hum problem....advice wanted

[UVguy]

So I have a bad monkey and boss ns-2 (noise suppressor/power supply). When I use the MB into my tube head its quiet. When I use it with the ns-2 there is an awful hum. Now the ns-2 takes care of the hum but it shouldn't be there obviously. Any advice? It seems to be the ns-2's fault. Creates noise, then suppresses it....doesn't seem right

 

[Oblivion DC]

Are both pedals plugged into the power supply??
Try using them both with just batteries and see if the hum doesn't go away.

 

[EightmanVT]

So I have a bad monkey and boss ns-2 (noise suppressor/power supply). When I use the MB into my tube head its quiet. When I use it with the ns-2 there is an awful hum. Now the ns-2 takes care of the hum but it shouldn't be there obviously. Any advice? It seems to be the ns-2's fault. Creates noise, then suppresses it....doesn't seem right

Sounds like a ground loop...

 

[UVguy]

I'll give that a shot. Now that I think about it I was trying to find the hum, wiggling cords and such. Seemed the power plug on the ns2, and other things had the same effect. That sounds like a ground thing to me. Might have to open up the ns2 and have a look. The power bar is 3 prong though.

 

[Oblivion DC]

I'll give that a shot. Now that I think about it I was trying to find the hum, wiggling cords and such. Seemed the power plug on the ns2, and other things had the same effect. That sounds like a ground thing to me. Might have to open up the ns2 and have a look. The power bar is 3 prong though.

Right it sounds like a ground loop issue, so try running both pedals on batteries without the power supply connected to either one and see if the hum goes away. If it does go away when using batteries you know the problem is because of the transformer. Find a transformer with multiple taps and an isolated ground for each tap or run the pedals using batteries. There's no reason to open up the ns2 - that's not where your problem is.

 

[UVguy]

Thanks.

Can you explain 'multiple taps'?

 

[UVguy]

Ok I googled it and I see what it is. Can you point me in the right direction to purchasing the proper transformer?

 

[Oblivion DC]

Ok I googled it and I see what it is. Can you point me in the right direction to purchasing the proper transformer?

Yeah man let me see what I can dig up.
BRB

 

[Anonymous]

So I have a bad monkey and boss ns-2 (noise suppressor/power supply). When I use the MB into my tube head its quiet. When I use it with the ns-2 there is an awful hum. Now the ns-2 takes care of the hum but it shouldn't be there obviously. Any advice? It seems to be the ns-2's fault. Creates noise, then suppresses it....doesn't seem right

I advise you to start drinking heavily.

Steve

 

[UVguy]

So I have a bad monkey and boss ns-2 (noise suppressor/power supply). When I use the MB into my tube head its quiet. When I use it with the ns-2 there is an awful hum. Now the ns-2 takes care of the hum but it shouldn't be there obviously. Any advice? It seems to be the ns-2's fault. Creates noise, then suppresses it....doesn't seem right

I advise you to start drinking heavily.

Steve

I'll take that advice.

 

[Anonymous]

So I have a bad monkey and boss ns-2 (noise suppressor/power supply). When I use the MB into my tube head its quiet. When I use it with the ns-2 there is an awful hum. Now the ns-2 takes care of the hum but it shouldn't be there obviously. Any advice? It seems to be the ns-2's fault. Creates noise, then suppresses it....doesn't seem right

I advise you to start drinking heavily.

Steve

I'll take that advice.

I knew I could count on you!

Steve

 

[Oblivion DC]

I had to do some hunting cause I forgot who made this thing. I like it a lot but it's kinda pricey. ZZounds has it in stock and selling for $170.00 bucks.

http://www.voodoolab.com/pedalpower_2.htm

http://www.zzounds.com/item--VDLPP2

Batteries are a good alternative if you don't want to spend a bunch right now.
Good luck with the hum.

 

[UVguy]

Yikes, thanks.

Any other way to get rid of it or am I screwed.

 

[UVguy]

Oh, btw I read that if you daisy chain pedals out front and in the loop you get hum. I have the ns2 cutting noise out front and in the loop. I guess this could be the cause. I'll try it just out front when I get home.

 

[EightmanVT]

Yikes, thanks.

Any other way to get rid of it or am I screwed.

Well...Yes.... I had this issue with my CAA and my rack... and John Suhr had me pull the ground prong from the amp power cord. You can do this if your other rack gear i nthe loop that is causing the issue - is well grounded. Basically...it's like a ground lift that you see on PAs. Now - I wasn't totally comfortable doing this at the time...having started playing guitar while in the Navy stationed in Italy...and there none of the houses have proper grounds...and I was always getting a nasty shock from my guitar!!! But - what he said made sense...and it worked. He even called Bob Bradshaw while on the phone with me to be sure. So...if you're rack that's in the loop is causing the ground loop and is well grounded...then you can lift the ground somewhere - in that case, he had me do it on the amp.

 

[Oblivion DC]

Oh, btw I read that if you daisy chain pedals out front and in the loop you get hum. I have the ns2 cutting noise out front and in the loop. I guess this could be the cause. I'll try it just out front when I get home.

You could try an isolation transformer in the loop. This will leave you with a common ground for your pedals but break the signal ground so you remain with only one path to ground. Price is 60 bucks but I got mine on sale about a year ago for 40 I think.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--EBTHE2PKG

 

[Oblivion DC]

Yikes, thanks.

Any other way to get rid of it or am I screwed.

Well...Yes.... I had this issue with my CAA and my rack... and John Suhr had me pull the ground prong from the amp power cord. You can do this if your other rack gear i nthe loop that is causing the issue - is well grounded. Basically...it's like a ground lift that you see on PAs. Now - I wasn't totally comfortable doing this at the time...having started playing guitar while in the Navy stationed in Italy...and there none of the houses have proper grounds...and I was always getting a nasty shock from my guitar!!! But - what he said made sense...and it worked. He even called Bob Bradshaw while on the phone with me to be sure. So...if you're rack that's in the loop is causing the ground loop and is well grounded...then you can lift the ground somewhere - in that case, he had me do it on the amp.

Granted you talked to Bradshaw and he knows his stuff but that's probably the worst way to do it, imo. Especially if you're running a switching system. The amp is the one thing that you know will always be in the signal path, why would you defeat the ground on the amp itself. If you happen to have the one device that has a good ground switched out of the signal path then you effectively have no path to ground except you. Bad enough if you're at home and get a nasty 110 shock, how much worse if you're at a show and grab a hot mic at the same time that you've switched out the device that has your ground path? The only way I can see doing this safely is if you're going wireless.

EDIT: And good luck if you do this and your wireless goes out on you. You're stuck using a cord for the first time and have probably forgotten your lack of ground issue. People have died doing this.

 

[EightmanVT]

Yikes, thanks.

Any other way to get rid of it or am I screwed.

Well...Yes.... I had this issue with my CAA and my rack... and John Suhr had me pull the ground prong from the amp power cord. You can do this if your other rack gear i nthe loop that is causing the issue - is well grounded. Basically...it's like a ground lift that you see on PAs. Now - I wasn't totally comfortable doing this at the time...having started playing guitar while in the Navy stationed in Italy...and there none of the houses have proper grounds...and I was always getting a nasty shock from my guitar!!! But - what he said made sense...and it worked. He even called Bob Bradshaw while on the phone with me to be sure. So...if you're rack that's in the loop is causing the ground loop and is well grounded...then you can lift the ground somewhere - in that case, he had me do it on the amp.

Granted you talked to Bradshaw and he knows his stuff but that's probably the worst way to do it, imo. Especially if you're running a switching system. The amp is the one thing that you know will always be in the signal path, why would you defeat the ground on the amp itself. If you happen to have the one device that has a good ground switched out of the signal path then you effectively have no path to ground except you. Bad enough if you're at home and get a nasty 110 shock, how much worse if you're at a show and grab a hot mic at the same time that you've switched out the device that has your ground path? The only way I can see doing this safely is if you're going wireless.

EDIT: And good luck if you do this and your wireless goes out on you. You're stuck using a cord for the first time and have probably forgotten your lack of ground issue. People have died doing this.

Well...I don't know how many have died from this - but I trust you on that one - but I generally agree with you. I was reluctant to do it...but since I had just spent 45 min on the phone with John...(and by proxy Bob) - and we had discussed it at length... I was willing to try it. You should get the same result if you're worried about forgetting - by lifing the ground on the rack gear causing the issue to begin with. I couldn't agree more about not generally being comfortable using an ungrounded amp -- but it was an interesting exercise. Since I no longer play that amp...and I have a rats nest of power cords - I was very careful to pull that one...so I didn't accidentally use it on a different amp - since I'm regularly swapping amps around.

 

[UVguy]

Could I get around this problem by using seperate adapters for each pedal?

 

[Copperhead]

Super easy to lift the ground with a "cheater plug". They cost like 39 cents at the hardware store. Lift the ground at the power supply or the amp, whichever works better.

http://www.electronicplus.com/images/products/419GY.jpg