Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Noise Gate


The people salute the rule of the noise gate: A cheapish noise gate has been installed onto the pedal board*. A blunt instrument some might say or even a waste of space but how else do you tackle the hum? Like guitar god tinnitus it's a disease without a proper cure. So we're perpetually chasing the hum, finding the source and then exterminating it, we hope. This futile pursuit is all guitar player's common mission. There are lots of suggested solutions; shielding, extra shielding, shielding tape, shielding paint, copper tape, expensive leads, higher quality equipment, better pickups, pedal board layout and sequence, going deaf, doing nothing and just giving up altogether. 

In truth you can only get so far because the hum will return as you increase the gain, treble, volume or add pedals and effects etc. I did think for a bit that humbuckers would buck the hum, strangely they don't really. A single P90 seems to work best for me at the moment; it's likely the universe will reverse the effect quickly and I'll be back with the full on hum. Rubber soled shoes might be the best next step, combined with a tinfoil hat and assorted wire cutters.

*This information is well over a week old but so what?

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