EHX Hum Debugger: how do we feel?

Pickups, pedals, amps, cabs, combos

Moderated By: mods

User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

EHX Hum Debugger: how do we feel?

Post by Will »

Image

I've been slowly realizing I need to do something about the hum and buzz from my Dano, but I hate noise gates. This is supposed to "intelligently" find the noise components and filters them out with a reverse-phase signal. There's a demo on YouTube which is pretty convincing and most of the reviews I've read have been positive (ie, nobody claimed it didn't work).

Any experience? Any other devices that do the same thing?
User avatar
timhulio
Redheaded Stepchild
Posts: 4693
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:06 am
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Post by timhulio »

Nah, this filters out AC hum from shitty club wiring, lights and shit. I used one when I was playing odd places in Berlin.

Shield your Dano is my advice. Also re hum etc- guitarists go nuts for this, but no-one else in the band or in the audience cares.
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

timhulio wrote:Nah, this filters out AC hum from shitty club wiring, lights and shit.
So, it would filter out the hum I get from my dorm room being directly above the central server room for this building?
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

Fuck it. There was one for $60 shipped on eBay - if it works it's worth its weight in gold.

I can't practice at all in my room because the hum and buzz is so bad - easily as loud as what I'm playing. No power conditioner or line noise filter has fixed it. I can't really play at home either because my room there is too close to the air conditioning compressor. Plus we have rheostats on all the lights.

There's no way to shield the Dano because it's all open inside - I've tried a shielded cardboard box 3 different times to no avail.

I'm ready to try anything - I've been going crazy from having to sit in one specific position to play and still getting terrible interference.
nomorebridge
.
.
Posts: 152
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:02 pm

Post by nomorebridge »

timhulio wrote:Nah, this filters out AC hum from shitty club wiring, lights and shit. I used one when I was playing odd places in Berlin.

Shield your Dano is my advice. Also re hum etc- guitarists go nuts for this, but no-one else in the band or in the audience cares.
Word to that... I've spent an age of my life moaning about hum from tube amps... spent a fortune on all kinds of shit...

A friend of mine when recording once had an amp which was humming and all kinds of little things and he was just like 'ah man that's all part of it's character'...it's the hum...

He was wrong though :D
User avatar
robert(original)
.
.
Posts: 7174
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:30 pm
Location: somewhere in the midwest

Post by robert(original) »

that sucks man, if it works let me know. i don't have that issue, but i used to.
when i was playing in a group called sirens we played in this living room of an old house and where my amp was it hummed like shit becuz of the open wiring in the wall behind it, granted it never made that noise when we played out becuz there wasn't 70 year old wires 6 inches from the tubes.
at anyrate, it would be a good peice to have as back up.
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

This buzz is as loud as what I'm playing - it actually makes the chords all sound off.

The Dano has really sensitive PUPs, so any problem with the wiring gets magnified. I'll post a good demo when I get it. In any case, $60 isn't too huge of a risk.
User avatar
SpectralJulian
.
.
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:30 pm

Post by SpectralJulian »

It seems everyone who has one doesn't seem to keep one for long. Although now that I think about it, I'd kind of like it to use it to try to eliminate ground hum in my PA, away from my guitar rig.
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

The only negative reviews I've seen are from people who said it changed the tone - I'm not picky about that.

I just want this buzz GONE.
User avatar
Mike
I like EL34s
Posts: 39170
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Contact:

Post by Mike »

Shield your guitar then.
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

Mike wrote:Shield your guitar then.
Will a few posts up wrote:There's no way to shield the Dano because it's all open inside - I've tried a shielded cardboard box 3 different times to no avail.
I copied the original Dano "fully shielded" design of a card box lined with thin copper and grounded - no use. It's impossible to get all the wiring within a shield.
User avatar
Mike
I like EL34s
Posts: 39170
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Contact:

Post by Mike »

I don't understand. All open inside? WTF does that mean? Have you taped the back of the pickguard? Why can't you line the cavity?
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

Mike wrote:I don't understand. All open inside? WTF does that mean? Have you taped the back of the pickguard? Why can't you line the cavity?
It's almost a full hollowbody. There's a 1" frame around the edge and 2 small pine blocks - 1 under the bridge and another by the neck. Otherwise the entire thing is hollow. The PUP coil is shielded by the lipstick tube but all the control wiring is open (the huge 600v caps don't help either). After '62 they started putting the controls in a thin cardboard box lined with copper - my 1448 is like that and it helps somewhat. The problem in the U1 is transitioning from the control box to the side-mounted jack without gaps, which I haven't been able to do because that area is so tight. I've only ever gotten a slight buzz reduction, but not enough to really help.

Original Danos tend to pickup a lot of noise anyway because the Alnico 6 pickups are more inductive than a traditional Fender pickup.

If the Debugger works I'll be stoked. If not, it'll go back on eBay. I really don't have much to lose.
User avatar
Mike
I like EL34s
Posts: 39170
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Contact:

Post by Mike »

Throw it in the bin, this guitar sounds completely awful.
User avatar
Viljami
.
.
Posts: 2004
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:40 pm
Location: TRE, FIN

Post by Viljami »

Nope, it sounds like a DANO to me :D. I own one as well. Sometimes it's hard to tell wether I like or hate the thing because of the buzz and hum and apparently dubious ethics. At least it was cheap. And fun. But that buzzing and humming that you described sounds terrible.
User avatar
Bacchus
Whatever's handiest
Posts: 23590
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:10 am
Location: wandering

Post by Bacchus »

Will wrote:There's no way to shield the Dano
Will wrote:it changed the tone - I'm not picky about that.
Buy a Les Paul or a Strat.
Image
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

I can't wait til this thing gets here and works perfectly so I can shut y'all up.
User avatar
Bacchus
Whatever's handiest
Posts: 23590
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:10 am
Location: wandering

Post by Bacchus »

haha, I hope it works. It'd be great if there was some little wonderbox of noiseless wonderment on the market.
Image
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

I think it works by separating the sine and saw waves (notes from the guitar) and the square waves that would make up radio/AC signals. I understand it's digital, and that seems like it would be possible to do digitally. My recording software has a hum and buzz eliminator that works great - hope this is similar.

Or it's just a really expensive ground loop eliminator. We'll find out next week.
User avatar
Will
Up on his Whore Lore
Posts: 5328
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:40 am
Location: MADTOWN RAT 2011

Post by Will »

SUCK IT SHORTSCALE

[youtube][/youtube]

It works PERFECTLY. No gating, just silence. Adds a little (very little) white noise and rarely there are digital artifacts on percussive sounds, but otherwise it's perfect. This is worth its weight in gold to me - I'll finally be able to enjoy practicing in my room.