Callumjord Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Hi guys, just wondering if any of you guys run a noise gate pedal in your bass rig/pedal board? i am attempting to finalise a pedal board setup, which I know will never happen, and I am restricted to 10 pedals with my power source. Just wondering if it would actually be of any benefit to "sacrifice" an effect for maybe something that could clean up my sound live. cheers in advance guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I use a gate on my ms60b, that might be an option worth considering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 When I was younger and still believed "the hype" I thought I needed one. The Hush sucked donkey balls, gate trigger and release not natural at all, the Decimator was better. My opinion, you don't need it. I have a TK421, Grand Tarkin, B3K and Blueberry so 4 gain = noise pedals and just stomp them on or off as needed and it is never an issue. If you do want one get a Decimator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfFrink Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I mostly agree with both of the previous answers and can also add that another option is to use a LPF. A good LPF set just right will not affect your tone much but will remove most of the noise. The advantage over a noise-gate is that a good noise gate such as the Decimator will preserve your sustained notes, but can't do anything to remove the noise out of the sustain. An LPF will do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FretNoMore Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I prefer trying to get rid of the noise at the source, i.e replace noisy pedals and use clean power, rather than mask the problem with a noise gate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I don't currently use fx pedals on bass, but there are 8 pedals and a tuner on my guitar 'board. I often use very 'gainy' pedals, or combinations thereof, with single-coil guitars. At home the noise (particularly mains hum) is quite noticeable, but live on stage it is rarely a problem. In my guitar-multi-fx-rack days I did experiment with using the noise gate, but iirc it never seemed worth it in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Again, if you go down the multi-FX path then you could get a noise gate and a LPF for one power/size 'slot', whilst replacing whatever you take away. Some questions to OP, what effects are you using (dirt/preamps especially)?, and what power supply are you using (wall-warts/1spot+daisychain/unisolated brick/issolated brick/gigrig)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callumjord Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 [quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1451386359' post='2939998'] Again, if you go down the multi-FX path then you could get a noise gate and a LPF for one power/size 'slot', whilst replacing whatever you take away. Some questions to OP, what effects are you using (dirt/preamps especially)?, and what power supply are you using (wall-warts/1spot+daisychain/unisolated brick/issolated brick/gigrig)? [/quote] sorry for the long reply, been internet less for the past couple of days. Never looked into lpf, didn't realise you could get them in a stomp box. So far my signal path is: bass> boss cs3 compressor > danelectro overdrive > ehx big muff > boss chorus > tech 21 sansamp v > mxr eq into front of laney rb300 watt bass head 1x15 cab. Pedals are powered of an epiphone isolated source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I like single coil pickups, lots of compression and a couple of gain pedals. I've cleaned up my signal as much as I can but still get a bit of hiss, which if I'm not careful can develop into a lot of feedback in venues setup in a certain way. A noise gate is pretty much a necessity for me if I don't want to compromise my sound! I've tried a couple with varying results. The one on the Zoom B3 is actually one of the better ones, but it does alter the tone, and it wastes one of the three slots I can use. The ISP Decimator was purchased after a lot of recommendations, and I'm very happy with it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I use the second half of my TC Nova Dynamics as a noise gate just to kill off any hum at the end of the chain that might be there from using my ODB1. I'm a bit of a noodler TBH so if there's any significant pause between stopping playing and starting again I mute the bass so I can't be heard until we're ready to go again, but I find it useful to stop any hum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 There was an 80s Ibanez pedal, the NB-10, that could pick out and remove specific noise, such as mains hum, and didn't have to kick in and out. Which is what the Decimator does isn't it? I recently got a vero layout for it and the last of the components arrived this morning, so I shall be building it sometime this month. I have built a very, very clean power supply that doesn't require me to have AC anywhere near my pedalboard (the transformers and bridge rectifiers sit in a box at the back of my rack, with the voltage regulators and capacitors and stuff on my board), but my music room is very noisy, with lots of different kinds of lights and computers and stuff. So I think the NB-10 will be ideal for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1451778210' post='2943432'] I have built a very, very clean power supply that doesn't require me to have AC anywhere near my pedalboard (the transformers and bridge rectifiers sit in a box at the back of my rack, with the voltage regulators and capacitors and stuff on my board) [/quote] Very clever - good idea. Edited January 3, 2016 by ahpook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfFrink Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1451782838' post='2943462'] Very clever - good idea. [/quote] The new MXR Iso-Brick is mainly based on the same idea, and I think (but not absolutely sure) that also the GigRig system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 [quote name='ProfFrink' timestamp='1451801297' post='2943486'] The new MXR Iso-Brick is mainly based on the same idea, and I think (but not absolutely sure) that also the GigRig system. [/quote] That's interesting, I could do with having a look at how they have done it. My version has limitations... The main problem is the connecting cable between the two parts. It's quite a thick, 20 core cable. The reason for it is because every pair of outputs is supplied by an isolated half of a transformer, so there are four transformers feeding the board. There is also a blank socket at each end should I ever need to use a wall wart that isn't nine or twelve volts. This cable is rather chunky and was fiddly to make and I have a feeling it is going to be the weak link in the set up. I've been thinking of sleeving it along with the instrument leads to and from my board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfFrink Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1451823409' post='2943655'] That's interesting, I could do with having a look at how they have done it. My version has limitations... The main problem is the connecting cable between the two parts. It's quite a thick, 20 core cable. The reason for it is because every pair of outputs is supplied by an isolated half of a transformer, so there are four transformers feeding the board. There is also a blank socket at each end should I ever need to use a wall wart that isn't nine or twelve volts. This cable is rather chunky and was fiddly to make and I have a feeling it is going to be the weak link in the set up. I've been thinking of sleeving it along with the instrument leads to and from my board. [/quote] According to my (limited) understanding, the "brick" is supplied with a single 18 VDC pair, and the isolation and transformation are performed by a set of small transformers. My experience with this has been that it's absolutely noise free. I speculate that this is accomplished by running the transformers at an ultra-audible frequency. This allows for the lack of noise as well as the smaller size. Edited January 3, 2016 by ProfFrink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I recovered a pair of old I.T related power supplies for my effects usage. Now those as you can imagine [i]are[/i] a clean source of power. I forget exactly what item they came from, probably a gigabit switch or something. No noise, buzzes, anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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