I used my mxr this morning with my acoustic guitar (it was easier to just use my pedal board for the tuner and compressor), and it was putting out a lot of noise. It was definitely the mxr because I bypassed it into a radial di, and the noise was gone. We tried it on battery power, phantom power, still the same. The output was similar, also. The kicker is that I haven't had any problem with noise when using it with my basses. Is there something THAT different about the acoustic pickup (it's a magnetic soundhole one, I think Bill Lawrence). Or what else could it be?
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MXR M81 preamp pedal noise
- Thread starter KJMO
- Start date
Mine was very quiet. You're probably just angering both the gear deities and bass deities by using it with an acoustic guitar.
No, actually. It wouldn't surprise me if the comp was adding some noise though.
I'm a little surprised that no one else has chimed-in yet, it's a fairly popular pedal around here. Anybody?
I'm a little surprised that no one else has chimed-in yet, it's a fairly popular pedal around here. Anybody?
I'm a little surprised too, since I normally wouldn't have asked except I've seen so much posted about it. My first thought was the compressor, but technically, since the noise was gone when the DI was plugged straight into the compressor bypassing the mxr, I feel like it has to be the mxr. Unless there's something more complicated going on. I don't know. I'm playing acoustic again this next sunday, so I may fiddle with it and see what I can figure out.
Did you ever figure this out?I'm debating whether to send mine in to Dunlop or swap it toward something else.
It's not horrible, but it's noticeable hiss in my headphones during quiet bits, and will eventually bug me even if I am not consciously noticing it- which means it will likely bug others. Eventually the sound guy will want to chase it down.
Does it only make noise with the acoustic? What is the preamp and how much compression are you using? You do realize that compressors can add a lot of hiss depending on the comp and how it is set .
I would wonder if yours is functioning right because I think (I hope I'm right) that the mxr is known for being pretty clean. I've never noticed mine putting any hiss out, even with the output pegged. I don't turn the input up super high though. I don't have to crank the gain on my aguilar tlc, so I don't think it's ever been unusually noisy.
I am using it with my Thunderbird. When I run through a SansAmp with similar settings all around, there's no hiss. Swap in the MXR, and I hear the hiss. I think I'll take a chance and send it to Dunlop. $50 and they fix it or replace it. So long as everyone else has found them to be quiet, it's worth the chance. Thanks.
The one I have is dead Quiet (as in no Hiss). Although I do not crank the highs or the Input or output.
I know this thread is old as dirt, but I just got a new M81 with an OEM Dunlop power supply and I am really unimpressed with how noisy it is direct into my mixer and interface. Should I be looking to return it for a different unit, or some other troubleshooting? I've tried different cables and the typical stuff. Thanks.
Dunlop said mine was within specs, but they did what they could (my words, since I forget theirs). It came back quieter, but not really quiet. I have something else on order that has a bit more to offer and is (per a friend whose request to the maker inspired the pedal to begin with) dead quiet. I'll post here once the pedal arrives and I can A/B them.
After playing with it some I got it much better, I found it likes to have the input cranked and the output dialed back, that cut the noise down considerably, its just not how I'm used to running gear with line level outputs. I also figured out a lot of my noise is my bass itself, I got so used to running into my mixer I'm always turning the fader down and not the volume control on the instrument. I need to look into the effectiveness of shielding or other electronics upgrades for noise reduction.
Noise is now at an acceptable level, its just not as quiet as some have led me to think it would be, but that's probably the power at my house. I'm going to look into upgraded PS options for my wall-wart studio stuffs.
Thanks for giving me a place to mentally walk through all this, if anything.
Noise is now at an acceptable level, its just not as quiet as some have led me to think it would be, but that's probably the power at my house. I'm going to look into upgraded PS options for my wall-wart studio stuffs.
Thanks for giving me a place to mentally walk through all this, if anything.
I've not noticed any noise at all with mine. Try using battery or phantom power instead of the power supply. I actually bought a connector so I could plug in my battery externally so I wouldn't have to open it up every time I replaced it (it was rechargeable). But usually, I asked the sound guy for phantom power.
