Hi Fractal fam - I have a hum issue that's been vexing me for a while. Check it out: . As you can tell, this is a total tone killer, and while it only happens on mid to high gain tones, it's definitely not just something that comes with the territory on gainy amps. This is extra gnarly.
Here's all the relevant info:
1) "It's EMI, dude." I thought the same thing, so I brought it to a recording studio that I've used 6 times before that for sure has no EMI in the sound stage, and still got the noise.
2) "Then it's probably the guitar. Check your guitar shielding." This happened out of nowhere a few months back on all my guitars. I've used it with a PRS Custom 24 (of which I've checked the shielding and soldering), a Kiesel, a Les Paul Studio, a Jericho, and a Parker Fly. They all get the same noise, and in different locations within the house and elsewhere.
3) "Use a power conditioner." I use a Furman power conditioner. I've swapped it out for 2 other Furman power conditioners, same noise.
4) "...but are you SURE it's not EMI? Because this sounds like an EMI/grounding issue. Does your guitar make more noise when you move it around in certain directions?" I agree, it most definitely sounds like EMI, and yes, the guitar(s) make(s) more noise when I move it around in certain directions. As a matter of fact, I live in an old house, and I was so sure that this was EMI that I just shrugged it off for a while before attempting to solve it. But the fact that it still makes the same noise when I bring it other places makes me think it's not an EMI issue. Or at least, not JUST an EMI issue. (I had an electrician look at the outlets and the electrical grounding, and he said everything looks up to date and solid. The previous owners did a great job updating everything. And plus, the sound happens in other environments too.)
5) "Get one of those Hum X plugs. They don't always work well, but it's worth a shot." Tried it. The noise; it lives. "Okay, how about a Hum Debugger?" I haven't tried that, but I've heard those are tone killers for mid to high gain tones. That also seems like a scotch tape solution and I'd rather get to the core issue. But hey, if you have success with the Hum Debugger on mid to high gain tones, let me know. I'm willing to try it at this point.
6) "Check your cables. Probably a bad cable." I thought the same thing. I use D'Addario American Stage cables, and I've swapped out all the cables in my rig. I also stripped the rig down so that it's just the Axe Fx III -> Matrix GT800FX -> Mesa cab; the noise lives. Then, to rule out the Matrix and the cabinet, I did the Axe Fx III -> EV powered PA speaker. Again, it lives.
7) "Set your Gate block to sidechain input 1." Did it. That gets rid of the noise when I don't play, but then I hit a note or chord and the noise comes right back and pukes up the tone.
8) "What does your preset look like? Are you blasting the gain?" This happens on every preset with mid to high gain. Even a patch as simple as Input ->
Cameron Atomica at stock settings -> cab block with Mesa 4x12 -> Output has the noise. The beast. The kraken.
I'm having a hard time believing it's the Axe Fx III unit, because it just doesn't sound like an amp issue to me, particularly a digital amp issue. Plus, I've had the Axe Fx III since 2018 or so and I've never had this issue until a few months ago. However, it's not the Matrix, the Mesa cabinet, the PA, the guitars, the location, the cables, the power conditioner, the gate block, the gain level, or the preset.
Any other ideas?
edit I also swapped out the power cables on both the Axe Fx III and the Matrix. The noise. It lives.
Here's all the relevant info:
1) "It's EMI, dude." I thought the same thing, so I brought it to a recording studio that I've used 6 times before that for sure has no EMI in the sound stage, and still got the noise.
2) "Then it's probably the guitar. Check your guitar shielding." This happened out of nowhere a few months back on all my guitars. I've used it with a PRS Custom 24 (of which I've checked the shielding and soldering), a Kiesel, a Les Paul Studio, a Jericho, and a Parker Fly. They all get the same noise, and in different locations within the house and elsewhere.
3) "Use a power conditioner." I use a Furman power conditioner. I've swapped it out for 2 other Furman power conditioners, same noise.
4) "...but are you SURE it's not EMI? Because this sounds like an EMI/grounding issue. Does your guitar make more noise when you move it around in certain directions?" I agree, it most definitely sounds like EMI, and yes, the guitar(s) make(s) more noise when I move it around in certain directions. As a matter of fact, I live in an old house, and I was so sure that this was EMI that I just shrugged it off for a while before attempting to solve it. But the fact that it still makes the same noise when I bring it other places makes me think it's not an EMI issue. Or at least, not JUST an EMI issue. (I had an electrician look at the outlets and the electrical grounding, and he said everything looks up to date and solid. The previous owners did a great job updating everything. And plus, the sound happens in other environments too.)
5) "Get one of those Hum X plugs. They don't always work well, but it's worth a shot." Tried it. The noise; it lives. "Okay, how about a Hum Debugger?" I haven't tried that, but I've heard those are tone killers for mid to high gain tones. That also seems like a scotch tape solution and I'd rather get to the core issue. But hey, if you have success with the Hum Debugger on mid to high gain tones, let me know. I'm willing to try it at this point.
6) "Check your cables. Probably a bad cable." I thought the same thing. I use D'Addario American Stage cables, and I've swapped out all the cables in my rig. I also stripped the rig down so that it's just the Axe Fx III -> Matrix GT800FX -> Mesa cab; the noise lives. Then, to rule out the Matrix and the cabinet, I did the Axe Fx III -> EV powered PA speaker. Again, it lives.
7) "Set your Gate block to sidechain input 1." Did it. That gets rid of the noise when I don't play, but then I hit a note or chord and the noise comes right back and pukes up the tone.
8) "What does your preset look like? Are you blasting the gain?" This happens on every preset with mid to high gain. Even a patch as simple as Input ->
Cameron Atomica at stock settings -> cab block with Mesa 4x12 -> Output has the noise. The beast. The kraken.
I'm having a hard time believing it's the Axe Fx III unit, because it just doesn't sound like an amp issue to me, particularly a digital amp issue. Plus, I've had the Axe Fx III since 2018 or so and I've never had this issue until a few months ago. However, it's not the Matrix, the Mesa cabinet, the PA, the guitars, the location, the cables, the power conditioner, the gate block, the gain level, or the preset.
Any other ideas?
edit I also swapped out the power cables on both the Axe Fx III and the Matrix. The noise. It lives.
Last edited: