Are some pedal types susceptible to picking up external noise?

[electricimprov]

So after finishing up all the cabling to the board...my Nova Wah is noisy. There's a faint hum when it's off, and it's noticeably noisy when engaged. I find that as soon as I physically move it away from the board, it's quiet again. Mounted directly underneath it on the board is a wall wart and a PPII+. Is it possible that there's some EMI going on? I've never heard of pedals needing copper shielding, but do you think that would work in this case?

[bongomania]

Absolutely, it's very common for pedals to pick up EMF. The casing is probably metal already, so copper by itself may be no help- but if you ground either the power line ground or the audio common ground to the metal chassis (using wire and a conductive screw) then the chassis will more effectively become shielding for that circuit.

It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it sometimes helps.

[roflol]

Originally Posted by electricimprov

So after finishing up all the cabling to the board...my Nova Wah is noisy. There's a faint hum when it's off, and it's noticeably noisy when engaged. I find that as soon as I physically move it away from the board, it's quiet again. Mounted directly underneath it on the board is a wall wart and a PPII+. Is it possible that there's some EMI going on? I've never heard of pedals needing copper shielding, but do you think that would work in this case?

wah enclosures aren't normally made of metal so you may have to use some different grounding techniques to prevent all outside interference.

[grygrx]

Originally Posted by roflol

wah enclosures aren't normally made of metal so you may have to use some different grounding techniques to prevent all outside interference.

The Nova wah, isn't a wah

[roflol]

Originally Posted by grygrx

The Nova wah, isn't a wah

oh snap, sorry no idea why its humming then since its true bypass and presumably doesn't have any on board oscilators. Maybe just needs some better power filtration. pedals normally ground to the chassis via the jacks.

[bongomania]

Normally but not always.

[meaty]

one time I think my wah was picking up very faint radio signals during a late night practice with headphones. Freaked me out.

[seanm]

The Torn's Peaker comes with a warning that at high settings, it can become a radio. And it does

[Kevin Wilson]

You need to move it away from the spot on your board where you power supplies are. Sitting on top of the wall wart ect.. it is probably picking up some AC hum.

[Delta T]

What Kevin said - get the power supply away from the pedal.

Dave