we have a neon sign for the band. Wondering if we moved it down near the amps would they likely buzz? Wish I had one to try at home. Anyone hazard a guess?
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Odd question: Do neon lights very close to your amp make it buzz?
- Thread starter QORC
- Start date
Yes, they do cause buzz and some are worse than others! Some bars I play in only have neon signs for stage lighting. One can be bad. Several can be aweful.
Yep. Definitely a buzz there. We had to get rid of some neon we had (back in the day) for that exact reason. Of course, that was before I knew about differential preamps and active drivers and all that. But, even then, the chances are good you'll hear some buzz. I have a particular F-bass that I've tweaked so it doesn't buzz "at all". I can stick it right up next to a fluorescent light, so the pickups are maybe two or three inches from the ballast, and the bass is dead quiet. Quiet as a church mouse. Not even a peep. It's pretty amazing really. The technology exists, to do that kind of thing. It's all a matter of discovering it, and then figuring out how to use it.
But I wouldn't even go near any neon with a passive bass. That would be asking for trouble.
But I wouldn't even go near any neon with a passive bass. That would be asking for trouble.
what you need is a rope light if you want neon. i heard they dont cause the bass to buzz. might be wrong though.
billfitzmaurice
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- Sep 15, 2004
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Maybe. But what usually happens is that junk in the A/C line created by the lamps ends up going into the amp's power transformer, where it is transformed from simple electrical noise into EMI, electro-magnetic interference, and your electro-magnetic pickups then act as receivers for that interference and it's then amplified by your amp. That's why you can get a lot of noise when you stand very close to your amp.
You also get EMI from the transformer based ballasts in flourescent lamps. This explains why simple line noise filters are generally a waste of money, as the bulk of the noise picked up by instruments is EMI or RFI (radio-frequency interference) and A/C filters have little or no effect upon either.
You also get EMI from the transformer based ballasts in flourescent lamps. This explains why simple line noise filters are generally a waste of money, as the bulk of the noise picked up by instruments is EMI or RFI (radio-frequency interference) and A/C filters have little or no effect upon either.
