Buzzing Noise In Hd 500

[Jasoncory86]

I'm a musician at church using the pod hd 500. I get a harsh buzzing sound from it. It gets worse when I put a little dirt on it and really bad when I through on the boost. I switched input 1 to guitar and input 2 to variax instead of same. That helped some. It seems to be made worse when maim lights get turned on. Also when I touch any metal part of the pedal the noise is reduced dramatically. Any suggestions to what the problem could be?

[Spiderplayer7]

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago and asked for help on this forum. I had tried everything (new cables, connection options etc.) to no avail. It was suggested I do a global reset and pedal recalibration - and it worked! It seems this could be a problem that other users have experienced as well. So maybe try the global reset and pedal recalibration... Good luck with it. 

[Jasoncory86]

Thanks I'll have to give it a try. Is there any info on how to do what you suggest?

[Brazzy]

Thanks I'll have to give it a try. Is there any info on how to do what you suggest?

 

On the POD HD500, you *must* reset the global setup options which includes resetting the Setlist names and pedal calibration by:

 

1. Disconnecting the USB cable connection between HD500 and host computer.

 

2. Power off the POD HD500.

 

3. Power on the POD HD500 while holding the LEFT ARROW (<) button while plugging in the power supply to the POD.

 

If you do not do this, one of the tell-tale symptoms that may surface after a Monkey Flash Memory update is that the HD500 will be stuck in a continuous re-boot/power cycling state (you'll keep seeing the Logo and the unit keeps re-starting itself). Sometimes this may not occur, but a secondary telltale sign that a user has not performed a Global Settings reset is the USB communication between the HD500 and HD500 Edit software will be extremely slow/sluggish.

 

***PLEASE NOTE: Please also make sure to re-calibrate the onboard expression pedal of the HD500 after performing the Global Settings reset.

 

Instructions: How to calibrate the POD HD500 Expression Pedal.

 

 

If the Onboard expression pedal of the POD HD500 does not sweep through parameter values as it normally would, you may need to perform a pedal calibration to reset the functionality of the expression pedal:

 

Hold the down the RIGHT ARROW button on the 4 Way Nav Pad while powering the unit on, until you see the “Test Mode†screen (Pedal Cal, etc.), and then proceed with the steps below:

• If not already selected, use on the 4 Way Nav Pad to select “Pedal Cal,†as shown above.
• Press the VIEW button.
• Set the pedal to the minimum “heel†position, then press the A footswitch to set a value for the Duty Cycle. You’ll see the value set to “100.â€
• Set the pedal to the maximum “toe†position, then press the B footswitch to set a value for the Duty Cycle. Again, you’ll see the value set to “100,†as in step 3.
• Press the C footswitch to prepare for automatic selection of the Scaled Pedal Value and move the pedal from min. to max. You should see the Scaled Pedal Values read “0†at the heel position and “255†and the toe position. If you get values other than 0 and 255, power off and repeat these steps, starting at step 1.
• Press the D footswitch to save the settings. You’ll be returned to the Test Mode screen and the Pedal Cal item will show a “P†to indicated that the pedal calibration is complete! Power your device off and back on again to start using it.

***Please Note: Re-calibration of the POD HD500's expression pedal is necessary after performing a Global Settings reset. Instructions for how to perform a Global Settings reset is available here.

[Jasoncory86]

That could be possible. I usually have a noise gate on and set pretty high to compensate for the amount of noise. So when I touch the strings it fizzy down pretty quietly. But you can still here the buzzing when I play. I appreciate the help. I have two guitars and I've tried both and same thing happens. I've had both guitars setup and new pups put in by two different but reputable guitar techs. I would hope they took grounding into consideration. I have enough on my plate with learning all the songs, I can't be a guitar tech too, lol.

[Jasoncory86]

I have humbuckers in both my LP and PRS 24. I do still think the bright stage lights have something to do with it. I think they're on a dimmer and after a few Google searches I read that dimmers can really mess with your sound. Would shielding your guitar or POD be an option that could work? Can you even shield your POD?

[Jasoncory86]

Thanks everyone. I'll try a few things. If I get it solved I'll let you all know.

[Jasoncory86]

It wasn't a grounding issue. Tested it tonight the buzzing is induced by the guitar. It's picking up EMI from one of the hundred different things around it. Would shielding mu guitars help the problem? What about a device called ebtech hum eliminator?

[jandrio]

Check out this one
DIY fix - guitar repair - Fixing excessive hum - fixing bad grounds

Guitar Hum EMI noise and buzz from non sheilded wiring

Search 4 "guitar hum". I am sure u will find useful info out there.