Hi,
On a clean amp its working very ok.
My wahoo (new bought last week, new firmware installed) is used only on high gain (jcm800 style) songs.
I have a lot of noise coming from the wah ...
When the wah is engaged .. i hear hiss and digital interference (like bad laptop soundcarts).
Even when i turn up and down the brightness of the leds the output noise is changing (the brighter the louder the hiss and digital interference).
tried drive / volume settings .. batts,usb connected, usb disconnected .. different amp, output socket of the wall... other powersupply ... nothing changes it ...
This way the wah is unusable and thats a lot of money to waste. i do not suppose this to be normal. I hope you can help me about this.
I am an electronical repair man, so technical terms are no problems for me ..
Hope to hear from you soon..
Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
This is usually caused by a power supply problem, or a ground-loop problem.
You said you tried batteries. Is the Wahoo connected to any other pedals? Have you tried with just only the Wahoo, guitar and amp in the signal chain? We've had problems where another pedal in the signal chain was causing ground noise to get into the Wahoo. The solution in this case was to change the power supply on the other pedal.
Remember that the Wahoo filters (like all analogue filters) have self-noise. The particular filter design used is known to be noisier than some other designs, but sounds much better -- it's a trade-off. If you increase the resonance, this noise will be amplified because the resonance effectively adds a huge amount of gain inside the filter. When you sweep the filter you will hear something like wind noise -- this is the filter noise being accentuated by the resonance.
You said you tried batteries. Is the Wahoo connected to any other pedals? Have you tried with just only the Wahoo, guitar and amp in the signal chain? We've had problems where another pedal in the signal chain was causing ground noise to get into the Wahoo. The solution in this case was to change the power supply on the other pedal.
Remember that the Wahoo filters (like all analogue filters) have self-noise. The particular filter design used is known to be noisier than some other designs, but sounds much better -- it's a trade-off. If you increase the resonance, this noise will be amplified because the resonance effectively adds a huge amount of gain inside the filter. When you sweep the filter you will hear something like wind noise -- this is the filter noise being accentuated by the resonance.
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
Hi James,
Tnx, for your quick reply.
For the digitall noice, problem solved .. indeed there was a problem between my second pedal (power supply) and this first one .. both on batteries solved the problem.
Now only the loud Hiss still occurs .. and i wonder, what am i gonna do live ??? nobody wants batteries !!!!!!
I can understand that you choose a filter design wich is much better then others but to compromise with so much noise, is a bit tricky for my opinion...
the thing is i play a lot of stuff fearly clean when lowering my volume on the guitar and keep my amp on high gain mode (there is no other
) now every wah in the world worked with that for the last 30 years of my career, but now i cant produce any wah sounds in this mode because of the loud hiss appearing in the sweep range of the wah ..
If there is no solution for this, i have to consider to sell the wah on ebay or something, its just unusable, but still i hope that you can figure out a setting (or firmaware) wich can help me through it ...
greets Len
Tnx, for your quick reply.
For the digitall noice, problem solved .. indeed there was a problem between my second pedal (power supply) and this first one .. both on batteries solved the problem.
Now only the loud Hiss still occurs .. and i wonder, what am i gonna do live ??? nobody wants batteries !!!!!!
I can understand that you choose a filter design wich is much better then others but to compromise with so much noise, is a bit tricky for my opinion...
the thing is i play a lot of stuff fearly clean when lowering my volume on the guitar and keep my amp on high gain mode (there is no other
) now every wah in the world worked with that for the last 30 years of my career, but now i cant produce any wah sounds in this mode because of the loud hiss appearing in the sweep range of the wah ..If there is no solution for this, i have to consider to sell the wah on ebay or something, its just unusable, but still i hope that you can figure out a setting (or firmaware) wich can help me through it ...
greets Len
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
For power, if you make sure you use an isolated power supply it should avoid the power supply noise.
You can reduce the filter noise by optimising the signal chain levels in the Wahoo:
(1) Increase the DRIVE as much as you can before the driver tone is too much for you. This keeps your signal high compared to the noise.
(2) drop the OUTPUT level to compensate for any increase in level that DRIVE gives you. This reduces your signal back to the level you want, but also reduces the noise level.
Do you find that some presets are better/worse than others?
You can reduce the filter noise by optimising the signal chain levels in the Wahoo:
(1) Increase the DRIVE as much as you can before the driver tone is too much for you. This keeps your signal high compared to the noise.
(2) drop the OUTPUT level to compensate for any increase in level that DRIVE gives you. This reduces your signal back to the level you want, but also reduces the noise level.
Do you find that some presets are better/worse than others?
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
Hi James, tnx for your reply, tried everything .. the power issue is ok, when both the pedals have there own 1spot adapter. thats not a problem.
now the hiss...
I recorded it with this settings : drive max, level about 10%.. so the best setting for low noise ... i send you a youtube link in a second, so you can hear what happens ..
The guitar amp hums, its because my guitar hangs above it ...
let me know what you think of it .. i must say, of all way i used before, this did never happen before !
take care,
len
now the hiss...
I recorded it with this settings : drive max, level about 10%.. so the best setting for low noise ... i send you a youtube link in a second, so you can hear what happens ..
The guitar amp hums, its because my guitar hangs above it ...
let me know what you think of it .. i must say, of all way i used before, this did never happen before !
take care,
len
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
the link of the hiss : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYQT7gR ... e=youtu.be
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
Thanks for posting the video.
It was a bit hard to hear exactly what was going on. With the Wahoo off, there was an audible background hum/hiss level, then this got a bit louder with the Wahoo on, shaped by the filter. That sounded normal to me -- it will always give more noise than the background, it's impossible for a resonant filter not to do that. But it is hard to be sure if this is normal.
Can you send me the preset you are using? You can send it as an attachment on the forum. Then I can do a recording here at a couple of different amp gain settings and let you here how it sounds to compare.
I see you were connected over USB. Does it change if you remove the USB connection? I've done tests where I found noise was introduced by the computer. Simply touching the USB cable shield to the Wahoo USB connector shield (so it wasn't actually plugged in) caused the noise to increase because of ground loops.
I've remembered something else that might help. The Wahoo has a sort of noise-gate feature. It's not a true noise gate, but it closes down the filters when the input signal falls below the threshold. This greatly reduces the noise. When you play, the filters will open again. This might be a way to make sure you are not hearing the filter noise when not playing -- while playing, of course, it will just be the same. To do this just increase the "gate thr." on the preset.
It was a bit hard to hear exactly what was going on. With the Wahoo off, there was an audible background hum/hiss level, then this got a bit louder with the Wahoo on, shaped by the filter. That sounded normal to me -- it will always give more noise than the background, it's impossible for a resonant filter not to do that. But it is hard to be sure if this is normal.
Can you send me the preset you are using? You can send it as an attachment on the forum. Then I can do a recording here at a couple of different amp gain settings and let you here how it sounds to compare.
I see you were connected over USB. Does it change if you remove the USB connection? I've done tests where I found noise was introduced by the computer. Simply touching the USB cable shield to the Wahoo USB connector shield (so it wasn't actually plugged in) caused the noise to increase because of ground loops.
I've remembered something else that might help. The Wahoo has a sort of noise-gate feature. It's not a true noise gate, but it closes down the filters when the input signal falls below the threshold. This greatly reduces the noise. When you play, the filters will open again. This might be a way to make sure you are not hearing the filter noise when not playing -- while playing, of course, it will just be the same. To do this just increase the "gate thr." on the preset.
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
Another quick thought...
Turning down the guitar to get a clean tone while going through the Wahoo will always give you more noise than you want. Think about it: the Wahoo noise is at a fixed level, if turn down the guitar, you've just reduced your signal-to-noise level... so the noise is more obvious.
Try this instead (sort of opposite of what I suggested before!). Create a Wahoo preset that has the output level turned down, but keep your guitar level up. That way, you will be turning down the guitar level AND the Wahoo noise level, so the signal-to-noise will remain around the same level, so the noise should not be as obvious.
If you need to dynamically vary the level, you really need to put the volume control after the Wahoo, not before it.
Turning down the guitar to get a clean tone while going through the Wahoo will always give you more noise than you want. Think about it: the Wahoo noise is at a fixed level, if turn down the guitar, you've just reduced your signal-to-noise level... so the noise is more obvious.
Try this instead (sort of opposite of what I suggested before!). Create a Wahoo preset that has the output level turned down, but keep your guitar level up. That way, you will be turning down the guitar level AND the Wahoo noise level, so the signal-to-noise will remain around the same level, so the noise should not be as obvious.
If you need to dynamically vary the level, you really need to put the volume control after the Wahoo, not before it.
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
Hi, i try to answer your questions ..
It was a bit hard to hear exactly what was going on. With the Wahoo off, there was an audible background hum/hiss level, then this got a bit louder with the Wahoo on, shaped by the filter. That sounded normal to me -- it will always give more noise than the background, it's impossible for a resonant filter not to do that. But it is hard to be sure if this is normal.
ITS EXTREME LOUD COMPARED TO A CRY BABY FOR EXAMPLE ..
Can you send me the preset you are using? You can send it as an attachment on the forum. Then I can do a recording here at a couple of different amp gain settings and let you here how it sounds to compare.
I TRIED ALL FACTORY PRESETS, ALL ARE THE SAME HISS LEVEL.
I see you were connected over USB. Does it change if you remove the USB connection? I've done tests where I found noise was introduced by the computer. Simply touching the USB cable shield to the Wahoo USB connector shield (so it wasn't actually plugged in) caused the noise to increase because of ground loops.
THE USB CONNECTOR WAS OUT OF THE PC, BUT THE PROGRAM STILL WAS ON MY SCREEN SO I COULD SEND YOU THE SETTINGS OF THIS PRESET.
I've remembered something else that might help. The Wahoo has a sort of noise-gate feature. It's not a true noise gate, but it closes down the filters when the input signal falls below the threshold. This greatly reduces the noise. When you play, the filters will open again. This might be a way to make sure you are not hearing the filter noise when not playing -- while playing, of course, it will just be the same. To do this just increase the "gate thr." on the preset.
I TRIED THE NOISEGATE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE LOW INPUT VOLUME THERE IS NO MAGICAL POINT .. OFF IS THE BEST, AND HISS WILL ALWAY APPEAR LOUDER THAN THE SOUND OF MY GUITAR.
Another quick thought...
Turning down the guitar to get a clean tone while going through the Wahoo will always give you more noise than you want. Think about it: the Wahoo noise is at a fixed level, if turn down the guitar, you've just reduced your signal-to-noise level... so the noise is more obvious.
I KNOW THAT, BUT COMPARED TO OTHER WAYS THERE IS AN EXTREME HISS ... CLEAN IT WORKS PERFECT AND ON FULL DRIVE TOO !
Try this instead (sort of opposite of what I suggested before!). Create a Wahoo preset that has the output level turned down, but keep your guitar level up. That way, you will be turning down the guitar level AND the Wahoo noise level, so the signal-to-noise will remain around the same level, so the noise should not be as obvious.
THIS PRESET WAS SETUP LIKE THIS.
If you need to dynamically vary the level, you really need to put the volume control after the Wahoo, not before it.
NOW THATS INTERESTING, I MIGHT DO THAT TO TRY, AND OFFCOARSE IT WILL HELP, BUT THERE IS A REASON THIS HAPPENS, BECAUSE MY OTHER WAHS IN THE PAST DID NOT DO THIS. MAYBE I BORROW MY FRIENDS MORLEY, AND COMPARE THEM BOTH FOR YOU ...
It was a bit hard to hear exactly what was going on. With the Wahoo off, there was an audible background hum/hiss level, then this got a bit louder with the Wahoo on, shaped by the filter. That sounded normal to me -- it will always give more noise than the background, it's impossible for a resonant filter not to do that. But it is hard to be sure if this is normal.
ITS EXTREME LOUD COMPARED TO A CRY BABY FOR EXAMPLE ..
Can you send me the preset you are using? You can send it as an attachment on the forum. Then I can do a recording here at a couple of different amp gain settings and let you here how it sounds to compare.
I TRIED ALL FACTORY PRESETS, ALL ARE THE SAME HISS LEVEL.
I see you were connected over USB. Does it change if you remove the USB connection? I've done tests where I found noise was introduced by the computer. Simply touching the USB cable shield to the Wahoo USB connector shield (so it wasn't actually plugged in) caused the noise to increase because of ground loops.
THE USB CONNECTOR WAS OUT OF THE PC, BUT THE PROGRAM STILL WAS ON MY SCREEN SO I COULD SEND YOU THE SETTINGS OF THIS PRESET.
I've remembered something else that might help. The Wahoo has a sort of noise-gate feature. It's not a true noise gate, but it closes down the filters when the input signal falls below the threshold. This greatly reduces the noise. When you play, the filters will open again. This might be a way to make sure you are not hearing the filter noise when not playing -- while playing, of course, it will just be the same. To do this just increase the "gate thr." on the preset.
I TRIED THE NOISEGATE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE LOW INPUT VOLUME THERE IS NO MAGICAL POINT .. OFF IS THE BEST, AND HISS WILL ALWAY APPEAR LOUDER THAN THE SOUND OF MY GUITAR.
Another quick thought...
Turning down the guitar to get a clean tone while going through the Wahoo will always give you more noise than you want. Think about it: the Wahoo noise is at a fixed level, if turn down the guitar, you've just reduced your signal-to-noise level... so the noise is more obvious.
I KNOW THAT, BUT COMPARED TO OTHER WAYS THERE IS AN EXTREME HISS ... CLEAN IT WORKS PERFECT AND ON FULL DRIVE TOO !
Try this instead (sort of opposite of what I suggested before!). Create a Wahoo preset that has the output level turned down, but keep your guitar level up. That way, you will be turning down the guitar level AND the Wahoo noise level, so the signal-to-noise will remain around the same level, so the noise should not be as obvious.
THIS PRESET WAS SETUP LIKE THIS.
If you need to dynamically vary the level, you really need to put the volume control after the Wahoo, not before it.
NOW THATS INTERESTING, I MIGHT DO THAT TO TRY, AND OFFCOARSE IT WILL HELP, BUT THERE IS A REASON THIS HAPPENS, BECAUSE MY OTHER WAHS IN THE PAST DID NOT DO THIS. MAYBE I BORROW MY FRIENDS MORLEY, AND COMPARE THEM BOTH FOR YOU ...
Re: Wahoo Hiss/digital noise
The volume after the hits me, i think it will work, but one question ...
the volume control of the wah itself, isnt that possisioned on the end of the stages ???
the volume control of the wah itself, isnt that possisioned on the end of the stages ???