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Recommendations for Power Conditioner?


jshimkoski
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Hello all,

 

I'm trying to cleanup a ground loop situation happening between the Helix and my Mission Engineering Gemini 1 FRFR cab.

 

In certain situations, when both are plugged in, I'm getting a nasty ground loop/hum out of the cab. I've determine through trial and error that this is the result of a ground loop thus my question, does anyone have any recommendations for a power conditioner that I could use to eliminate this hum?

 

It'd be nice to ensure that no matter where I am playing my rig won't succumb to the ugly hum of a ground loop.

 

Oh, one more note, I've tried separating the signal from the Helix to the cab via a DI box with no luck.

 

Perhaps a Furman M-8x2?

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I'm sure there are others on this Forum who probably have this same exact setup, but I'll try to give you some pointers from my experience with other gear.

 

I prefer to try everything else first... Before trying to use an Isolation Transformer or a Line Conditioner.

 

The first thing I would suggest is to have just the Helix and the Gemini as the only two items plugged into a grounded Power Strip. Unplug any effects, or other devices connected to the Helix except for your guitar. (So you can eliminate any possible ground loops coming from other devices)

 

Which input of the Gemini 1 are you plugging into, and what cabling are you using?

 

Gemini 1 Specifications

I/O
Input 1 – Combo XLR-1/4″ TRS jack line input (mono or stereo)
Input 2 – Combo XLR-1/4″ TS jack instrument input

 

The 1/4" outputs of the Helix are TS and and are switchable between Instrument level and line level. I would suggest you use a high quality shielded 1/4" Instrument cable to connect from the Left output of the Helix (Mono) to Input 2 on the Gemini. In this case you would have the Helix set to Instrument level on the 1/4" output. Of course, this is an unbalanced connection, and it may pickup interference if the cable run is long. (But if everything is setup properly it should be perfectly usable in most cases)

 

For a long cable run I would recommend using the Left XLR output of the Helix (Mono) into Input 1 of the Gemini. Use a high quality Microphone cable and set the XLR output of the helix to Line level. This balanced cabling should eliminate the majority of Buzz and hum.

 

Of course, there are situations where the "Building Ground" is poor on your power distribution in a particular venue and you need to look to other options, such as a Power Conditioner, but hopefully one of the items above will be the ticket... 

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If at all possible find your ground rod  (maybe one in a basement on a water pipe if you have that) at you incoming electrical service at you home check to see if the ground rod clamp is good and tight. thought I would add this to your list of "try this before you buy something" also make sure you are not to close to a computer or other electronics or the amp and try different guitars and cables....

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I agree with the advices here already. 

An isolation transformer is good if there is dirty on your power like Air Cons; Fridges; fluro lights but also 

check for cooking fuses(fuses that arent making good contact due to poor contact and arcing.)

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I agree with the other responses on this post. However I would still buy a power conditioner anyways. Anytime you're running high end FRFR units or high end modeling units such as the helix you always want to have a good power conditioner/surge protector. I never used one until the power reset at my house fried a hole in the circuit board of my Pod Live Plus. Not only that but its great to plug one thing into the wall and have ample room for your laptop/tablet chargers and any other powered speakers you may want to run with you. I will use the Furman M-8x2 in conjunction with the SS-6B.

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While in agreement with the opinions above, if you just want to get rid of the hum look into the Ebtech line of eliminators.  They're not "conditioners" in any sense of the word, but they're amazing at eliminating hum issues. My "uber-rig", which incorporates the Helix, VG8, GR33, GP10, a cappucino maker, and anything else electric that I can find wouldn't be usable without a couple of them.

 

Available from small to large, they simply work....

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Hum?adpos=1t1&creative=114582610801&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAjwqdi7BRCL6Zmjk5-rsTwSJABmrVabUJ0Jhk0SwEmzU-ruL6zIOATIGbvUMzfPir4YjZe4sBoCcU_w_wcB

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Whether or not a surge protector is the solution to the OP's original problem, sammycraig is certainly right that having one for gear in Helix's price range is a good idea.

 

Anyone care to comment on the differences between these?

- Furman SS6B

- Tripp Lite 7 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip

- Tripp Lite ISOBAR8ULTRA

 

There's a significant price range, even leaving aside cord length. (Not interested in rack mount, have Helix floor, no rack planned.)

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Hello all,

 

I'm trying to cleanup a ground loop situation happening between the Helix and my Mission Engineering Gemini 1 FRFR cab.

 

In certain situations, when both are plugged in, I'm getting a nasty ground loop/hum out of the cab. I've determine through trial and error that this is the result of a ground loop thus my question, does anyone have any recommendations for a power conditioner that I could use to eliminate this hum?

 

It'd be nice to ensure that no matter where I am playing my rig won't succumb to the ugly hum of a ground loop.

 

Oh, one more note, I've tried separating the signal from the Helix to the cab via a DI box with no luck.

 

Perhaps a Furman M-8x2?

are you using the rack or the floor unit? If your using the rack i would recommend (because i use it) getting a Furman Power conditioner.

 

As a matter of fact i personally have this one:

 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Furman/M-8DX-Power-Conditioner-with-Lights-and-Meter.gc

 

Much like yourself i am a gigging guitar player and the last thing i want to happen is to run into a venue with dirty power that results in a broken investment. Thats if you use the rack......the floor model...im sure some of these other folks will have some great options and ideas. I hope this helped.

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are you using the rack or the floor unit? If your using the rack i would recommend (because i use it) getting a Furman Power conditioner.

 

As a matter of fact i personally have this one:

 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Furman/M-8DX-Power-Conditioner-with-Lights-and-Meter.gc

 

Much like yourself i am a gigging guitar player and the last thing i want to happen is to run into a venue with dirty power that results in a broken investment. Thats if you use the rack......the floor model...im sure some of these other folks will have some great options and ideas. I hope this helped.

I use the floor model but have decided to go the power conditioner route as well (will just do an extra extension if required). With the amount of money I put down on my rig, it's about time to get smart about protection from power surges. Besides, it has the nice side effect of killing that ugly ground loop hum/noise.

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  • 6 years later...

so i had really bad buzzing from my helix lt ,no matter where i plugged in or what i used power strips etc..it was really bad when usb to pc..so yeah ground loop in house,, so i unplugged all my gear plugged my pc in with a 3 prong plug adaptor {the kind with the  metal ring on it} and tried my gear everything went silent no in amps,pedals,etc...attached a wire to plug metal ring and grounded to floor... i have no problems since.......also a friend had hooked up his gear mutiple amp and stuff when he did this there was as he described a loud feed back type of sound..well after that happened he would always have a buzz when using his helix...so we took apart the helix and on the mother board you could see where he had a power surge,the board was scorched by the mono output location...so we took a small piece of wire and connected the contact points held it in place and used hot glue gun to keep it attached ...he has had no problems since ,,beeb close to year and a ton of gigs....hope this helps 

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