HX Stomp, What in the world is this noise?

[juone95]

Hello,

I recently set up my rig with a HX stomp as follows: HX stomp -> Send (stereo) -> Empress Echosystem -> specular tempus -> Boss RC-5 -> return (L/R). All connected to a Morningstar MC8 for MIDI.

 

When I play through my headphones or record with a DAW, there is this crackling noise that I can't get rid of. I've tried with the Stereo effects loop off, new patch with just the amp and it's still persisting. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks everyone.

[phil_m]

This may be dumb, but are you sure that isn’t your pick hitting the pickup? It’s rhythmic and it goes away when you stop strumming, and that’s really what is sounds like to me.

[juone95]

Haha not dumb at all, but I don’t think it’s my pick. It happens mostly when I strum chords, and disappears when I pick single notes. Also, much much hard to replicate with fingerpicking.

 

I was thinking it may be digital distortion or static build up… Does anybody know what global settings and/or tips that work best for stereo set ups?

 

Thank you!

[rd2rk]

In order:

 

Start by making sure your cables are all good.

 

The Empress Input impedance is 1M, so in Global Settings>Ins/Outs set both of your Send/Returns (L/R) to INST.

The Tempus Input Impedance is also 1M, as is the RC5. The Output Impedances of all 3 are much lower, so that shouldn't be a problem, but I'm not sure about that.

It might affect the tone (hi freq attenuation). 

 

It's possible that you're overloading the Input of one or more of them, so fiddle with the Output levels of all 3 starting with the Empress.

 

You are running 3 digital devices in a loop, so that's 4 ad/da conversions. That might be a problem. It's certainly a lot of accumulated latency (5 total=10ms from HXS Input to Output. That shouldn't matter (it's a potential "feel" thing), but...might be a problem.

 

Remove all devices from the loop (just disconnect the loop cables). That eliminates the HXS itself.

Reconnect the cables WITHOUT any devices (sends to returns). That eliminates the Loop itself.

Add each device back in one by one. Again, be aware of the Output levels re the possibility of overloading the Input of the next device.

 

If you still haven't found the problem, consult an exorcist. Kidding of course, but that's all I can think of for now.

 

 

[juone95]

Hey rd2rk, thank your for such a detailed response. I really appreciate it. After tinkering with some of the settings and baptizing the guitar with dryer sheets, I found the custom IR to be the culprit. Changed it to stock cabs, and the crackling has disappeared completely. I’ll look to mess around with the input levels of each of the pedals to see if I can salvage the custom IRs I purchased. I tried lowering the send and return levels in the effects loop, but that hasn’t done anything. 
 

Thanks again for your response.

[rd2rk]

I've found the volume levels of "custom" IRs to be all over the place. Depending upon where your IR is located in the signal chain it could be a simple matter of lowering the Output Level in the IR Block to avoid overloading the next block in the chain.

[juone95]

That’s a great idea actually. Thanks again! The learning curve on this thing is monstrous, but grateful to be supported by more knowledgeable individuals.