My Micro POG quits on me!

[eyvindwa]

A couple of months ago, I purchased a Micro POG, and I have really been enjoying it at home for quite some time now. However, yesterday I took it too rehearsal, and when playing with it for more than half an hour to an hour at a time, I got an unpleasant surprise. It just seems to shut down, and cut the signal so that it is barely audible. This happens regardless of wether the pedal itself is on or off. Pressing the bypass switch (to either on or off) solves the problem (for another hour or so). Just to double check I tried it back home as well, and I played it and all seemed to be well. I left it plugged in through the night though, and this morning, it had shut down again...

Has anyone experienced this? Any ideas as to what the cause might be? As the situation stands now, my mPOG is far from being gig'able (I was hoping to use it live this friday).

[ehque]

If the signal cuts out whether the pedal is on or off, and the MicroPOG is true bypass (which i think it is), then the problem is not with the MicroPOG.

[eyvindwa]

While I see your point, I think the mPOG really is to blame in this case. I don't know if it is true bypass or not, though, but if it is, I guess the switch itself could be broken.

[prsbass]

Are you powering it off a Pedal Power 2 or any other multi power supply. I found that mine does that if I use a standard 9v power.
I have mine powered off the 12v power supply from my VHT Valvulator because the owners manual for the VHT says it's OK to power 9v pedals from it. That seemed to solve the problem as I haven't had that happen since.
Mine also doesn't do that when powered by the supplied power supply.
I think that the POG uses 9.6v and if powered by a 9v supply it sucks the power dry once in awhile and cuts out.

[eyvindwa]

You know, that just might be it! I'm powering it from PP2+ (250mA output), and I have asked here before if that would a problem, considering that it says it needs 9.6V (in this thread: Micro POG power supply). Consensus then was that it didn't matter, but with my current results I guess you're right. I also tried with a standard boss adapter, with the same results.

Now, I cannot use the supplied power supply, as the outlets here in Norway are different than those in the US (in fact, I told the guys over at The Perfect Bass that they didn't even have to ship one to me due to this ).

Any ideas for other supplies that might work, or other options?

[ehque]

I'm using a no-name power supply that outputs 9V. It works fine. I doubt its a power thing if it was working fine for months, especially if the problem comes up when the pedal is off, because the mPOG still bypasses properly with no power input (i own one, its a true-non-relayed-bypass). Have you checked it on its own, checked the bass you are using, and all the cables? Does the light stay consistently on when powering down?

[speak_onion]

Yeah, the power explanation makes no sense if the mPOG is true bypass and the problem exists even in bypass. My inclination is that you've got a loose/dirty input or output jack and the reason that switching the switch fixes the problem is that it jostles the pedal and the connection is made, only to then become disconnected over time.

[Geddyfleaharris]

I had the same problem with my Micro when using the power cables supplied with my Furman board. Problem went away when I used the power supply that came with the MP.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by speak_onion

Yeah, the power explanation makes no sense if the mPOG is true bypass and the problem exists even in bypass. My inclination is that you've got a loose/dirty input or output jack and the reason that switching the switch fixes the problem is that it jostles the pedal and the connection is made, only to then become disconnected over time.

+1

The power issue makes no sense. The EHX Stereo Electric Mistress has the same requirement, same basic specs, etc., and have never failed on me. I power it with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+, and no matter what outlet I use, it works fine. I've powered it without issues on a 1 Spot, a Boss PSA-120, the original EHX adapter, and some random third-party wall wart.

Also, I would investigate your patch cables. One might be bad.

[EarlSandwich]

From my experience with mine, the mPOG isn't true bypass. If that were the case, it would bypass even with the power unplugged and be (effectively) a killswitch pedal, right? Because it doesn't do that.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by EarlSandwich

From my experience with mine, the mPOG isn't true bypass. If that were the case, it would bypass even with the power unplugged and be (effectively) a killswitch pedal, right? Because it doesn't do that.

What?

True bypass is the polar opposite of the killswitch. Power or no power, it is a pure, unadulterated link between the input and output jack when the bypass is engaged.

No signal termination is involved unless you turn the pedal on and it is not receiving power. In that circumstance, the signal is thrown into an unpowered circuit.

Regarding whether the Micro POG is really true bypass... I think this came up before, and it wasn't clear because of that dry output jack. I can't remember what the official word was on that.

[EarlSandwich]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

In that circumstance, the signal is thrown into an unpowered circuit.

Exactly, if it's true bypass, when unpowered and engaged, your signal is "killed", and when unpowered and disengaged, your clean, pure, unfiltered, mountain-spring-fresh signal passes through unscathed by the effect. I haven't had any signal pass through either output while unpowered. ...or wouldn't that be any indication of true bypass?

[JanusZarate]

Well, as I said, if you switch it to "ON", but no power is present, you shouldn't hear a thing.

If you switch it to "OFF" then power doesn't matter.

But two issues remain:

1) What's happening with the dry output? I'm certain the effect output is fine, but I'm curious about how the other reacts with and without power.

2) The "unpowered bypass" requirement isn't sufficient to mark a pedal as true bypass. There are types of bypass designs besides true bypass that can bypass the signal without power (in other words, true bypass is just one kind of non-buffered bypass).

Also... are you saying that nothing goes through when unpowered and bypassed?

[EarlSandwich]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Well, as I said, if you switch it to "ON", but no power is present, you shouldn't hear a thing.

If you switch it to "OFF" then power doesn't matter.

But two issues remain:

1) What's happening with the dry output? I'm certain the effect output is fine, but I'm curious about how the other reacts with and without power.

2) The "unpowered bypass" requirement isn't sufficient to mark a pedal as true bypass. There are types of bypass designs besides true bypass that can bypass the signal without power (in other words, true bypass is just one kind of non-buffered bypass).

Also... are you saying that nothing goes through when unpowered and bypassed?

1) Both outputs act the same without power, bypassed or not, no signal.

2) The world of bypass is uncharted territory for me. I know how true bypass works, but that's about it.

Aye, no power, no sound. I've actually been pretty unimpressed with the Micro POG, no true bypass, and it sounds kind of artificial and brittle. (it sure tracks well though)

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by EarlSandwich

1) Both outputs act the same without power, bypassed or not, no signal.

2) The world of bypass is uncharted territory for me. I know how true bypass works, but that's about it.

Aye, no power, no sound. I've actually been pretty unimpressed with the Micro POG, no true bypass, and it sounds kind of artificial and brittle. (it sure tracks well though)

Interesting...

I gotta mess with my SEM again. I'm almost certain mine doesn't work that way, but it'll be a different scenario regardless because it's stereo.

All of the mono (single output) EHX pedals are true bypass. The others have my curiosity.

And yeah, not everyone's a fan of the POG/HOG series. They're distinctly digital, but excellent at what they do.

[cheapbasslovin]

On the instruction sheet I count:

1- mention of buffered outputs, and
0- mentions of true-bypass

Same with the SEM.

Compared to the EHX pedals I have seen that have true bypass which have:

0- mentions of buffered outputs and,
1 or more - mentions of true bypass.


I say try the power supply.

[ehque]

Originally Posted by EarlSandwich

From my experience with mine, the mPOG isn't true bypass. If that were the case, it would bypass even with the power unplugged and be (effectively) a killswitch pedal, right? Because it doesn't do that.

It does.

[OhThePeacock]

Originally Posted by eyvindwa

While I see your point, I think the mPOG really is to blame in this case. I don't know if it is true bypass or not, though, but if it is, I guess the switch itself could be broken.

The Micro POG is indeed not true bypass, I just tested it.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

On the instruction sheet I count:

1- mention of buffered outputs, and
0- mentions of true-bypass

True, it does say the Dry Output is buffered on the Micro POG... I just checked.

But on the SEM, it says nothing about the type of bypass.

The Stereo Clone Theory does state that it is true bypass, and it also gives impedance values at the input and output jacks. They're fairly close in value. On the SEM, however, the input jack is 2 MΩ, and the output jacks are 820 Ω each. Hmm... not sure what that might indicate, but it's a pretty significant difference.

[prsbass]

Originally Posted by speak_onion

Yeah, the power explanation makes no sense if the mPOG is true bypass and the problem exists even in bypass. My inclination is that you've got a loose/dirty input or output jack and the reason that switching the switch fixes the problem is that it jostles the pedal and the connection is made, only to then become disconnected over time.

I understand that what your saying makes more sense than changing the power supply but mine did exactly what his is doing until I changed the power supply.