I have a 5150 2/12 combo...that I may or may not split with an A/B switch to a small Fender Super 60 I own...I'm not looking to buy new amps...or boutique amplifiers...The only pedal I'm using for sure is a Klon Centaur overdrive...But what I'm really concerned about is finding the best way to keep the whole thing quiet as far as unnessesary noise...the Klon sounds great but the Peavey is just so easy to push into breakup that I'm trying to find the right way to reign it in without sacrificing tone...

So I'm going to post this here...and in the rackmount space section...and see who says what...dankeshen in advance. - Cary.

Your question doesn't make a lot of sense to me. In one sentence you're talking about noise, but you don't say what the source is. In another sentence you're talking about early break up in the Peavey. These are two completely seperate issues imho.

If noise is the problem, find the source and do somehting about it. If it's the guitar, maybe you need to sheild it. If it's the Klon (they do hiss at higher gain settings), don't set the gain so high or get a Maxon Od-820 or Banzai Cold Fusion, both of which will grok much of the Klons vibe without the hiss or nasty mid rannge when cranked up. If it's the amp, take it to your amp tech and see what can be done.

If you're talking about ealry break up - don't set the level and/or gain so high on the Klon.

Thanks dude...let me clarify...

OK well the 5150 is notorious for being uncontrolable...but It's just got the starting tone I've pretty much always wanted...I don't want to replace the Klon with another unit that basically does the same thing...so if those other units you named are overdrives, I'd rather not spend a lot of money on another overdrive/boost, this thing has been with me all year with various amps and on every combination I've had to play with on tour it's gotten the job done.

But when I use the Klon with the Peavey it's just...too much at high volumes, *it's not the gain on the Centaur that' causing noise really.*

...I was thinking some kind of Noise Gate or Reduction to just tame the whole thing as it's easier usually to take something out of a frequency band than it is to put something in...

I don't care if I have to get a rackmount unit...I'll velcro it to the amp If I have to....I borrowed a friends Boss NS2 and it works kind of...but It kills the tone a bit and doesn't take enough of the hiss out.

quote:

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Originally posted by Cary:

*it's not the gain on the Centaur that' causing noise really.*

I borrowed a friends Boss NS2 and it works kind of...but It kills the tone a bit and doesn't take enough of the hiss out.

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Hi, I guess I'm a bit confused as well...

You're talking about taming the noise from amps, not noise from gain pedals, right?

How did you use the NS-2? That pedal will only quieten whatever is inserted into its loop (pedals). So it's not doing anything to tame a noisy amp... when I ran high gain noisy amps in the past, the only thing that worked worth a crap for me was the BOSS NS-50 half rack unit [now discontinued]. I tried all the Rocktron Hush units & a bunch of traditional gates, & the NS-50 was the only thing I didn't totally hate. But the NS-50 is the same basic circuitry as the NS-2, so you might not dig it either.

how high are you setting the gain? i owned a peavey triple xxx for a year or two, and it was a similar amp to the 5150. i never had much trouble with noise, but i never ran an od into it. it had too much gain to begin with. i'm confused too. you're saying the 5150 has the base sound you want, but the base sound is noisy?

Haha..thanks guys...I'll respond to each of you in like kind...thanks for taking interest...I appreciate the help...

To Corleone...

The NS2 is not bad for keeping effects in the FX LOOP quiet...but to set it up to kill the noise the amp naturally makes when cranked loud just cuts your sustain...so if the NS 50 is like that...meh...does it at least have a wider range of control?

To Avengerjimmie

Yeah...the clean channel of tge 5150 sounds like a vox AC 30 when you set it up right...so it has this cleanish chunky rhthm I want...then the lead is fantastic without being overcompressed like most mesa high gain heads...so it's basically like having those two amps in one with a bit of brown sound if you can live without a fender clean.

(I have a fender that I'm going to prolly A/B so...I'll have that anyway.)

The problem is...this thing just...eminates growling hiss when you're not playing...it's louder than any tube amp I've ever come across...I've been looking at Hush units by rocktron and the like all day since I started researching this problem today.

apparently the guys who invented the Hush started a new company recently and have a new unit called the Decimator...it comes in pedal and rackmount form...but I can't find much on it anywhere other than their site....

Rackspace version

Pedal Version

I like the idea of the hush...but they're not made by the same people anymore and I'm worried about a degridation in quality due to a change in management over how they're constructed....

the tone of this amp is awesome...but because the Klon is so good at augmenting a signal...it also pushes the noise floor up at higher volumes...my goal is to kill the noise floor without killing tone. If it's possible.

man, i haven't a clue how to do that without modding the amp. it doesn't seem like any gate would do it unless you could somehow place the gate right after the preamp stage of the amp.

WEll...I'm biting the bullet on this noise gate...I'll let you know if it works...I have some new thoughts on how to hook it up now though...

There's one nasty review on the Decimator at HC, but the rest are quite favorable... concensus seems to be that it's far superior to the original HUSH (man I hope so, those things blow chunks in my humble opinion!), & it was mentioned as being better than the BOSS as well. The only reason I haven't checked out the pedal version is that it doesn't have a loop like the BOSS. Definitely toss out some comments if you can after you've given it a whirl.

I had one..The Decimator is made by ISP..For all it's worth I went through all that high-gain amp stuff still wanting a great clean tone and it's hard to get all that junk to work..As soon as you add a noise gate then you have to compensate for other frequency's which do nothing but suck tone...If you want a high-gain amp then buy one that is quiet without having to use noise gates..I suggest if you play heavy stuff to find a cabinet that you like..A 4x12 or a 2x12 or whatever..Then buy a clean head and a dirty head and switch between the 2 or get an Ecstacy or a Diezel if you want one head..

Did you have the decimator pedal or rackspace?!


also what did you think of it pauly? ...i mean outside of it's practical or impractical use for a situation like this I'd just like to hear a review or how you think it stacks up to other gates...

ADDITIONAL NOTE TO CORLEONE....I will tell you what I think when/if I get one...from what I've read the rackspace seems VERY effective.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cary,

I had a Rocktron rack piece that broke at a gig and a Boss NS-2 that also broke..I had the MXR one that wasn't that good..I had the Decimator pedal and it was the best out of all the hush units I've messed with but all in all they all suck..I kept spending money left and right when I had a rack and my tone sucked..I'm laughing when I say this but I had about 12 grand in my gear that I was hauling into bars..Rediculous..I SOLD IT ALL eventually..I bought a DR. Z and a 4x10 cabinet with Webers and I use 8 pedals..Thats it, and my tone is 20 times better than my multi switching HIGH gain amps and midi effects switchers..Maybe you have to experience this yourself....It all starts with a High-gain amp and a hush unit..Good luck..

Haha...It's funny...I'm not that messed about the noise...like I'm not a heavy metal guy...even though I can play that stuff...I write pop tunes in the vien of Cheap Trick and the Cars...the Foo Fighters...etc.

The High Gain is great for solo's...and I can get a vox-like grit clean chunky rhythm with almost no noise even with the Klon on with the other channel If I set things to burn and bark just a bit. the 5150 has an awesome non mesalike uncompressed sound...

But It' just noisy with high gain and A/B'ing for clean is a pain...though for variety's sake since we're a three piece original band...It's kind of cool having two amps in stereo.

I'm wondering how the Decimator Rack system stacks up to the pedal...it seems to me that the pedal only has one Knob for any sort of control.

Have you ever retubed the amp ??

Best noise gate I ever heard was the TC Electronics that was on Cubbas TC Boost....

REALLY?!

How much do they run?!

Well they arent made anymore... and I think a number of the units have the Noise reduction, it was just right.....

meh..that seems expensive if they're now some kind of rare collectors Item...I'll check ebay though man...thanks a lot for the tip!!