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Loud hissing noise when Tech21 paradriver is plugged in.

DBFIU

DBFIU

Guest
Jun 29, 2014
199
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south florida
#1
I just got a tech21 sansamp paradriver DI, plugged it into my fender bassman 60 amp and when the blend knob is turned there is a very loud hissing noise coming from the amp. The bass is otherwise dead silent when the DI is bypassed. I tried using a 9V battery instead of my 9V power supply but that didnt help. What is causing this?

Thanks
 
#5
You would use the xlr only if you're using the para driver as a DI, i.e. going to a mixing board. If you are using it as a pedal with a regular bass amp, you would use the 1/4" output jack with a regular guitar cord. If the "line/inst/output" switch is to the left, you will get a hotter output signal, which could be more noisy.

If you are going from the para driver di's 1/4" output to the regular input on a bass amp, i.e. where you would normally plug your instrument into the amp, set that switch to "inst".

If you are going into something that is expecting a (hotter) line level signal, for example a 1/4" line in jack on a mixing board, or a line-level effects return on a bass amp, then you would set that switch to "line".

If it's set to "line" and you're going into an "inst"rument level input, I guess that could account for the hiss.

Spend some time playing with it. You should be able to get the hiss out with some experimentation of the line/inst/output switch, the "level" control, the "treble" control (as PortlandBass77 said) and the controls on your amp. It shouldn't be that hard to get the hiss out. If it just won't go away, possibly the pedal is defective.
 
#6
I got it to go away using the treble knob like you said and the level control.

The issue is now I don't get any distortion when I put my drive and blend all the way up. I get a little bit of distortion, but not what I was expecting. I plugged it into another amp, this time a tube amp and payed my guitar and the distortion is almost non existent. Not sure what is going on here?

It isnt sounding like this.

 
#7
It's a matter of experimentation. Everything interacts with everything else. The mid control, bass control, and level control all add juice to your signal which the drive can turn into distortion.

It's not a fuzz box; it's heaviest settings are in the overdrive to moderate distortion range. The demo is using a 6-string guitar so your bass is not ever going to sound like that but the para driver di is capable of a good ample amount of hair. Try it with the mid frequency dialed down low (around 100 - 200 Hz) and boosted, and the bass boosted, and turn down your amp so you can bring up the level control on the para, and the blend up all the way clockwise, and you will find the dirt.
 
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#10
The best way to use the Para Driver DI with an amp is to set it for unity gain. This means that when the pedal is in bypass mode the volume should be the same as when you are not using the pedal. Instrument level being the recommended setting. That amp has an active/passive switch so you may need to experiment with that to get the best signal to noise ratio.

Set the blend counterclockwise. This will take the SansAmp out of the circuit. Set the treble, mid and bass controls to their null point (around noon). When set like this the mid shift control should not change the tone. You may have to nudge the mid control to find the exact spot as the pots to vary. Set the level so when the pedal is switched on and off the volume is the same. If all that works turn on the SansAmp by turning the blend control fully clockwise. I would turn down the level and turn the Drive up to about 3 o'clock. Now gradually turn up the level to a comfortable level. You should have a good deal of overdrive. Increasing the mids should yield more overdrive.

Let us know how you make out.
 
#12
Came across this old post. Just fixed similar issue with RBI version of Tech21 Sans Amp by using the balanced output of Sans Amp into the balanced input of my Mark Bass Little Tube. Previously I'd wired balanced output of Sans Amp into the jack input on the head (because the 'L' shaped jack meant I could keep it connected with the Gator case closed) but it resulted in mains hum and treble hiss... which has now been pretty much irradicated through the use of xlr to xlr.
 

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