Extremely Noisy V2 Head - The Noise Gate, It Does Nothing!

[EL Vedermunch]

Hello all,

I?m the semi-proud owner of a new V2 head. I say semi-proud because while I?m really pleased with the tone, I?m having some serious noise issues that I?m thus far unable to resolve. (Also, the tolex on my brand-new $1,000 head is peeling off. Good times.)

Here?s my noise issue: Both the red channel and the tube channel put out a lot of noise when the gain is cranked. Some of that noise can be attributed to the guitar, and that portion of the ?noise field? sounds like your typical high-output buzzing. Throw a Boss NS-2 noise suppressor in front of the amp (between the guitar and the head) and that noise disappears entirely. The remaining noise sounds like ?snow? (a not-so-quiet ?shhhhhhh? sound) on a TV that isn?t receiving a signal. It exists on high-gain settings even when there?s no guitar cable plugged into the head, and so placing the noise gate in front of the amp does nothing at all to get rid of it. This ?white noise? can get very loud (depending on how loud I crank the amp) and makes playing the V2 a real chore.

My Line 6 Vetta also exhibits both of these same types of noises (?buzz? and ?snow?), but when I enable its built-in gate, it shuts both of them out completely. I?m not sure where in the chain a Vetta puts its suppressor, but I?m pretty sure it?s not up front because, as an experiment, I tried plugging my NS-2 into the front of the Vetta, and just like on the V2, it got rid of the buzz, but not the snow.

I?ve heard people talk about how you can place a noise gate in the effects loop and that doing so gets rid of practically all noise. Unfortunately, no matter how I adjust the V2?s effects loop or the NS-2 (Series versus Parallel, different send and receive volume levels, different settings on the pedal itself) I can?t get the NS-2 to do a **** thing in the loop.

Meanwhile, I?ve tried using chorus and delay effects (via a Boss GT-6) in the loop and they seem to work fine.

What am I missing? Is there a trick to getting a gate to work in the loop? Am I using the wrong type of gate? Anyone here have models/settings they can provide?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

-G

PS
Something else I noticed tonight: While playing on the clean (green) channel, if I happen to crank the tube-channel level all the way up, it adds a hint of light overdrive to my clean tone. It?s not supposed to do that, is it?

 

[Scooter]

We've had this discussion before. The V2 is an EXTREMELY high gain head. Unfortunately, all high gain amps generate noise. That said, it can be cleaned up, but I wasn't able to do it with an NS2. That pedal isn't worth the parts it's made out of (my opinion). I like Boss pedals, just not that one.

If you're able, try an ISP Decimator pedal. In the loop. It works. :wink:

 

[EL Vedermunch]

Hey Scooter,

Thanks for the reply.

Thing of it is, I get a lot of the nasty "shhhhhhh" sound even on the red (rhythm) channel, and that channel *isn't* extremely hot. On my head, with the gain cranked ALL the way up, and boost pulled out, the red channel (SS channel) sounds a bit like a JCM 800 *without* a distortion pedal in front -- it's kinda hot, but definitely not the super high-gain solid-state crunch that I remember hearing years ago out of a solid-state RG100. With any guitar I try (USA-made Jacksons, Deans, Washburns, etc.), my red channel seems much less distorted and punchy than that (and doesn?t even really sound much like the solid-state V2 clip Randall has up on its site).

Then, on the tube channel, I have to turn up the gain to at least the 3'oclock position in order to get a nice saturated distortion. It sounds good there, but holy crap, is it noisy.

While you may not think much of the NS-2 (I just bought it yesterday, so I'm not partial to it one way or the other), it should do *something* in the loop. But it's not doing anything at all there -- doesn't even sound like it's turned on. It only cuts the buzz (not the ?snow?) when I put it in front of the amp. Something?s just not right about that.

How do you have your V2's effects loop set -- serial mode? At what levels? I want to try coppying your settings as closely as possible and see if I can get the NS-2 to do *something* in the loop.

I'm starting to wonder if I have a defective head...

-G

 

[Scooter]

Bad tubes perhaps? I don't know.

As for the loop, serial, and make sure it's switched on (had to figure that out for myself - hehe).

 

[EL Vedermunch]

Haha. Yeah, it's definitely on.

I?ll try messing around with it a bit more and see what happens.

Out of curiosity, are you able to get the red solid-state channel super distorted, or would you say that my description (a Marshall amp without a distortion pedal out in front) is what yours sounds like, to?

-G

 

[MetalMajik]

I don't have a V2 but I make it a point to try the one they have at the showroom at my local Sam Ash every time I go there. The solid state channel does notseem to have massive gain when I mess with it.

 

[EL Vedermunch]

I don't have a V2 but I make it a point to try the one they have at the showroom at my local Sam Ash every time I go there. The solid state channel does notseem to have massive gain when I mess with it.

Thanks for the info, Meta!

Scooter: having messed with the levels on my effects loop again, I?m now able to get the NS-2 to clamp down on the tube channel so long as I set its threshold to Max and don't crank the gain on my amp past 12'oclock (which isn't high enough for me -- 3?oclock seems to be the sweet spot for the tube channel), but even so, the NS-2 is totally messing with my sound, dropping my level in and out. Apparently, it wasn't designed to deal with as much noise as the V2 pumps out.

I no longer think my head is defective, but I am going to exchange it for a new one because I don't think the tolex should be pealing off a $1,000 head. While I'm waiting for the new one to arrive, I'm going to return the NS-2 and order an ISP Decimator. Thanks for the advice!

-G

 

[Scooter]

I hate to say this, but I've yet to find any new Randall that didn't suffer from Tolex lifting. They must use cheap glue.

 

[TheAbomb12]

also triple check that the effects loop is in SERIAL mode- not parallel.

 

[RD/MAN]

Hey EL,

The amp will be noisy if the Level controls on each of the overdrive channels are set to high. The volume levels on each channel should never be set past 10-11 o'clock otherwise you are pushing the preamp to hard causing excessive noise. The "Master" volume on the right should be used to turn the amp volume up, so a typical setting would be preamp levels at 10 o'clock and the Master volume at 12 o'clock. You can turn the Master volume up as loud as you want, but keep the preamp levels lower to avoid extra noise.

Otherwise, the noise gate should be plugged into the Effects loop "Series" mode. Are you sure the gate is working?? You should notice quite a difference once you plug it into the effects loop. Just make sure that you adjust the level controls on the loop to match the volume that you had before you plugged the gate into the loop. You don't want the amp volume to change once you plug the gate into the loop. If it does than turn the levels up or down, so the volume is the same.

Hope this helps?

 

[EL Vedermunch]

Hey EL,

The amp will be noisy if the Level controls on each of the overdrive channels are set to high. The volume levels on each channel should never be set past 10-11 o'clock otherwise you are pushing the preamp to hard causing excessive noise. The "Master" volume on the right should be used to turn the amp volume up, so a typical setting would be preamp levels at 10 o'clock and the Master volume at 12 o'clock. You can turn the Master volume up as loud as you want, but keep the preamp levels lower to avoid extra noise.

Otherwise, the noise gate should be plugged into the Effects loop "Series" mode. Are you sure the gate is working?? You should notice quite a difference once you plug it into the effects loop. Just make sure that you adjust the level controls on the loop to match the volume that you had before you plugged the gate into the loop. You don't want the amp volume to change once you plug the gate into the loop. If it does than turn the levels up or down, so the volume is the same.

Hope this helps?

Hey RD/MAN,

Thanks for the reply. I've shipped my head back to the company I purchased it from in the hopes that I can get one without its tolex pealing off. I should have the replacement head on Monday or Tuesday and will then be able to test it with the ISP Decimator pedal I picked up based on the recommendations it received from folks on this board.

As for the old head, I was getting obnoxious (in my opinion) levels of noise regardless of whether the level was turned up or the master volume was turned up. The amount of noise seemed to be related to the level of gain rather than volume levels. I?ve never in my life heard so much noise coming from a high-gain amp in this price range.

Also, yes, the gate was working. If I placed it in front of the amp I could get it to clamp down and get rid of all of the buzzing, just not the "shhhhhh" noise. I was eventually able to get it to clamp down on both sounds by placing the pedal in the loop (series), but I had to max out the unit's threshold to do so, killing my tone. And even then, the Boss unit was unable to get rid of all the noise.

I've been playing guitar for over 15 years and have owned dozens of high-gain amps and pedals, and probably 30 guitars or more. I know my way around guitar equipment and I?m here to tell you that if my first V2 *was* working properly, well, I?m not super impressed. I love the tone, but the amp is unusable in a recording or practice environment without SERIOUS noise suppression. A Boss NS-2 can quiet a Boogie, a Marshall, an ENGL?but not a V2? How would I have ever known to get an ?ISP Decimator? pedal instead of the Boss pedal had I not happened upon this message board? There shouldn?t be only ONE noise suppressor out there in the world that?s capable of silencing this amp, and if there IS only one, then you guys should recommend it in the manual (or, better still, design it into the head) so that people don?t waste their time and money buying noise gates that don?t work well with your amps.

5150s aren?t terribly noisy, and neither are Kranks or Hughes & Kettners. So why are the V2s so noisy, even on the SS channel that isn?t super high-gain? And why is the tolex peeling off of so many Randall heads (based on my own experience, plus what others have said on these boards)?

I apologize for the rant, but I review computers, software, and consumer-electronics professionally (and have been doing so for nearly a decade), so issues like these tend to leap out at me and drive me a bit bonkers.

-G

 

[meticalman]

my t2 has this rediculous screaming feedback, that does not quiet even when i turn down my guitar volume to zero on the guitar itself.

it does this if i turn the gain past 6(one o'clock) when the level is at 5(11 o'clock)

I understand the master volume, but problem, there is no master volume on the T2.

how do i get the saturated gain at the volume to play with my loud arse drummer.

i have an isp decimator, in front, i'm going to try in loop tomorrow, but i'm not confident. Does it need to be front of loop or end(near return)