It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:40 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 7:47 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
Hello everybody,

I'm having a little bit of a problem with the noise... here it is:

I use a Squier Bullet Strat HSS together with a Fender Mustang I. I mainly use the humbucker pickup in my songs, with a custom amp preset which has a LOT of gain, by the way.

What annoys me is that when I am not playing (and I am not holding my hands on the guitar), I can hear some kind of hiss, which is pretty loud and pissing. When I put my hands on the guitar, the noise stops. Nevertheless, sometimes it's unconfortable for me to keep my hands on the guitar everytime I'm "having a break". Also, turning the volume knob on the guitar down to 0 isn't quite an option, since the volume of my guitar is set to maximum, and trying to turn it down to minimum "takes me some time". I would like something to cut down the noise instantly as soon as I've finished playing.

I've also tried to use the noise gate feature in Fender FUSE, but I was not happy about the results.

This noise is present only on distortion presets, if I play clean everythting is fine, there's no noise at all.

So, my question is: can I cut down this unwanted noise I described above with a noise gate pedal (I'm particularly thinking about a BOSS NS-2)? Or is it useless, since the amp doesn't have an FX LOOP jack? Does it help in any way if I plug the guitar into the pedal, and then plug the pedal into the "input" jack of the amp?

Thank you in advance and please excuse me if this issue has already been discussed here.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 8:40 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:22 pm
Posts: 797
If the noise goes away when you turn your guitar volume down, I don't really understand how it could possibly "take some time" to turn it down. I put the tip of my little finger on the volume knob and roll it back with the side of my hand which very quickly cuts the volume off. Also, are you sure it's a "hiss" that goes away when you touch the strings and not a buzz? It should be a buzz that goes away when you touch a guitar's strings and it usually means that there is a grounding problem on your guitar. This is especially true if the guitar has humbuckers - they should be dead quiet.
Single coils will get quieter when you put your hands on the strings but even on a very well shielded guitar there will still be some noise.

If you don't like how the built in noise gate affects your sound, I'm not sure that you'll be any happier with an external one - especially since the amp doesn't have an affects loop. Even the very best studio noise gates are a compromise at best and the Mustang's noise gate isn't too shabby by comparison. I've heard a lot worse.

You might want to consider having a guitar tech look at the wiring on your guitar. Proper shielding and grounding will keep you from having to use a sustain killing noise gate.

O


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 8:54 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
I don't know how to exactly describe the noise that comes out of it...

It "takes some time" for me to turn the volume down to 0, because I don't have the dexterity to do that very quickly. Moreover, if there are short strumming breaks in the songs, it's quite unconfortable to turn it up/down/up/down...

The in-built noise gate in Fender FUSE is also sustain-cutting... but perhaps I don't know how to properly set it up...

The problem is with my very high gain - that's when the noise appears on the humbucker. If I lower down the gain, the noise tends to disappear. But I want to play with high gain as well...

I'll probably consider shielding in the future as well, but I heard it is effective only on single coils. I'm not happy about the humbucker though, since I use it heavily. Will shielding prevent the noise from appearing on the humbucker? Or at least, reduce it?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 10:11 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:22 pm
Posts: 797
mike_KidLazy wrote:
I don't know how to exactly describe the noise that comes out of it...

It "takes some time" for me to turn the volume down to 0, because I don't have the dexterity to do that very quickly. Moreover, if there are short strumming breaks in the songs, it's quite unconfortable to turn it up/down/up/down...


I see, but if there are short strumming breaks in a song, don't you mute the strings with your hand to keep them from ringing out an unwanted E11 chord?

Quote:
The in-built noise gate in Fender FUSE is also sustain-cutting... but perhaps I don't know how to properly set it up...


Even the very best properly set noise gates will have adverse effects on sustain.


Quote:
The problem is with my very high gain - that's when the noise appears on the humbucker. If I lower down the gain, the noise tends to disappear. But I want to play with high gain as well...


And the noise goes away when you touch the strings?

Quote:
I'll probably consider shielding in the future as well, but I heard it is effective only on single coils. I'm not happy about the humbucker though, since I use it heavily. Will shielding prevent the noise from appearing on the humbucker? Or at least, reduce it?


Shielding is effective on both types of pickups but it's more noticeable on single coils. On a humbucker, good grounding in conjunction with good shielding will help keep things quiet. However, if you let go of the strings, even with good grounding and shielding you will still get a little bit of noise, just not in obnoxious amounts.

O.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 3:50 pm
Offline
Fender Staff

Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:46 pm
Posts: 860
Hi mike_KidLazy,

I would suggest that you try working on a custom setting for the Noise Gate in the Advanced Amp tab in Fender FUSE. Experiment some with the 'THRESH' and "DEPTH' settings. I had good success reducing noise on a high gain Preset here. And let me know if I can assist further.

_________________
Alan Willey
Fender Technology Support Lab
TSL@Fender.com
480.596.7195


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 10:59 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
Yes, I do mute the strings with my hand and the noise does go away when I place my hands on the guitar.

Thank you Orcatraz, you told me exactly what I wanted to know - even with shielding, there won't be much reduction on the humbucker.

I think I'll eventually do what Allan told me - I'll try to tweak the in built noise gate, and see what happens.

I have a little question, though: I know what the THRESH button does, still I can't figure out what exactly does the DEPTH button do. I can notice some changes when I tweak it, but I can't really tell what it is. Perhaps if I make clear the "theory" of what this button does, I'll be able to create a better setting.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 12:35 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:22 pm
Posts: 797
mike_KidLazy wrote:
Yes, I do mute the strings with my hand and the noise does go away when I place my hands on the guitar.

Thank you Orcatraz, you told me exactly what I wanted to know - even with shielding, there won't be much reduction on the humbucker.

I think I'll eventually do what Allan told me - I'll try to tweak the in built noise gate, and see what happens.

I have a little question, though: I know what the THRESH button does, still I can't figure out what exactly does the DEPTH button do. I can notice some changes when I tweak it, but I can't really tell what it is. Perhaps if I make clear the "theory" of what this button does, I'll be able to create a better setting.


You misunderstood me a bit. On a humbucker, shielding helps but proper grounding on the guitar's wiring in conjunction with shielding really helps minimize the need for a noise gate. On my humbucker equipped guitar, I can take my hands off and get virtually no noise except for the hiss from the amp at higher gain settings.

The Depth control determines how much the noise gate will "turn the volume down". This is where the compromise comes in. I try to use it to reduce the noise rather than completely eliminate it - which is really not a practical approach if you don't want to lose too much sustain. I just try to make the noise less obnoxious.

O.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 1:15 pm
Offline
Fender Staff

Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:46 pm
Posts: 860
Hi mike_KidLazy,

The 2 controls are defined below. Basically, the threshold determines when the gating begins. And the depth defines how strong the gating is. I hope that helps. Please let me know if i can assist further.


Threshold = the input level below which gain reduction occurs
Depth = maximum level of attenuation

_________________
Alan Willey
Fender Technology Support Lab
TSL@Fender.com
480.596.7195


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 3:50 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Posts: 27
Ok, I got it now :).

Once again, thank you guys for the answers. I think I'll probably try to work on the noise gate settings in the amp. I think the noise that I'm hearing is coming from the amp, not from the guitar, because of the high gain I'm using. I'll also consider shielding in the future, but I'll use the noise gate in the amp for now.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Can I use a noise gate pedal with Fender Mustang I amp?
Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 9:01 am
Offline
Fender Staff

Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:46 pm
Posts: 860
Hi mike_KidLazy,

That sounds good. Please let me know if I can assist further.

_________________
Alan Willey
Fender Technology Support Lab
TSL@Fender.com
480.596.7195


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: