marauder1974 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 H all, I bought my helix last week and had a couple of hours setting it up for my gig on friday. When I got to the gig there was a really horrible buzz when I used my gain channels. I haven't had this before with using my boss gt 100 and it was very irritating. I dont know whether I set up the helix wrongly but I know when I unplugged one of the cables it stopped. Even the noise gate didnt touch it! Has anyone had this happen to them? If this has been posted before then I am sorry as I am new here and would like to get the best out of my unit. My gear set up is ibanez jem, helix (4 cable method) into a hughes & kettner trilogy head. Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooey Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Probably a ground loop problem. Were the Helix and Trilogy plugged into the same AC circuit? Probably wisest to bring a hum eliminator box of some sort to gigs, in case it's needed. There are some other threads with specific boxes mentioned. This isn't specific to Helix btw, it's potentially an issue any time you have multiple AC powered devices connected to each other esp when they're connected with multiple cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauder1974 Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Hi, Yes all my electrical stuff are plugged into the same unit, I have a surge/spike protector 8 socket multi plug. Will have a look at getting a hum eliminator today. Thanks for your reply :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 It's possible it's a ground loop problem, dirty power line, or it could also be electromagnetic interference (EMI) since it seems to only effect the gain channels of the Trilogy. Ground loop is easy to fix if you just use a power strip from a single power plug and plug both the Trilogy and the Helix into it. Alternatively you could carry a couple of spare Ebtech Hum X plugs around with you and plug those in between the two units. Dirty (or noisy) power lines and EMI would be a bit tougher. Neither of those things tend to affect the Helix since it's digital, but they'll play heck with a tube power amp. I guess you could check the shielding on the Trilogy and see if something could be done there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvroberts Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Seems strange you only get it in the gain channel......well it's perfectly understandable if it's a lot more apparent in the gain channel - cause more gain means lifting the noise floor - but it should be in your clean channel too (just less noticeable). If it is then grounding might be your problem - there is a switch on the Helix for ground lift - (on the back in about the middle) - give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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