Amp Noise...It's a bitch!

[lbeast]

Here's what I got:

Guitar-->Crybaby Wah Wah-->Ibanez Super Tube-->Ibanez Bi-Mode Chorus-->MXR EVH Phase 90-->MXR EVH Flanger-->ISP Decimator G-String-->BBE Sonic Maximizer-->Randall RG100es Solid State-->(In FX Loop Send-->Furman PQ3-->MXR Flanger/Doubler-->ISP Decimator G-String-->Digitech Delay-Digitech Reverb-->FX Loop Return)

Everything is plugged into the Furman PL-Plus-DMC which is sitting in a rack just above the amp and above the Furman PQ3 and below the MXR Flanger/Doubler & BBE Sonic Maximizer.

I had some hissing before I bought the BBE Sonic Maximizer & Furman PL-Plus-DMC, but now it is unbearable.

I have officially "F"ed up the mojo. If it ain't broke don't fix it right? I'm chasing quieter tone and this ain't it. Maybe a 22 year old SS amp just ain't where it's at. Maybe I have leaking caps. I just don't know. Maybe I have too much signal from the PQ-3 or from the Super Tube going through the amp and it never will quiet down with that much signal going through it. Maybe I should just go back to my Marshall (Waaaaay louder and waaaaay quieter. Does that even make sense?)

Anybody in Internet Land got suggestions?

[nickwellings]

I don't know much, but I know a lot of people detest the BBE Maximisers. I have one but have not used it yet. I would take that out and see if it helps?

Or go part by part in your chain. Add each module until hiss emerges?

[lbeast]

Started doin' just that Nick, goin through the chain. I decided to open up my PQ3 and low & behold two pots are sheared off from the board. I found a 100k pot locally and installed it, but I am finding it hard to locate a 100kx2 pot. Damn antiques. Found one on Fleabay in Kuala Lampur, but for some reason when I went to purchase it Fleabay said "Sorry try again another time" as I was trying to pay for through Paypal. EBay shows I haven't won anything either. I wonder if Fleabay was tryin' to tell me something?

[nickwellings]

Wow! Weirdness for sure on that one. What is an x2 pot anyways??

[heem6 King of the Hoard]

If fixing those caps doesn't remove the hiss, you could consider a noise gate.

The MXR Smart Gate is based on the legendary design that Tom Scholz came up with for the Rockman Noise Gate, considered the best noise gate for guitars ever produced.
guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXR-M135-Smart-Gate-Pedal?sku=151112

www.wolfgangregistry.com/guitar-reviews/smartgate.html

[ofrhm]

BBE is beyond excellent in my opinion (but i play brutal metal so what do i know) i run mine in the effects loop of 2 different amps with no noise issues (the amps are a crate blue voodoo and a modified peavey windsor)

[lbeast]

May 9, 2010 17:35:52 GMT -5 @heem6 King of the Hoard said:

If fixing those caps doesn't remove the hiss, you could consider a noise gate.

The MXR Smart Gate is based on the legendary design that Tom Scholz came up with for the Rockman Noise Gate, considered the best noise gate for guitars ever produced.
guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXR-M135-Smart-Gate-Pedal?sku=151112

www.wolfgangregistry.com/guitar-reviews/smartgate.html

Thanks Jim! The Decimator pedal was supposed to take care of the hiss, but it appears the MXR Smartgate may be more suited to removing certain frequencies, instead just between notes or when the guitar is muted or the volume is turned down. I'll check into it. Do you have one by chance?

[lbeast]

Found the noise. It was in the PQ-3, but not because the pots were broken. It was because the "Lift" switch on the back was not on. Once I turned it on, the hiss virtually disappeared. DOn't know when I turned that off?

[heem6]

Personally, I'm thinking you were drunk when you turned that off. But that's just me. haha.

What is the specific function of a LIFT switch anyway?

P.S. I've never had a Smart Gate, although I've read good things about them. I have a circuit built into the Alesis 3630 Compressor/Limiter that I used to use for recording. It worked well enough - I'm not running Abbey Road studios over here. :PLOL

[lbeast]

The function of the LIFT switch:

Say your car is broken down in the middle of nowhere. Just turn on the lift switch and a ski lift pops right out of the ground where you are then continues building out of the ground straight to your house. Just hop on the lift and you're home in no time flat. It's supposed to replace OnStar.

Seriously, the lift switch is to quiet down PQ-3s and, as a side effect, it allows people to ask what a lift switch does of those who have them, and in turn receive a smart ass remark about what a lift switch does.

The real answer: "Hellifino!"

Now about this time, Jim was thinking "What I need when talking to lbeast is a MXR Smart Ass Gate turned way up high to remove all piss and vinegar". LOL

[heem6]

My family was traveling through Africa one time and saw a Hellifino. It looked very confused.... badump-bump!