External noise gate

cragginshred

cragginshred

Fractal Fanatic
I just got a Decimator for an amp I use and was wondering if it would work in place of the Axe on in the loop or into the front?
 
Thats easy because the axe gate kills the sustain and does not gate all the noise. May be my studio and the wiring during expansion but I have tried various methods with no success. Tried the decimator in the front nope, loop not even close. Works great in the loop of my 5150 III 50watt head tho!!
 
cragginshred said:
Thats easy because the axe gate kills the sustain and does not gate all the noise. May be my studio and the wiring during expansion but I have tried various methods with no success. Tried the decimator in the front nope, loop not even close. Works great in the loop of my 5150 III 50watt head tho!!
Click to expand...

I'm gonna "+1" this

I love many of the things about my axe fx, but the gate has always been a bit funny for me. I loved using my NS2 with my marshall because I could still have plenty of sustain with it, but it would cut everything out when I didn't want noise. The axe fx's gate seems a bit too "strong" for want of a better term... To get it to cut out the noise I'd want to get rid of, I lose out on more sustain than I should - heaven forbid I want to try any pinch harmonics...

I've found a couple of sweet spots, but I've had to sacrifice either having some noise or losing sustain - never had these problems with my old amp setup...

Don't get me started on all the extra controls either... NS2/ISP decimator are simple to use items, trying to convert the knowledge required to an axe fx is a nightmare... Can we just have a NS2/ISP style "pedal" in the axe??
 
The Gate/Expander block has the necessary parameters to perform like the ISP. Use its Sidechain Select parameter.
 
I've actually starting to think the same (utilizing my NS2 externally).

I don't know why but since I got the Axe (2 weeks ago) something seems to have changed in that my studio - thru the Axe - seems much more "electrically" noisy than before. In fact I spent last night trying different cables, power outlets, guitars,etc to try to pinpoint the source of the additional noise (thru 4 different guitars as well) and no dice. Even with EVERYTHING disconnected externally and listening thru my Axe headphones out its noisy and the gate doesn't seem to be as effective as Ye Olde Boss NS2. Single coils and coil-tapped pu's are pretty much unusable.

Really strange....
 
I play high gain patches and they are very quiet with just a little gate. I used to have a decimator and it is a nice unit and worked well with my Mark V head. I got rid of it once I got the Axe. The caveat is you have to take care of all the factors that would add interference. One major Aha moment for me is when I replaced my guitar cable with Shure wireless unit. No more buzz/hum/etc.
 
Do you use a power conditioner? Do you have a dimmer or florescent lights? If you use a UPS with your computer try plugging the Axe in it. If you have a ground lift button on your amp try that.

The Axe is very quiet even on high gain patches. I only get a buzz when I get close to it to edit from the front panel then it goes away as I get farther. If you are hearing the buzzing with no guitar attached then it may be a grounding issue in your outlets. How about clean patches?
 
No fluorescents or dimmers.
No buzzing when no guitar connected.
Clean patches pick up the noise as the note/chord decays and single coil or coil tapped humbuckers are unusable.
Amps are on another outlet altogether.

The Axe FX lives on my studio table and is less than a few feet from me. Perhaps that is the issue.

The only change in environment has been the Axe FX - it replaced the PodXT (which actually didn't seem to have the problem other than sounding like a PodXT :) )
 
Guitar close to a computer? That will cause hum/buzz.

Axe-Fx grounded but USB-connected to a wired computer which is not grounded? Can cause hum.

Apart from connection issues, the Axe-Fx doesn't create noise. It only amplifies existing noise.
 
Thx yek.

I've disconnected and powered down everything with the exception of the Axe (even turned off all the lights :) ).

Plugged multiple guitars (via 2 different known good cables as well as X2 wireless also known good) directly into Axe and out to headphone on front panel. Noise still present.....


Ugh.....
 
You guys rock - thx ! I will post a clip a bit later. That damn pesky work thing is rearing its ugly li'l head.
 
Tried the ground switch at the rear?

If you're using a power strip to plug the Axe-Fx in, try another.

Try another power cable too. Sometime those IEC cables get faulty.
 
Tried the ground switch - no change.
Did not try another power strip or power cable - great idea and I'll try that.
 
is everything plugged into the same circuit? We had an issue at rehearsal where half the room was wired to one circuit while the other half was on another.
Putting them all on the same circuit fixed it.
 
What type of guitars are you using including pickups (active/passive)? How far from the unit do you play? Change your orientation and see if the hum changes.
 
Still have a bunch of things to try that you all have suggested (thank you guys). Plus I'll post a recording.

PRS custom 24 stock p/u's passive. Coil tapped bridge or neck not usuable.
Gibson Les Paul SD Distortion passive. Coil tapped bridge far too noisy. Both p/u's noisy.
Fender Strat mid and neck Duncan Antiquities (I think), bridge the stacked JB Junior.
Jackson USA Soloist . Bridge and middle p/us are stock SD's that came installed. Neck is a Fernandes Sustainor but haven't tried it.

Here is what may be the problem - I play just a few feet away from the AXE when recording as it sits on the desk. However the PodXT (RIP) never had this problem nor do my amps (a Splawn QR, Mesa Triple and a Marshall JCM800 2205).

Wacky, isn't it ?

thx for everybodies help thusfar.


Forgot to add - Ibanez bass with active p/u's (forget the model). same noise issue.
 
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