwick.hoy · #11 02-10-2010, 07:34 AM

A mixture of george L's and dimarzio and live wire crappy ones.

I've been looking into some new cables but am not entirely convinced that will completely alleviate the madness.

rottenramone · #12 02-10-2010, 10:26 AM

foogers are not daisy chain friendly. the more u chain up, the louder the wheeee gets. try a dedicated power supply for it.

gnasher1993 · #13 02-10-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rottenramone

foogers are not daisy chain friendly. the more u chain up, the louder the wheeee gets. try a dedicated power supply for it.

Did you read the thread?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grimoire

What are you using to power it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

The stock wall wart plugged into a power bar with 2 other wall warts.

Matt Dead · #14 02-10-2010, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

A mixture of george L's and dimarzio and live wire crappy ones.

I've been looking into some new cables but am not entirely convinced that will completely alleviate the madness.

Upgrade to monster gold coated cables, you will notice the difference.

warwick.hoy · #15 02-10-2010, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

Did you read the thread?

The quoted text is a little out of context. In that same post I answered (MJB asked).

Quote:

is it near a power brick (PP2, dunlop, fuel tank) or the power supply?

that's the only thing i can think of.

To which I answered that it is at the opposite end of a PT-2 from a glorified daisy chain.

You are correct though Gnash the MuRF is in fact powered by the stock wall wart on a power strip (quality ?) with two other wall warts plugged into it. Just wanted to clear up any loose ends.

warwick.hoy · #16 02-10-2010, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Dead

Upgrade to monster gold coated cables, you will notice the difference.

Without starting a Monster debate <looks up phone numbers to copyright lawyers> I'm happy to upgrade but not to Monster.

I've been reluctant to buy more expensive cables because at some point in time (probably when I move into a house with a garage/shop) I plan to learn how to solder up my own cables.

I was under the impression that the George L's were pretty high quality cable. FWIW I'm using the .155.

fightthepower · #17 02-11-2010, 12:03 AM

I don't remember a specific timeline of my foogers becoming noise-free, but I've had them all on PP2+'s for a while and can't remember the last time they whistled/swooshed/etc like they used to, and Im using mostly George L's. When using the wallwarts on a powerstrip, I did have some considerable noise at times. Maybe time to upgrade to an isolated powersupply? That's my only potential suggestion.

rottenramone · #18 02-11-2010, 12:46 AM

what i meant was not to daisy chain the murf with other pedals. i hope it clears things up

Grimoire · #19 02-11-2010, 03:17 AM

The George L's would not be the issue.
I had noise problems with my Freqbox when I first bought it, but that was from using a daisy-chain. Never had an issue with the stock wart, but then 'foogers are notorious for having noise problems. I'm not an electrical engineer, so I can't offer any solutions, but the best thing to do is try different combinations of pedals (assuming you are using more than one?), swapping some out etc and see if it makes any difference.

warwick.hoy · #20 02-11-2010, 11:19 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. So I'm not quite ready to drop $200 on a PPII+ but I am considering a Furman Pluglock (the pluglock feature is the appeal to me). I've seen them going for around $25. Any word on quality?

EDIT: I should mention that a PPII+ is on the horizon,...but I'm not sure I'm ready to rule out other factors before moving to such a power supply, mainly cause it's 200 clams.