Chirping birds in my amp?? :)

Jeff B

Jeff B

Inspired
Hey all! Just wanted to ask a quick question that may be basic for many of you.... I'm trying to figure out where the "chirping" highs are coming from when I'm playing my AFX. I'm running the PVH 6160 Block amp into a cab block containing the Cali speakers (UR) and a 57 mic. I find this with other combinations of amps/cabs as well. Anyways... while playing, I find that there is always an underlying high-end "chirpiness" to my tone. When I try to get the guitar to feedback, it'll perform similar to a regular amp/cab for a moment and then that "chirpiness" slowly grows and the feedback disappears and turns into an ear-piercing, high-end squealing that won't go away until I turn the volume down on the guitar. I'm not sure if this is an EQ frequency thing or what, but when I crank up my traditional amp/cab, I don't get any of this "chirpiness" going on. The volume on my Matrix amp is set to 12, my AFX is set to 12, and it's a nice volume. My amp volume level is set to -10db. Overall, the tone of that amp block sounds nice and full. I'm still experimenting with tweaking the tone, but no matter what, that little chirping bird tone is always underlying waiting to come out it seems.

I hope that I worded all that correctly and you guys get what I'm trying to say. Thanks for any help you can offer.
 
Sound Clip? Running FRFR you have to be careful not to send too much high end energy to the speakers. Try adjusting the Hi Cut down a bit in the cab block.
 
Sixstring... Yes, I'm running FRFR when this is happening. I find that it doesn't happen when running into my traditional guitar cab. I will try knocking down some of the hi-cut in the cab block to see the results.

FractalAudio... I'm currently standing about 10'-15' from the cab, facing away. With my traditional amps I'm used to working with feedback, but it was never "chirpy-sounding", whereas this is. I wasn't sure if it was a setting or just a difference in how the AFX and Matrix are working with the FRFR cab creating frequencies that maybe aren't there in a traditional setup.


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Perhaps you need to buy a cat? :D

I would suggest a PEQ block after the cab with band 5 set to around 5K Hz to 6.5K Hz, set it as a shelving 2 and -5 db. See if that helps. Play around with the frequency and amount. You have up to -12dB to play with. If shelving 2 doesn't do it, try the more aggressive cut of the blocking type.
 
Jeff B said:
Sixstring... Yes, I'm running FRFR when this is happening. I find that it doesn't happen when running into my traditional guitar cab. I will try knocking down some of the hi-cut in the cab block to see the results.

FractalAudio... I'm currently standing about 10'-15' from the cab, facing away. With my traditional amps I'm used to working with feedback, but it was never "chirpy-sounding", whereas this is. I wasn't sure if it was a setting or just a difference in how the AFX and Matrix are working with the FRFR cab creating frequencies that maybe aren't there in a traditional setup.


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Your guitar speakers obviously don't have tweeters and don't really reproduce much energy past 6k. The amp sim you're working with could pass up to 17k (not 100% sure about that but that's where the Hi Cut in the advanced parameters for the sim is set) and if the Hi Cut Freq in your cab block your using is wide open (20k) it has the potential to squeal.

Also another culprit is if the pup's in your guitar are not potted that could also create a microphonic squeal and would be compounded with excessive volume and gain coupled with close proximity to the speaker and/or a lack of EQ'ing at the end of the signal chain ie: Cab block Hi Cut or PEQ/GEQ after the cab block.

The Magnetic feedback that Cliff mentioned is a possibility as well and aside from what he has mentioned I don't know of anyother way to fix that problem.

It will be interesting to find out what you had to do to fix it, post back and let us know.
 
Jeff B said:
Sixstring... Yes, I'm running FRFR when this is happening. I find that it doesn't happen when running into my traditional guitar cab. I will try knocking down some of the hi-cut in the cab block to see the results.

FractalAudio... I'm currently standing about 10'-15' from the cab, facing away. With my traditional amps I'm used to working with feedback, but it was never "chirpy-sounding", whereas this is. I wasn't sure if it was a setting or just a difference in how the AFX and Matrix are working with the FRFR cab creating frequencies that maybe aren't there in a traditional setup.


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This phenomenon occurs mostly with tweeters. Your traditional cabs don't have tweeters and that's why they don't do it. Some speakers are more prone to this than others. The magnetic field created by the tweeters couples into your pickups and creates a feedback loop. It all depends on how much magnetic field is generated which is dependent upon the speaker type and construction. Also, the louder you are the more this will occur, obviously.
 
Make it part of your signature tone.....

Gilmour had the "seagulls" effect on Echo's, you could be known for the "birds chirping" effect on _______ classic track. Countless internet threads could be started by future guitarist wanting to know what pedal you used to getting the chirping
 
This happens often when I play live. The venues have fill monitors facing the audience at the front of the stage. If I try to play near one (I like to put my foot on it during a solo), it squeals like a stuck pig. Move away or turn it down.
 
I'm coming out of left field here...but the Axe produces such stellar tones, I found picking technique had to be refined. The way I used to hold my pick, I got a lot of chirps I never got before. Very musical chirps, though, and I kept them. I just changed my picking a bit. But having said that, I'm sure Cliff and the others are right.
 
Interestingly, I've been having this issue with my traditional rig when playing 2-3 feet from the cabs (Mini Recto into 2 Mesa Widebody Cabs). Squeals like a pig unless I turn down the amp treble at which point it's more toward desirable guitar feedback but the tone is then too dark.. I have had the issue through my Axefx + Atomic reactor passive cabs but only if the guitar is held really close to one of the cabs.
 
sprint said:
Interestingly, I've been having this issue with my traditional rig when playing 2-3 feet from the cabs (Mini Recto into 2 Mesa Widebody Cabs). Squeals like a pig...
Click to expand...
Sounds like you've got a microphonic pickup.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been away for the holidays and haven't been able to put any of the suggestions to the test. I will, however, be testing things out once I return home and will let you all know if I'm able to get this solved. If not, I may just try getting a cat as hellbat suggested. Haha!


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I had this issue with a few lower end/smaller speakers when I was on a tight stage and needed serious volume output. Haven't dealt with tweeter squeal at all since I started using a L6 Stagesource.
 
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