Yet another background noise thread, Please HELP :(

[afraz87]

Hey guys,

 

I've had my POD HD 500 for 1-2 years now. Initially I spent a few months dialing in a good metal rhythm and lead tone for solo project work. Everything was going well.

Recently I've started working on a project with a friend and we decided to create some tones from scratch. What I've found is that without a noise gate I'm getting a background static noise. My friend has no background noise, he has the same pickups and also has a POD HD 500. We're also using the same preset.

 

My setup

I have a Jackson with EMG active pickups, the guitar is directly connected to the POD via the standard guitar cable through the "guitar in" jack. The POD is connected to my PC via USB. I'm using the POD for everything i.e there is no external amplifier involved.

 

I've been going through these forums trying to find people with similar issues, and some of the solutions have helped such as :

• setting input 2 to variax
• setting the guitar in switch to PAD

but the noise is still there.

 

Other information regarding this noise in no particular order:

• noise gets worse if I move closer to the POD.
• if I use headphones instead of my studio monitor speakers, the background noise is still the same.
• if I shutdown the PC, the noise is still there.
• my guitar's tone knob affects the intensity of this background noise. If I switch the tone to 0%, the noise is barely audible, its reduced to a light hum. As you turn it up to 100% the static gets louder.
• its not guitar cable related. I bought a new cable today and the noise is still there.
• I've switched the active pickup battery, just for the hell of it, that doesn't make a difference either.
• I've disconnected the USB, the noise is still there.
• If I unplug the guitar, the noise is gone.
• noise is much louder with treadplate based presets.
• I've also tried switching off all lights in the room, the noise is still there
• I also tried a different power socket, that didn't make a difference either.
• I've also updated the firmware, drivers and flash to the latest version

I am completely lost now. Don't know what else to do. I only have 1 guitar so I couldn't try a different guitar, and I don't have an amp or other multi-effects unit.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated. 

 

Thankyou

 

Best Regards,

 

raz87

 

[silverhead]

This sounds like an electrical interference problem, maybe related to the power in your home/studio. You say you've tried a different power socket. Try another power socket that you know is on a different circuit in your local power panel. If that doesn't work, try experimenting with the same equipment and setup in your friend's house/location. Since he/she is not having an issue, by testing your equipment there you can determine whether it's a problem with your equipment or with your local power supply.

[brue58ski]

 try experimenting with the same equipment and setup in your friend's house/location. Since he/she is not having an issue, by testing your equipment there you can determine whether it's a problem with your equipment or with your local power supply.

This is what I would do. You could determine very quickly, by comparing settings, what the problem is.

[stumblinman]

Plug your guitar into his rig and see if it's still there.

[cruisinon2]

Plug your guitar into his rig and see if it's still there.

This is the quickest and easiest way to tell if it's the axe or not...I'd start there.

[rd2rk]

"My friend has no background noise, he has the same pickups and also has a POD HD 500. We're also using the same preset."

"I only have 1 guitar so I couldn't try a different guitar, and I don't have an amp or other multi-effects unit."

 

Try your friends guitar through your POD. Try your guitar through his POD.

[afraz87]

Thanks a lot for the quick responses guys! 

Alright cool, yes, I need to try my guitar with his pod and his guitar with my pod for further investigation. We don't live close-by so I'll hopefully go to his place over on the weekend.

Another thing I've discovered is that we're both getting noise on some other presets. Most of these presets have 1-2 distortion pedals plus a high gain amp.

I have a question, is the sound supposed to be free of background noise even with multiple high gain components in the chain? Or no?
I mean is some noise expected regardless?

[rd2rk]

Hi-gain amps and pedals are noisy, even in the real world. Hi-gain amp + multiple hi-gain pedals all set for really high gain = BIG noise.

 

Start with a clean amp. Got noise?

[cruisinon2]

Thanks a lot for the quick responses guys!

 

Alright cool, yes, I need to try my guitar with his pod and his guitar with my pod for further investigation. We don't live close-by so I'll hopefully go to his place over on the weekend.

 

Another thing I've discovered is that we're both getting noise on some other presets. Most of these presets have 1-2 distortion pedals plus a high gain amp.

 

I have a question, is the sound supposed to be free of background noise even with multiple high gain components in the chain? Or no?

I mean is some noise expected regardless?

There's no such thing as a noise-free guitar rig, whether it's a modeler or a "real" amp. More gain = more noise. You mentioned more than one distortion effect in the chain. If you're running them both at the same time, aside from being overkill, this is likely contributing to the problem. There are enough high gain amp models in the POD that you shouldn't need to daisy chain two distortion boxes together. Gain is not always your friend, and you don't need to pile it on to get a nice fat sound. Sometimes less is more.

 

Pickups make noise too, even active ones...less noise than passive pickups, but they're not silent. Other electronics in the room may be contributing to the problem as well. Ceiling fans and/or dimmer switches in close proximity are a disaster...and I won't even discuss neon beer signs, as I think they should be outlawed ;). Try plugging in on a stage that has 3 or 4 of those things hanging behind you...it's a travesty. You might as well try to compete for decibels with a jackhammer.

 

If all else fails, use a noise gate...that's what they're there for. The only patches I have that don't use one are my clean tones. The POD is a moderately noisy unit without them...