Noise Suppressor Pedals Behringer NR300 vs Boss Counterpart

[Ayliffe]

I'm looking to get a noise suppressor, because when i'm running two or more distortions at the same time i get mad hiss,hum, and noise.... obviously. So i need something to eliminate this.

First of all, am i correct to assume these types of pedals will do this? and secondly, is it really worth forking out the extra hundred bucks for the boss version when it is something this simple? I mean my tone won't be changing in any way, its just getting rid of excess noise right?

So this leads me to the main question; Is the behringer NR300 good enough for the job? Does anyone have any experience with it? etc..

[bongomania]

None of them work well, not even the most expensive ones. None of them actually "get rid of" excess noise. Most of them just "turn down the volume" of the whole signal in between notes, so the noise is there 100% during each note. Some of them additionally turn down the volume of a narrow high-frequency range where a lot of noise can be found, but I would never assume that any one "noise reduction system" actually takes that extra step. Read the fine print.

If you are content with just having the noise turned down in between notes, so you don't have huge hum and feedback while you're not playing, then that's when you can say there isn't a big difference between cheap and expensive gates. Sure, one gate may work better than another, but IMO/IME it has nothing to do with the price point.

[Ayliffe]

Originally Posted by bongomania

None of them work well, not even the most expensive ones. None of them actually "get rid of" excess noise. Most of them just "turn down the volume" of the whole signal in between notes, so the noise is there 100% during each note. Some of them additionally turn down the volume of a narrow high-frequency range where a lot of noise can be found, but I would never assume that any one "noise reduction system" actually takes that extra step. Read the fine print.

If you are content with just having the noise turned down in between notes, so you don't have huge hum and feedback while you're not playing, then that's when you can say there isn't a big difference between cheap and expensive gates. Sure, one gate may work better than another, but IMO/IME it has nothing to do with the price point.

this is what i was wondering, thanks.

[K.O.D Bass]

You may want to have a look at the EHX Hum Debugger, which is supposed to take out the noise without being a gate, but I'm not sure about how well it works as I've never used one. May be worth a shot.

Zach

[Nikoubis]

Originally Posted by K.O.D Bass

You may want to have a look at the EHX Hum Debugger, which is supposed to take out the noise without being a gate, but I'm not sure about how well it works as I've never used one. May be worth a shot.

Zach

AFAIK the Hum Debugger is only supposed to eliminate the hum of single coil pickups, so it probably won't work for the OP's application.

[walker rosewood]

the only thing GC is good for.... 30 day return policy. best way to find out if it will work for you!


p.s. avoid anything Behringer at all costs

[Pitbull Growl]

I use an NS-2 for feedback/hum suppression. Works fine for me. Tried the Alesis MicroGate, but the threshold control didn't do it for me.... either way too gated, or not enough, and it's too delayed on the attack for me. Prolly better @ line level than instrument level. YMMV but that's my exp. w/'em

[Sonnycrocket89]

ISP Decimator ftw!

[Dead To Life]

Behringer noise NR 300

Ok so I bought one of these after much thinking .. I seriously spent a good 4 weeks working out if I was going to invest in one of these or Boss similar product that’s £50 more!.. Im GLAD I bought this one and I will tell you why...

I had just about enough money to buy the Boss NS2 (this is the equivalent to the behringer noise NR 300) but i wanted to understand what was the difference between the two..
Before I go into that.. ill explain WHY i needed one in the first place...

The Situation I was in...

I play in a heavy metal-grunge band called Dead To Life (check us out on Facebook and on youtube), we are being hailed as the evil brother of Nirvana lol.. To give you an idea of what we sound like.. Anyway.. we started playing some bigger venues with bigger backlines and PA systems. We play loud anyway and very distorted but I have recently been finding I have BIG feedback problems with my rig especially playing the larger venues.

My Set-up/Rig…

I am using a Line 6 110 Digital Combo Amp at a 6-7 O'clock Volume setting ( this is louder than you may think ), my dialled in sound is on Meshuggah and sometimes clean with a good old Boss DS-1 (Distortion) and sometimes a DOD Digitech Death-Metal Pedal.

My Guitars range from using a custom built strat pine-caster with over-wound Humbuckers in bridge and neck and a Jackson Performer PS1 using Bridge Pickup. I also use strats and an Epiphone SG Special with plastic pickup covers (I did have metal but they feedback way to much!)

What I found and why I took the Behringer noise NR 300…

I managed to find a shop in Portsmouth that sells the Boss NS2 Pedals but I didn’t have my guitar or amp with me.. Luckily they stocked the Line 6 range so I was able to recreate the feedback scenario using a Jackson and a Line 6 stack with a DS1 ( the shop owner was very patient with me ) – the Boss sounded really good.. it took out all the noise and feedback without any problems.. That’s the point of the pedal.. so I almost bought it.. but I thought I should try the behringer noise NR 300 still as it was so much cheaper.

I ended up thinking “well if it don’t work then it don’t work” and for the price I paid, it was a saving of £50 to me. I have always bought Boss but as this was more of a functional pedal not an effect as such.. I decided to give it a whirl..

behringer noise NR 300 result…

Im so glad I bought this pedal.. It does exactly what the Boss NS2 does.. obviously there will be subtle differences but for what I wanted it totally delivers.. that’s why I am writing this I wanted to help others out there who were in my predicament. I know Boss pedals are metal, shiny and nice looking etc but trust me Behringer have invested back into themselves I feel.. The pedal I got was in cheap outer packaging but the pedal is sturdy hard plastic outer case, it doesn’t feel like its going to fall apart it feels “safe” also remember your not likely to keep stomping it.. It is meant to be left on through the gig really- It works well.

Sound…

There were thing s I read and you might have read online about losing tone and sound with these pedals.. I got to tell you al now.. From a fellow musician.. They don’t lose tone.. Not if you set up the Decay and threshold controls correctly and it’s really not hard. To be honest my bands sound is raw and edgy so we do not look out for tiny imperfections but honestly this pedal is awesome.. it will cut all sound and feedback the minute you stop playing the strings. Whilst you are playing it will just help the feedback disappear (it shouldn’t be heard whilst playing anyway)

I nearly wrote this review a few weeks ago when I got the pedal but I thought I should gig it first.. We used it at a really awesome gig in Worthing it did the trick perfectly.

To summarise…

Both pedals do what they say they do.. The Behringer totally wins value for money wise.. Its over £50 cheaper and really does get rid of all that junk and feedback in-between sweeps and songs.. I once had a Behringer distortion and I binned it because it was rubbish.. That was over 7 years ago.. I just become a born again believer in Behringer!

[James Judson]

Noise is a phenomena that is always present. Just turn your amp to 10 and you'll hear it (without a guitar signal). Comes from many sources ie: cables, connections, power supply ripple, motors, light dimmers, flourescent lights, and many more. Your amp simply amplifies everything including this noise.

A few ways to reduce it.

1. Isolation. Shielding puts up a barrier to the source and your amp. Shielding your axe creates a grounded "cover" around your pickups and control cavity. Your signal also needs to be isolated all the way to your amp. Cables, connectors, pedals etc. Try switching these around or replacing/eliminating.

2. Filters. You may be able to filter out your noise using an EQ but keep in mind the frequencies you cut may also effect your "tone". Many noise reducers are simply fancy EQ's filtering out the band of frequencies that they think is your issue. Power conditioners claim to filter noise out of the power but the power supply in your amp should do the same thing.

3. Gates. These simply shut off the input when your not playing. Very effective when your not playing but as soon as you start playing, there's your noise.

4. Improve signal to noise ratio. Here's my favorite that frequently gets over looked. Here's how it works. Turn down your amp (turns down the noise as well) and turn up your guitar (more signal and more volume). Same volume but better S to N ratio.

5. Keep signal chain simple. Many folk like to use a hunnert pedals (the more the better right). If I was chasing a noise issue I would start by plugging straight into the amp then add devices one at a time till the noise comes back (do I need the pedal more or a quiet system more?). An effects loop could be a good option for some pedals cuz the pre amp has boosted the signal before the effect out giving a better S to N ratio.

I used to chase noise issues in ultrasound equipment (hospitals are very noisy atmospheres) and it usually went away or not without explanation but I did find elevators, power tools, power and radio towers to be culprits. Same issues but a whole different animal. Your amp gain a few hundred to one, ultrasound gain million to one.

Good luck and let us know how you fixed your issue.