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Post by DRZ on Jul 20, 2017 1:45:38 GMT -7
Jon I have been following your thread. I must say I do not advocate removing or disconnecting any part of your Z Lux in an attempt to solve this issue. I have found in my 30 years at this, that even the best and most careful attempts to troubleshoot a problem this way can cause additional problems.
So try this simple method to eliminate your environmental problem, I'm assuming this to be a RF issue as I don't believe you have an amp problem. Also all DR.Z reverb amps have an RF trap circuit installed to help eliminate just this issue. But with us now being bombarded with WiFi, Cell phone, Radio, TV and many other types of in air frequency assault, a simple snubbing cap cannot possible handle the bandwidth in todays air ways. So try this: once your amp starts buzzing grab the handle pick it up and slowly spin the amp CW and CCW. This will be like turning the tuning knob on your radio and can detune the troublesome frequency. It may not stop it completely depending on its strength , but it will demonstrate to you the source of your problem. Understand if the RF is present in your wall wiring then this will have no effect, as the problem is entering your amp through the power cord.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 20, 2017 4:51:08 GMT -7
I've had RF interference issues with reverb amps before, but this seems different. Also, I did not have the footswitch connected, if that makes any difference. Plus, it's really weird that it would crop up suddenly in the same space we've practiced in for the last 18 months or so, unless some neighbor's acquired a huge CB or ham radio setup, maybe. I've got Lux #1 and pedalboard-in-question plugged in and fired up in my guitar room. So far I'm not hearing anything untoward. It seems to take awhile for things to get going, though--we'll see. We had the same kind of situation happen to our other guitar player, ILuvPunz. It was an intermittent hum/ buzz, and a different kind of sound than typical. It would happen in the middle of a gig, and not every gig, but typically after things warmed up a bit. He did everything you have done to try and figure it out. It ended up being his Strymon Ojai power supply. One of the outputs went bad. I am not sure how he tested it, but it was definitely the issue and Strymon replaced it free. Problem solved. If you have the Ojai, you might check this.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 4:52:24 GMT -7
Thanks, Doc. I'll give it a shot. Regarding RF in the wall wiring, I tried running it through a Furman M8X-AR voltage regulator, but it didn't help.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 4:55:51 GMT -7
I've had RF interference issues with reverb amps before, but this seems different. Also, I did not have the footswitch connected, if that makes any difference. Plus, it's really weird that it would crop up suddenly in the same space we've practiced in for the last 18 months or so, unless some neighbor's acquired a huge CB or ham radio setup, maybe. I've got Lux #1 and pedalboard-in-question plugged in and fired up in my guitar room. So far I'm not hearing anything untoward. It seems to take awhile for things to get going, though--we'll see. We had the same kind of situation happen to our other guitar player, ILuvPunz. It was an intermittent hum/ buzz, and a different kind of sound than typical. It would happen in the middle of a gig, and not every gig, but typically after things warmed up a bit. He did everything you have done to try and figure it out. It ended up being his Strymon Ojai power supply. One of the outputs went bad. I am not sure how he tested it, but it was definitely the issue and Strymon replaced it free. Problem solved. If you have the Ojai, you might check this. Yeah, I haven't ruled out the pedalboard. When I tried it at home I re-checked all the power connections from Voodoo 4X4 to pedals, and while a couple were crackly they were all reasonably well seated. And again--couldn't reproduce the issue at home in about six hours of testing. That doesn't mean I'm not getting RF through my pedalboard in our practice space, though.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 20, 2017 5:04:38 GMT -7
We had the same kind of situation happen to our other guitar player, ILuvPunz. It was an intermittent hum/ buzz, and a different kind of sound than typical. It would happen in the middle of a gig, and not every gig, but typically after things warmed up a bit. He did everything you have done to try and figure it out. It ended up being his Strymon Ojai power supply. One of the outputs went bad. I am not sure how he tested it, but it was definitely the issue and Strymon replaced it free. Problem solved. If you have the Ojai, you might check this. Yeah, I haven't ruled out the pedalboard. When I tried it at home I re-checked all the power connections from Voodoo 4X4 to pedals, and while a couple were crackly they were all reasonably well seated. And again--couldn't reproduce the issue at home in about six hours of testing. That doesn't mean I'm not getting RF through my pedalboard in our practice space, though. Re-reading this whole thread, I realize that the problem you are describing is the EXACT same problem we had. The worst kind of problem is one you can't reproduce, and therefore can't track down. It was so baffling, because every pedal worked on his pedal board and the stupid sound would just show up at different times and venues, but not all the time. Everything with the pedal power "seemed" to work, because every pedal plugged into it powered up. You may have done this already, but I would bypass the pedal board and plug straight in at rehearsal just to eliminate the board as a possibility.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2017 5:16:45 GMT -7
That's the next step, yeah. I may pick up a used Z28 or M12 head for the practice space, or similar--want one anyway as a backup.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2017 9:47:07 GMT -7
Further update: ran the Lux in practice space last night with no issues--a little bit of RF noise in the form of a few quiet blip-blip-blipping sounds, but that diminished after the drummer and I both turned off our phones. What changed was that I was using a smaller, simpler pedalboard--so maybe the "antenna" was in my other board. So weird.
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