Question:
I am running my guitar straight to the amp with the XTLive in the effects loop. I love this setup, but there is a noise problem. It seems the effects send ("PREAMP OUT" on the HRDlx), I get a lot of interference noise...almost as much noise as I get with a computer monitor on. I've switched around all the cables that I have, but no matter what cables I use where, it still is noisy.
Ive narrowed it down to the PREAMP OUT because...
The guitar straight into the amp yeilds no noise.
The guitar into the XTL and straight into POWERAMP IN (effects return) yields no noise.*
The guitar into the amp with a cable looping the PREAMP OUT and POWERAMP IN does yield interference.
*The guitar into the xtlive straight into the POWERAMP IN sounds pretty good, but there is no volume control outside of the expression pedal, and I'd rather not go that route yet.
Any ideas?
** I do have one idea, but I have to test a bit...
I thought the problem might be a bad wall outlet, or possibly that I had the XT Live powered through the same outlet.
Well...I tried a different outlet, and I turned off the XTL all together. Guitar straight into the amp is fine...no hum, but if I loop the Pre out and power in, it hums. It also doesnt change with changing the pickup selector, which lets me know that it is not the guitar.
Answer:
is it just hiss? Does it just sound like air? I wouldn't know what to tell you really because ideally I would just put the XTL into the poweramp in. You know you have a level knob on the back of the XTL, right? After you set that, it would just be a matter of tweaking your patches to the appropriate volume settings.
Answer:
Yeah, I know about the knob...I just spent the last few days...probably 8-10 hours playing and tweaking all my patches. I think I will just live with it for now. Is a noisy preamp out on the HRDlx a common problem?
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Never had a problem with the effects loop my HRDlx... mind you I found it's just as accepting of things at the front of the amp as in the effects loop, so that's where I've got my pedal board.
Answer:
Some amp's effects loops, like my PV Bravo don't have any circuitry for the effects loop, its just an insertion point of the existing amp circuitry. I looked at the schemo for yer amp, the effects send goes thru an op amp IC. From your detailed description, my best guess is that it is bad. It may have failed on its own, or possibly someone before you damaged it by hooking it up incorrectly. It is possible that it could be one of the caps in the op amp's circuit, or something else maybe. Before giving up I would clean that jack just in case its causing some sort of ground loop...?
Did you ever get that new ax?
Answer:
Originally Posted by Major Tom Some amp's effects loops, like my PV Bravo don't have any circuitry for the effects loop, its just an insertion point of the existing amp circuitry. I looked at the schemo for yer amp, the effects send goes thru an op amp IC. From your detailed description, my best guess is that it is bad. It may have failed on its own, or possibly someone before you damaged it by hooking it up incorrectly. It is possible that it could be one of the caps in the op amp's circuit, or something else maybe. Before giving up I would clean that jack just in case its causing some sort of ground loop...?
Hmm...I have never abused it. My using the XTlive was the first time I ever used the effects loop, and I'm 100% sure I hooked it up right. It's not a very loud noise, but enough to bug me. Based on the "Quality Assurance" sticker on the back of my amp, it was built in October of 1996. I just bought it in august(ish), so theres no telling what the former owner(s?) might have done.
Originally Posted by Major Tom Did you ever get that new ax?
Not yet
I am supposed to get that axe, and a Chet Atkins SST (epiphone) that I won from ebay as a suprise for a friend. I work close to home, and go by every day at lunch to see if either has arrived, but alas, they haven't. Of course, we've been having some very bad weather here, and Monday was a fedral holiday. It could have delayed/stalled shipping stuff.
I ended up just using Casey's suggestion. I tweaked away today, and am currently running the guitar into the xtl and into the poweramp in. I don't have volume control outside of the expression pedal of the xtl, but if it becomes a problem, I can put my old volume pedal between the xtl and the amp.
One more question...Is is possible to replace the 8 ohm internal speaker with a 16 ohm speaker?
I've got an extension cab with 2 celestion v30's, but they are 16 ohm wired in series. I was thinking of taking one out and putting it in the amp itself.
Answer:
Originally Posted by RipVanWinkle One more question...Is is possible to replace the 8 ohm internal speaker with a 16 ohm speaker?
I've got an extension cab with 2 celestion v30's, but they are 16 ohm wired in series. I was thinking of taking one out and putting it in the amp itself.
Simple answer is no. You need to match the impedance. If I recall correctly, you can substitute lower speaker loads for a loss in total power output (or is it a higher load?). Still, I can't recommend that.
In any case, unless your amp has a nice multi-tap output transformer allowing for a different impedance, you won't be able to change out for 16 ohms without getting a new output transformer.
Answer:
Going from an 8ohm speaker to a 16 is fine. going from 8 to 4 is bad.
at 16ohms you're going to be using 20ish watts instead of 40.