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PLEASE HELP! Traynor Ironhorse EFFECTS LOOP issue


JerseyTrash

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I own a 40 watt Traynor Ironhorse amp that works great when plugged into the front. However, I've been having issues with the effects loop. Whenever I hook it up to any type of pedal, I get a LOT of noise. Anyone know what the issue could be?

 

Here is a video so you can get a better idea:

http://youtu.be/hPSB6XbNL28

 

I bought this online and don't have original packaging so shipping it to the original dealer would be a huge pain. Any workaround?

 

Thanks!

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I cant listen to it at work, so maybe I can check that out later.

 

When you say allot of noise, what kind of noise and what kinds of pedals are you using?

 

The manual states:

 

The IronHorse is equipped with a instrument level effects loop. The effects loops allows you

to place your effects pedals in the amps signal chain, post GAIN and tonstack circuitry, pre

MASTER. This is useful for delay and modulation type effects such as reverb and tremolo.

Using the effects loop is quite easy. Take a normal ¼-inch guitar cable, connect it to the

PREAMP OUT and run it to the input of your pedal chain. Then take another ¼-inch cable and

run it from the output of your last pedal to the POWER AMP IN jack.

 

This should allow any type of normal guitar pedal to be placed in that loop, but you should use come common sense when doing so. If you were to put a high gain pedal in the loop, any gain or noise from the amplifiers pream will be highly magnified and can cause hiss or hum depending on the condition of the amp. Pedals thay usually sound best between the preamp and power amp are time based effects like Reverb, Echo and possibly chorus. Gain and tone shaping pedals like drive, overdrive, fuzz, wah and EQ normally sound better before the amplifiers preamp. If you do place those in the loop, then its a matter of gain staging.

 

You definitely want to get a normal sound from the amp with the pedals in the loop bypassed first. If you cant get that then you likely have a problem with your cords, or possibly dirty loop jacks not making a good connection. Use quality shielded cords with 90% or better shielding. Make sure you aren't using any funky generic AC adaptor not designed for the pedals. Some pedals like Boss require Zero hum adaptors and may hum badly with generic pedals. Make sure your pedals get AC from the same outlet your amp does to avoid ground loops. .

 

These Loop plugs are also "switched jacks" You must use quality 1/4" Mono TS cables (not Stereo TRS plugs)

Beyond that I'll have to check your link later. Hiss is usually gain staging problems driving one stage with a loud and noisy box into another.

Hum is usually a power or shielding issue. Crackles and pops are usually connection issues.

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It sounds to me like a ground loop.

 

A ground loop occurs when there is more than one path to ground when two pieces of equipment are connected together.

 

For example, there is a ground connection between the pedal and the amplifier through the shielded signal cable and if the pedal is also grounded via it's power supply (three pronged power plug) then there are two paths.

 

This is the reason that direct boxes have a ground lift switch and it is used to eliminate the sound I heard on your video.

 

Start simple by plugging a single battery powered pedal into the loop and try that. If that sounds okay then I suspect that a ground loop is your problem. Do you have any pedals on your board that plug directly into the power bar? Do any of them have three wire power connectors?

 

 

All of that being said, it's always good to look for simple things such as bad cables. Be sure to try it with different (and, if possible, known good) cables.

 

Is it possible that you are using a speaker wire anywhere in your pedal setup?

 

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Could be a noisy power adaptor or cheap guitar cord too. Makes the same kind of AC hum but with a bad chord or ground loop the hum may affect the higher frequencies you hear. A poor quality adaptor usually produces more hum in the bass ranges. Do as one life says. Try one pedal at a time with a battery then plug the AC adaptor in. If it starts humming with the AC adaptor plugged in, you found your problem. Either a ground loop or bad filtering. If it still hums with a battery only, its likely a cheap cord with poor quality shielding.

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