jeseyfloyd89 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Hi guys, im getting a ridiculous amount of hum/interference from the LT when using the 4CBL method into my JVM410h The helix is wired up the usual way a 4cbl method is, Left/mono into the JVM Return. Helix Send into the JVM input. Helix return into JVM Send I have a midi cable changing the channels of the helix too snapshot one is the clean channel of the JVM with some effects. snapshot 2 is OD1 Red which just hums uncontrollably, snapshot 3 is OD2 Orange which hums but an acceptable amount for a hi gain tube amp. Ive got 2 gates active on the preset, one at the guitar input, and one right at the end of the chain, Ive trialed and errored all the blocks bypassing them one by one and none make a blind bit of difference when the amp is on the rhythm channel. Global settings is everything is set to instrument, anything else and the hum gets louder than the guitar signal its ridiculous. I tried pasting a YouTube video I made about the whole thing but it doesn't let me post any videos in this thread, so if you want to try and find it the video is called - so much hum from Helix LT and my name on YouTube is - Jesey Floyd This is the last straw with this unit unfortunately im far too stressed out trying to get it to work properly I can't put more gates on it as it just makes the sound terrible. Any help is appreciated thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 You have a power problem...My suggestion is always to start by isolating power...That's how the big boys do it. I use a tripp lite LC1200 for my audio...Yes, it is a regulator...But it is also a transformer...That provides the isolation...Ground loops are not possible thru a transformer...So in the same way you protect your audio signal by using transformer based direct boxes, it is a good idea to go the rest of the course and isolate your power....the regulator will save your gear too. Power Conditioners and Automatic Voltage Regulators are not the same at all...However, an AVR will often have Power Conditioning...but most people don't care to protect their gear properly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeseyfloyd89 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 36 minutes ago, spaceatl said: You have a power problem...My suggestion is always to start by isolating power...That's how the big boys do it. I use a tripp lite LC1200 for my audio...Yes, it is a regulator...But it is also a transformer...That provides the isolation...Ground loops are not possible thru a transformer...So in the same way you protect your audio signal by using transformer based direct boxes, it is a good idea to go the rest of the course and isolate your power....the regulator will save your gear too. Power Conditioners and Automatic Voltage Regulators are not the same at all...However, an AVR will often have Power Conditioning...but most people don't care to protect their gear properly. Sounds pretty plausible I suppose as im just running off the standard 240 wall socket at home. However I don't get as much hum playing at the studios and that's not through any conditioners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 hour ago, jeseyfloyd89 said: Sounds pretty plausible I suppose as im just running off the standard 240 wall socket at home. However I don't get as much hum playing at the studios and that's not through any conditioners Exactly. When you move around from studio to studio, you usually will not have too many problems because they generally take some care with the power there and have isolation installed. You will have no problems when you isolate and run down what your real signal ground loops are in your rig...And those are very easy to remedy and find when your rig is isolated from house power. Building a robust rig impervious to ground loops is a fairly simple systematic process that is very well understood by engineers, not generally by musicians... When you move from venue to venue for live work, all bets are off....especially on generator gigs...It amazes me every time I see someone just plug their gear into a socket without even checking the voltage. Back when I was touring heavily, I found outlets in the US wired for 240 volts. I have seen gear blown apart by mistakes like that. I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted to protect my tools, I need to insure that my power was stable. If you have ever measured grid power, you would be amazed at how much it varies thru the day....there are surges and drops all the time...My home regulator clicks at least 5-10 times per day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeseyfloyd89 Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 15 minutes ago, spaceatl said: Exactly. When you move around from studio to studio, you usually will not have too many problems because they generally take some care with the power there and have isolation installed. You will have no problems when you isolate and run down what your real signal ground loops are in your rig...And those are very easy to remedy and find when your rig is isolated from house power. Building a robust rig impervious to ground loops is a fairly simple systematic process that is very well understood by engineers, not generally by musicians... When you move from venue to venue for live work, all bets are off....especially on generator gigs...It amazes me every time I see someone just plug their gear into a socket without even checking the voltage. Back when I was touring heavily, I found outlets in the US wired for 240 volts. I have seen gear blown apart by mistakes like that. I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted to protect my tools, I need to insure that my power was stable. If you have ever measured grid power, you would be amazed at how much it varies thru the day....there are surges and drops all the time...My home regulator clicks at least 5-10 times per day... Wow, that's really interesting mate thank you for your insight, ill have to run it all past my father, he is an electrical engineer by trade and will know a lot more about it than I do! I think ill invest in a Samson power conditioner and run my Marshall and Helix off that and hopefully get a bit more stability when using my rig at home. Thank you again for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
52dmk Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Sounds like a ground loop. I used to get the same using 4CM with a Marshall 6100. Solved it buy buying an ebtech (also Morley?) hum eliminator and putting it between the Helix send and the amps input. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 2 hours ago, jeseyfloyd89 said: Wow, that's really interesting mate thank you for your insight, ill have to run it all past my father, he is an electrical engineer by trade and will know a lot more about it than I do! I think ill invest in a Samson power conditioner and run my Marshall and Helix off that and hopefully get a bit more stability when using my rig at home. Thank you again for your help. My father is also EE that paid his way thru school fixing TVs, tube amps, speakers etc in the 1960s. I know enough to be extremely dangerous...You likely do as well, lol! He taught me this power isolation stuff decades ago when I was starting to tour. Your dad will know how to guide you...all the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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