Horrible sound, help me diagnose

[jlaustill]

Hey y'all. Playing a gig this weekend I had an issue with my guitar where it started sounding very very very bad. Like a static, harsh, horrible sound. The harder I strummed, the worse it sounded. At first I thought it was a dead battery, so I changed out the battery, same issue. Then I thought it was my preamp being dumb which is a D-Tar Solstice, so I plugged directly into the mixer, same problem.

So here's my deal, I have a complicated setup, I have a Stage Pro Anthem, and an M80 wired to a stereo jack. With a normal cable it grounds out the M80 so i just get the Anthem.

When I was having this issue, I tried unplugging during my break, then it seems to work normally again for about half the next set, then it started right back into the horrible scratchy/static/blown speaker kinda sound the harder I strummed. Finished the night out with just the anthem, playing very softly, and just cranked the volume.

I tried different cables, different batteries, plugging in directly, etc. So it has to be something with the anthem? Anyone have any idea what may be causing this kind of issue? I'm all ears for any suggestions, as I git weekly, and I may have to borrow a guitar until I get this figured out

Thanks!

Joshua

[philround]

Are you using the Baggs Para D.I.? I think I have had same problem, and it seems to be shorting out at the xlr output jack. Try wiggling the cord in that jack (turn your volume DOWN!) and see if that is the issue. I've found some mic cords that don't produce the sound, but most do. I need Baggs to address this issue for me. I've purchased 2, and they both do it. Great little box, but this problem is unacceptable!

[jlaustill]

Are you using the Baggs Para D.I.? I think I have had same problem, and it seems to be shorting out at the xlr output jack. Try wiggling the cord in that jack (turn your volume DOWN!) and see if that is the issue. I've found some mic cords that don't produce the sound, but most do. I need Baggs to address this issue for me. I've purchased 2, and they both do it. Great little box, but this problem is unacceptable!

Nope, never even seen a Para D.I.? I'm plugging my guitar directly into a mixer with a standard instrument cable. I think I've narrowed down my issue to either a bad anthem system, or a bad input jack harness. Since I built the harness, I'm going to put the stock one in, bypassing the M80, and see if I still get the issue, if not, I'll rebuild my stereo harness using top notch wire and neutrik jacks. If I have the same problem, I'll have to look at getting the anthem unit fixed.

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey Joshua,
That's definitely an odd symptom, especially if a new battery didn't change anything.

To be clear, when you played the last part of your set, playing softer with the volume up, did you already eliminate the M80 as a potential problem? Did muting the M80 at your preamp make the sound any clearer?

Also, are you running the M80 in Active mode or Passive mode?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get a good picture of what's going on.

[jlaustill]

Hey Joshua,
That's definitely an odd symptom, especially if a new battery didn't change anything.

To be clear, when you played the last part of your set, playing softer with the volume up, did you already eliminate the M80 as a potential problem? Did muting the M80 at your preamp make the sound any clearer?

Also, are you running the M80 in Active mode or Passive mode?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get a good picture of what's going on.

Yes, the last half of the set I used a normal cable, shorting out the M80 and using only the anthem. It sounded fine for awhile, then the issue came back. So I'm thinking unplugging it had something to do with it. The night before when I actually turned down the Anthem completely and just used the M80 the rest of the night, and that worked fine. It just sounded horrible because I use the M80 purely for picking up body thumbing and high frequencies. I have half the pins taken out of it, etc. I use the M80 strictly in passive mode.

Your line of questioning is actually very useful for me. I'm not good at stepping back and looking at all possibilities. Since using only the M80 solved the issue, I'm about 99% sure it's a wiring problem, most likely with the ground shorting out or some such. I have already ordered new wire, so in the meantime I will put the stock anthem jack back in and eliminate the M80 altogether and see if I still have any issues. If I don't, that will be a very good indication I just wired my harness poorly.

It's just weird that it worked fine for a few months then started having issues. But honestly, I hope it's just something I wired poorly, I don't want to go through the trouble of having to fix an anthem preamp haha.

[Caleb_Elling]

Ok,
That sound good. If you have any further issues with the Anthem after you get it back to stock-wiring, please let me know. I'm happy to help out however I can.

[jlaustill]

Ok,
That sound good. If you have any further issues with the Anthem after you get it back to stock-wiring, please let me know. I'm happy to help out however I can.

With the stock jack I had zero issues for a day, so I rewired the stereo jack with the highest quality neutrik 1/8" jacks and shielded Mogami cable that money can buy. Working good so far, I guess time will tell. But I think I just had a case of cheap wire/bad wiring causing crackling sounds. I'll report back after playing a few weeks.

On a side note, Mogami mic cable, even the "micro" stuff I ordered, is still not overly micro lol. What a pain to work with