Noisy pedals // effects chain advice

Megalith · #1 03-01-2010, 05:31 PM

Hey guys. Did a quick search on the first issue but nothing came up that helped so thought I'd ask here.

I'm pretty new to the whole effects game (former drummer, now converted

) and what I'm finding with my fuzz/OD pedals, as soon as they're switched on you get the horrible "CCCCHHHHHHHHHHH!" noise straight away before you hit a string. What kind of pedals are available to help this? Or should I just grin and bear it? In my head I'm thinking a compressor/limiter, but I'm not 100%.

Also, if anyone could advise on what would be an optimum set up for the following, that'd be a great help. It's currently like..

BASS >> TUNER > DELAY > FLANGER > CHORUS > RUSSIAN MUFF > DOUBLE MUFF > BOSS ODB3 >> AMP

A friend of mine suggested starting with the tuner, having the light effects at the start (chorus/delay etc) and the fuzz/OD towards the end, ending in the heaviest/thickest. Would you guys agree?

Thanks in advance!

bongomania · #2 03-01-2010, 05:34 PM

As far as the noise thing, some dirt pedals are noisier than others. My advice is to get less-noisy pedals.

You don't want a compressor for noise--they make noise worse. A noise gate will help, technically, but most of the ones I've tried are awful. It's less expense and hassle just getting dirt pedals with less noise in the first place.

As far as the signal chain, it's all up to personal taste. Try a variety of orders and see what sounds good to you.

**colcifer** · #3 03-01-2010, 05:50 PM

Generally delay pedals are put just before the amp. The way you have it now is what I'd call (for lack of a better word) stupid.

The criticism was meant to be constructive (sorry if it wasn't).

Megalith · #4 03-01-2010, 05:53 PM

To be honest, the bit of noise inbetween wouldn't bother me enough to go and change them, seeing as I love how they sound 98% of the time (when I'm actually playing) basically I was wondering was there a quick fix for it, like as I was saying to just put some sort of noise gate in front of them to eliminate any hiss etc.

Yeah, I spent a good 2 hours today changing up my chain, the one above seems to be about the best I came up with I reckon, but I did stick with my mates advice on it. Was looking for any suggestions or ideas anyone may have for improvements.

Megalith · #5 03-01-2010, 05:56 PM

Colcifir, if you were being constructive you'd have given a reason as to why it was "stupid". Nevermind.

BooHead · #6 03-01-2010, 05:58 PM

BASS >> TUNER > RUSSIAN MUFF > DOUBLE MUFF > BOSS ODB3 > FLANGER > CHORUS > DELAY >> AMP

Try it in that order. That should reduce a lot of the noise. I had the same problem when I first started getting into effects. For reference IMO the order should be BASS >> GAIN EFFECTS > COMPRESSORS > MODULATION > TIME BASED >> AMP.

Try switching the order of your Distortion/OD pedals. That make a big difference in your sound. It may be subtle, but totally worth trying out. You can also try changing the order of your Chorus and Flanger.

BooHead · #7 03-01-2010, 06:01 PM

If that doesn't work then you should get a Noise Suppressor and put the Gain effects in the loop of the Noise Suppressor. That will eliminate any white noise, but try changing the order. Like I said, I had the same problem and just by switching the order of the pedals pretty much eliminated and noticable white noise.

Megalith · #8 03-01-2010, 06:01 PM

Awesome BooHead, will try that set-up out tomorrow. Thanks a lot mate.

Megalith · #9 03-01-2010, 06:03 PM

Also, would you recommend any noise suppressor in-particular?

cheapbasslovin · #10 03-01-2010, 06:03 PM

Chorus and flanger will make a much more notable (only your ears can call it better) effect at the rear of the chain, after the dirt.

I would say that dirt pedals tend to amplify noise ahead of them. If each pedal is adding a little bit of noise by the time your dirt pedals are getting the signal you are awash in a sea of hiss.

I will say that a delay ahead of a dirt can create a sound of the dirty signal fading to clean, but then you wont get an identical delay fading away.

I say you need to experiment and stop taking everyones advice about chain. Start with small combinations and see what you like together and then build your board around those.

IMO blahdeblah

Megalith · #11 03-01-2010, 06:11 PM

Cheapbasslovin'. Cheers for the advice.

And I understand what you're talking about with experimenting, and I do plan on giving alot more hours to trying different set-ups, but to be honest I'm not looking for a definitive answer, or for someone to set-up my pedals for me, I'm just looking to see if anyone has similar pedals and if so, in what order do they find them all most effective. As I said earlier I'm quite new to it, so advice from people who are more experienced than myself is definitely always welcome.

BooHead · #12 03-01-2010, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megalith

Also, would you recommend any noise suppressor in-particular?

I personally don't use one, but Boss makes a good noise suppressor. My friend has one and it works like a charm.

Megalith · #13 03-02-2010, 06:39 AM

Tried the new set-up today BooHead, definitely helped a lot. Thanks for the suggestion. Will try a couple more combinations out of interest also!

BooHead · #14 03-02-2010, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megalith

Tried the new set-up today BooHead, definitely helped a lot. Thanks for the suggestion. Will try a couple more combinations out of interest also!

Sweet. Glad to help.