Renamed: Guitar itself is picking up buzz/interference

Lord Dark Helmet

Lord Dark Helmet

Member
Take a listen. Right around the 8 second mark you can really start to hear the fizzy crackle. Only way to tame it is with a noise gate. Happens with all of my guitars (PRS CEs, Ibanez RG2550, Gibson SG) and doesn't matter if I'm using wireless or direct in with cable. Happens at home and on stages. If I turn the volume on my guitar down, it goes away.

The amp in the clip is the Brit 800 Mod. But it will make this fizzy buzz with any amp that has a slight amount of gain.

Does your FM9 sound like this?

LISTEN HERE: https://on.soundcloud.com/Y8gRyvYtJziiCG5Z8
 
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Lord Dark Helmet said:
Take a listen. Right around the 8 second mark you can really start to hear the fizzy crackle. Only way to tame it is with a noise gate. Happens with all of my guitars (PRS CEs, Ibanez RG2550, Gibson SG) and doesn't matter if I'm using wireless or direct in with cable. Happens at home and on stages. If I turn the volume on my guitar down, it goes away.

The amp in the clip is the Brit 800 Mod. But it will make this fizzy buzz with any amp that has a slight amount of gain.

Does your FM9 sound like this?

LISTEN HERE: https://on.soundcloud.com/Y8gRyvYtJziiCG5Z8
Click to expand...
If turning down the volume control on your guitar kills it, it's pretty certainly something getting picked up by your guitar(s).

Since it's all your guitars, makes me suspect the building environment, bad wiring or a major EMI source.

Is the circuit you're plugged into properly grounded?
 
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Dave Merrill said:
If turning down the volume control on your guitar kills it, it's pretty certainly something getting picked up by your guitar(s).

Since it's all your guitars, makes me suspect the building environment, bad wiring or a major EMI source.

Is the correct you're plugged into properly grounded?
Click to expand...
I was thinking along the same lines.

For what ever reason I am unable to hear the clip but based on the description grounding/interference seems to be the likely culprit.
 
Thanks for the responses. I just created a preset with an Input, Filter, Output (no amp, no cab, no Fx) and turned up the gain on the Filter and this thing is buzzing like a beehive. As soon as I touch it with my hand, the buzz goes away. The harder I push on the metal frame the quieter the buzz gets, until I touch the strings of my guitar with my other hand. Then it starts buzzing again.

My guess is this is a grounding issue. But it doesn't matter where I plug it in..home, practice studio, gig/stage; I still get this obnoxious buzzing. I'm using the IEC power cable that came with the FM9. I even tried one of the venue's IEC power cables between sets on Sat night and it did not help.

The ground lift button does nothing for this issue.

I'll also add that if I don't have a cable plugged into the input (1) I get no buzz.

*Just plugged it into my generator and still getting the buzz. I don't believe it's my home wiring causing the issue.
 
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This is 94.785% likely to be a ground issue.

Are you using XLR’s? I only ask because the ground switch (if I recall correctly) should only work for the XLR outs.

I would contact FAS support. They’ll likely want you to ship it back for them to look at but yea this sounds like a ground issue.

P.S.
You said you only get it when plugged into input 1? What if you use input 2? Same issue or no?
 
The only consistent variable is the FM9 then? If it's happening w/ wireless, with multiple guitars, with different IEC cables, and in multiple locations, then by process of elimination, there could be a rogue setting somewhere, or there's actually something going on with the grounding within the unit itself. Have you tried saving your stuff, doing a factory reset, and confirming if it's a setting somewhere? If it still does it after a factory reset, and you've already eliminated all other possibilities, then there might be a cold solder joint in there or something similar causing the noise.
 
Thanks again for the responses. As a final test I plugged headphones directly into the FM9 with my guitar plugged in and not other cables and this thing is again buzzing like a beehive.

I will now contact FAS support.

BTW...I tried input 2 and same problem.
 
Thanks all for the help and support. I just emailed FAS support. I hope to get this sorted before Saturday's gig. I'll keep you all posted.

Here's a summary of the buzzing issue:
  • It happens at venues, at home and our rehearsal space. Location has no effect on the buzzing.
  • I’ve tried other IEC power cables to no avail.
  • It happens with all of my guitars (PRS CEs, Gibson SG, Ibanez RG2550)
  • It happens regardless of outputs (when using headphones and no other cables plugged in and when I’m running XLRs to FOH).
  • I’ve tried the ground lift button. Does nothing for this scenario.
  • I’ve made a simple preset: Input 1 -> Filter -> Output 1 just to test it without an amp or cab and still makes the same buzz.
  • I’ve tried different 1/4” TS cables and my wireless systems. Sound is present regardless of the input cabling.
  • Sound goes away if I turn my guitar volume down to ‘0’ or if I have nothing plugged in the inputs.
  • I’ve tried ‘Input 2’ to no avail
  • If I touch the metal cover or any of the footswitch buttons the sound attenuates a bit.
  • I even plugged into my generator and it still makes the sound.
I suspect it's a grounding issue somewhere, somehow. Just odd that it doesn't matter where I use it, the buzzing persists. The sound engineer last weekend was going crazy trying to help me. I had to ride my volume knob on the guitar hard to salvage any rests between chords/notes within songs.
 
So the preset hasn't been shared correct? I would like to see its I have thoughts on the matter but would need the preset
 
Lord Dark Helmet said:
Sound goes away if I turn my guitar volume down to ‘0’ or if I have nothing plugged in the inputs.
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That rules out power or ground-loops and points at EMI, and it sounds like EMI from lights or a neon sign. You might have a cable with bad shielding or a broken connector if it’s intermittent but I’d still lean towards the guitar(s).

I get EMI with humbuckers and single-coils at home that goes away on stage. They might have bad wiring on a light.

Lord Dark Helmet said:
I had to ride my volume knob on the guitar hard to salvage any rests between chords/notes within songs.
Click to expand...

Back when, the in-between pickup settings on Strats became popular because it cancels the EMI. I have many single-coil guitars and the 2 and 4 positions are my go-to settings at home, especially when I have a lot of gain. They work nicely with a distorting amp too.
 
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Sharing the preset below.

A few things to note:
  • The buzzing happens on factory patches too, not just my own.
  • The Scene called "Brit" is where you can really hear the buzz
  • The noise gate is inactive on most of the scenes so you can hear the buzz clearly
  • Buzz happens regardless of location. I hear it at home, rehearsal space and venues
Here's a video of the buzz. Listen at the 8 second mark.


rnjscooter said:
So the preset hasn't been shared correct? I would like to see its I have thoughts on the matter but would need the preset
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • FM9Buzz.syx
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Must be super frustrating.

My strong guess is that the Axe just contributes gain that magnifies the interference you're hearing, it's not the source of it, since turning down your guitar affects it. Do you have another amp or modeler you can set up with similar gain and tone to compare?

If it's all your guitars, in every location, logically you need to look at what's common to all those scenarios, like your guitar cord for instance. Try another one.

You want to simply the situation as much as possible, and remove pieces one at a time to see if they seem to be the cause.
 
Thanks Dave. Super frustrating. I’ve tried different cables, wireless, non-wireless, only headphones, etc. Doesn’t seem to matter what I do. Even without an amp and cab in the signal chain I can hear the buzz.

I built a simple Scene: Input->Filter->Output. When I turn up the gain on the filter the buzzing intensifies.

Is this normal behavior for my unit? Wish I could try another one to confirm.

FAS support was quick to respond initially, but it’s been crickets after their first email to me.

Dave Merrill said:
Must be super frustrating.

My strong guess is that the Axe just contributes gain that magnifies the interference you're hearing, it's not the source of it, since turning down your guitar affects it. Do you have another amp or modeler you can set up with similar gain and tone to compare?

If it's all your guitars, in every location, logically you need to look at what's common to all those scenarios, like your guitar cord for instance. Try another one.

You want to simply the situation as much as possible, and remove pieces one at a time to see if they seem to be the cause.
Click to expand...
 
Lord Dark Helmet said:
It’s a brand new unit. I’ve had it about a month. Always made this noise.

I’m guessing your unit does not exhibit this behavior?
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No! and if it does it's when I'm using a single coil guitar and standing around something that is generating some kind of spurious noise.

Given all of your different scenarios and troubleshooting I would suspect something has gone bad in the unit but that just a guess.
 
Loading this to my Ax3 I get the exact same buzz with humbuckers. Looks to me like the buzz is just inherent to the "Brit 800 Mod" amp model's gain and how it translates guitar signal (other Brit Models don't seem to exhibit this buzz nearly as much if at all with the same guitar), If I create a new preset from scratch with just: input1 (no gate) > amp > output, I get that nasty buzz with the amp settings @ default. The cab selection used will vary the tone of the buzz somewhat, and that comp2 in your preset definitely intensifies it. Looks to me like it's the nature of that amp model + guitar (with my guitar volume all the way down, the buzz goes away).
 
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