Help! My new RBI is screaming like a banshee!

I need more info. exactly what was connected to what inputs and outputs on the RBI and other components. where you getting high pitch feedback? buzzing, humming? what where the knobs set at for each knob? are you SURE You had a shielded cable between your guitar and the RBI AND between the RBI and the yamaha?

"screaming" implies feedback to me. my tweeters on my swr were very sensitive and if I turned up the output to far above my actual signal level, the tweeters would start whistling. like a mic feed back.

try starting with your guitar volume cranked the rbi gain at 9 o'clock and the level of the Rbi at minimum. slowly raise the "level" until you have a usable volume. if you can position the cabs or the tweeters so if your standing with your guitar in front of the cabs the tweeters are NOT nearby the pickups.

 

Heavy, I forgot to mention that my RBI occasionally, usually just when I turn it on, will emit a "tone" some kinda waveform (a constant irritating tone, kinda like a capacitor discharge) its seems to happen when I hook up to a P.A. with XLR. I usually shut it off right away and try to turn it on several times and then when it doesn't make the sound I leave the unit on. once it made the sound turning it off.

its worked fine hundreds of other times, but 3-4 times its made that tone.

 

I also have had a lot of noise with my newly purchased RBI. I would like to use the presence knob (sometimes), but when I have it more than 9 o'clock I get a very noticeable hiss. So much that I got quite a few comments from bandmates and the soundman during its first use. I've since relegated myself to keeping the presence at about 8 o'clock all the time.

It sounds like I also may have the wrong transformer in mine. With the correct transformer, how "hissy" is it?

 

I think with treble, presence, or drive turned up a little hiss may be normal. I'm not saying your hiss is normal though. But generally, those functions add high end (and thus noise). I think my RBI is fairly quiet, but I get noise when I turn up the drive, I noticed. Of course I've been using a SVP so anything will sound quiet compared to that .

 

I run my RBI with the presence all the way off! I don't like finger noise and I don't slap. my friend who slaps and likes to play higher notes than I runs his presence very high 1-2 o'clock. if you have a bright cab/amp or piezo pick ups it might be too much higher frequencies that tne presence is turning up. presence will also accent you tube hisss through the tweeters.

keep adjusting presence/blend/mids until yoou get a sound you like.

 

Is the noise exacerbated by florescent lights? If it is, I have that problem too.

 

I have just kept the presence at 8o'clock. That seems to take care of the hiss. I don't like much finger noise anyways.

I do love the sound of the RBI. I don't even touch the EQ (it's all flat!!!). I just adjust the drive to taste (from 10 to 12 o'clock).

I used it on a gig last week and I was in pure heaven. If it just had a mute button...