history of radio fequency and noise problems

[boulderopal]

I am  wondering what  to check  first  .. I  just  wasted over a  hundred  bucks sending  my further  back for picking up  radio frequencies and  a sporadic buzz I could  only describe as    frankenstinian..  when  I  told  a  firend  in a very prominant  dead  band  he  just  went  oh  yeah  those  old  alembics Are  notorious for  noise  problems... to  which i replied  ..  This  isn't   An old one..    
  I don't  live  under  transmission lines.  bla bla bla.  What I'm  wondering is  why  noone at  alembic has   printed  and released  W/  their  instruments a  pamphlet on  how to  Avoid getting  radio  frequencies and  strange  noises   That  are  have  been  and  may always be  inherent in  active  electronics..  my  answer    To  Myself  will  be  that There  is  no Way to  completely  eliminate the  possibible  occurance  of  said  noises  hence  the  Reply I got  ..   we Don't  hear no  noises    
 Is  it  a  cheap uninsulated  TRS cable  i got  from  Alembic?  dunno  .. I'm  using   george-L's   going into  a ernie  ball vol to amp   TRS is going into  a fulltone  deluxe  wah >boss  OD-1  > MXR Phase 100>  mutron III w/ transformer >  return..  
 I suspect  The TRS Cable or The Tranny for  mutron  ..    these  effects  are  plugged into  a  furman  pedal board which  i thought  might  provide a  little  power Conditioning....  See If I'd  known it's  likely  something else and  not  my further or  my further 's Actives   sending a RF to  an Effect or   bla bla bla  i might have  saved the  hundred  bucks figured out The  problem and  bought a stratoblaster for  my schecter instead... now i'm  bummed  dissapointed  and frustrated! and  lookin at  spendin  yet  more bucks on getting thru this  problem ... Boogie  tells  people of The  idiosyncracies of their  instruments .. I think it'd be a good idea for  Alembic to..  In w/ the  nonexistant user manual..    troubleshooting..  hey  before  you go  sending it off to  the  factory  or  even  Calling! check  the  tubes first.. ya know ..  
 or  in  Alembics   case     check  that  there  are   a.)  adequate  grounds in The   facility you are  using,B.)  shielded   high  quality  cable throughout.   C.) some  effects  We  have  had the  experience  of  noise problems W/  are .... the  last thing  I want to  do  is  bother  you  people.. peas  and  happy holidays,Chris  
 
(Message edited by boulderopal on November 29, 2004)

[smichaels]

so...I take it that you get interference when you take your effects rig out of the picture and plug straight into the amp (no loop)?  
 
do you have any ungrounded lighting anywhere close by?

[boulderopal]

hmm it's been so long  pretty sure It   went away  when   loop  off .. So  I'm  going to  start  W/ replacing the TRS Chord(one i have is rca tape deck qual) And   one by one  isolation  of Effects ..
  but  yes there is A  lamp w/ no ground  near not florescent.. Thanks! now if i can  just get  a friend to  help me  make  a nice TRS w/ neutriks  and  belden ...  

[hydrargyrum]

Some effects are notoriously bad at picking up radio frequencies.  Try the suggestion in the above link, and if it solves the problem, try pulling individual effects from the loop to find the culprit.  
I would hardly sell a further becuase it didn't agree with an effect that costs a couple hundred dollars though (especially in favor of a shecter).  And as for radio frequencies being inherent with active electronics, that is really a subjective statement based on the electronics being examined.  My previous Orion and current Skylark have never displayed any radio noise at all (except with effects that I know cause this problem with every guitar I've played them with).  I've never read a post before this one which mentioned anything about other Further users having trouble either.  Anyway, Alembic certainly can't be responsible for predicting how their instruments will react with every effect under the sun, and I would wager to say that the vast majority of them work just fine.

[boulderopal]

hmm no others hugh? the RF's and noises are not present w/ my old modded Aria proII goin directly thru these effects in chain . it's got to do w/ the actives interacting w/ crappy chord or these effects.. and Something in Them pickin up somethin from the Actives.. on the other hand they could use true bypass(but that's the effect loop) And maybe a new transistor or diode here or there ... No I don't want to sell my further because it 's causing the problem. I'm tired of futzing W/ my stuff! I need a good tech to go thru it all. hmm That should cost what I paid for my further ! lol Electronics are NOT my forte and wish i could afford one! I just dumped over 4oo bucks in my boogie to not a lot of result... I do think the electronics should be contained enought to not cause this problem W/ any effects... Is that asking too much?Thanks for your reply and I hope your right!...oh and the Schecter is a very old one, likely made by Tom Anderson w/ A solid rosewood neck and Koa body :-) Tanks Chris

[son_of_magni]

Chris, have you tried backing off the volume on the Alembic.  The high level output my be freaking out your effects chain.
Just a thought...
- SoM

[boulderopal]

good thought , no reason to have it up all the way,don't think i did ,.. can afford that adjustment,Thanks!
 
(Message edited by boulderopal on November 29, 2004)

[dela217]

'when I told a firend in a very prominant dead band he just went oh yeah those old alembics Are notorious for noise problems... to which i replied .. This isn't An old one..'  
 
I can't imagine a problem like this on a new instrument.  The electronics are dead quiet.  I would go check all other problems first before blaming the instrument.  It seems like a grounding problem somewhere else to me too.
 
By the way, I have an Alembic from 1972 and it too is dead quiet!  Not all old Alembics are noisy.

[boulderopal]

Well If it were doing it w/ any other guitar I wouldn't have thought it'd be further either. Really! it seemed to start after I got the guts back W/ a new input jack as the  original was inferior. I thought maybe there was a glitch in the solder on the board .. and I hope that got checked .. I love the guitar, tones and gen feel.. And felt genuinely lucky when I found it for the considerably lower price than current models with custom inlay and better quilt... I was glad it wasn't super flashy AAAAA quilt but was psyched for the quality craftmanship, transmit 24 fret neck/feel/resonance and the renound Electronic Genius inherent in all this companies instruments.. I sold my garcia Wetlands II to pay for It! noone i think would deny that over recent years though, the market has been flooded w/ cheaper lower quality electronic components and unless you are in the factory where it's made you Really don't know what your getting unless you dissect every bit you use.. my furman pedal board was made in Taiwan I think ..so i don't go thru  that... You know, so guano happens .and it's an imperfect world .. what else is new .. So I'll find out eventually and share whatever it is for others .. ground was an issue I brought to attention, even that I may have missed a washer on the inside when replacing the guts.. Thanks, it's on the list!
wow a 72!? got a pic? Love to see it!! Chris  
 
(Message edited by boulderopal on November 29, 2004)

[keavin]

you never seen the old 1972 basses? ,go to series I guitars & basses (showcase),and look around theres several oldies there.

[boulderopal]

oh I I've played a series I , but It looked like a newer one .. I saw 72 and thought prototype.. I don't know all the history as I'm not really a bass player yet ... though I've wanted a little to get one for years .. and may still.... They're all different and always like to see the woods used .. like The purple heart on Val's batbass(neck) is the purplest I've ever seen .. kinda wonder if it really looks that purple in person ...thanks

[mrfunkwool]

I just found out last night, from Dino (another member) that you can adjust the pickup sensitivity inside the cavity of the bass.  
They are blue boxes( 1 box foreach pickup).
Each blue box has a white dial where you can increase/decrease the amount of pickup... maybe your pickups are set to super sensitive...
 
 

[boulderopal]

Oh I found those little trim pots all right ..:-) they're on the Qtrols though. I haven't seen the backside of a pickup. I thought (Assumed) they were frequency trims.. as turning all the way to right seems to get it considerably brighter almost to a Piezo tone on my further (guitar) but yeah I don't think i have'm up All The way as it gets chase rats to water bright :-) I would be curious to fid out if they are in fact sensitivity pots though! (another item for that user guide):-) IMHO ... Thanks

[bsee]

The pots you found were probably attached to the toggle switches.  Your pickups each have a three way-toggle, set for off/on/brite and those pots control how brite brite is.  There may be another one in there that ties in to the full-range preamp gain, I don't know the Further guts.  It would probably be located with the volume pot.  
 
If you're using the effects loop built into the guitar, this would be important for you.  My recollection is that the full signal is pushed through the effects chain and that the cuts applied through the guitar controls are after the return in the chain.
 
I suspect that your other guitars don't have an effects loop built into them.  If you plug the Further in as if it were an 'ordinary' guitar, does it behave like the others?
 
Also, if you're using a crappy TRS cable, that would be a bad idea.  You have to go for something high-quality and properly shielded.

[boulderopal]

Well, I got Furthur  back , hooked it  up To  same  amp ,same effects , same chords Thru Same  wall  outlet  and  no  more RF's or  sporadic  bbbzzzt'ing so  whatever it was  was   taken care of  at Factory . there' was A wire Mica said they reconnected..wether it was loose or poorly connected I Don't  know.. but so far  sooo good!  Thanks  for all the   advice and  i Will   go Thru and   upgrade  wherever  poss.Happy Pickin! chris