Can you overdrive your delay pedal?

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 21 Jan 2000 10:49 pm

Just played a gig at which my Nashville 400 appeared to be breaking up, even though our volume was not very loud. I've had the amp worked over recently so this really shouldn't be happening. My guitarist suggested the problem might be that I'm overdriving the RV-3 pedal, and that this could cause the breaking up. Does that make sense? I go straight out of my Goodrich volume pedal into the RV-3, then into the front of the amp. Should I hook it up differently?

Moon in Alaska · Post by **Moon in Alaska** » 22 Jan 2000 12:19 am

Jim, I use a Boss RV-3 and have the best luck running it between my steel and volume. I come right out of my steel into the RV-3 and it's output to my volume pedal. I have tried it both ways and this works best for me .

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Moon Mullin in Alaska
Carter S-10
OLD Fender - 400
Evans FET-500 Custom LV

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 22 Jan 2000 12:56 am

It should be easy to test the RV-3 by removing it and listening for whether the breakup goes away. New 9 volt batteries?

A Nashville 400 shouldn't be breaking up your sound, becasue it has a limiter built in that keeps your output level below the point where the amp would break up. On the other hand, it's possible that sometihng in your amp is busted.

Bill cole · Post by **Bill cole** » 22 Jan 2000 6:20 am

Kim before you go crazy with repair bills if you Know how to-- take the speaker basket off the magnet by taking out the 3 bolts I would make both the basket and the magnet. You will see a slot where the basket goes down in the magnetclean that slot out as well as you can I ues a real thing knife blade or a razor blade with masking tape so the tape slide around inside the slot make sure you get it as clean and put it back togather lining up the marks that you made on the basket and the magnet. this sound hard but really not it the distortion continues then it's the repair shop or a new Nashvill 1000

Len Amaral · Post by **Len Amaral** » 22 Jan 2000 7:39 am

Hello Jim:
I also use a Boss RV-3 and use it with a Goodrich 7A matchbox or Hilton DS. I go from the guitar to matchbox to volume pedal to amp input with no distotion problems. If you use a battery in the RV-3 it won't last very long and the unit will distort with a weak battery. Also, Boss makes two types of 9 volt power supplies. ( PSA-100 & PSA-120) Use the PSA-120 for the RV-3 especially if your daisy chaining the RV-3 and powering other other effect with the same power suppy. I tried patching the RV-3 between the guitar and the volume as Moon mentioned, but the reverb is cut off to a dead stop when you cut off the volume. I prefer to have the note cut off when I back off the volume pedal but let the reverb carry over. I'm sure this method works well for Moon and you should give it a try to see how it sounds.
Regards,
Len Amaral

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 22 Jan 2000 9:37 am

Thanks for your ideas, guys. By the way, I use an A/C adapter for the RV-3, not a battery, so that's not the problem.

Steve Feldman · Post by **Steve Feldman** » 22 Jan 2000 10:27 am

Len -
You mentioned using a specific 9V power supply from Boss. I've been using a generic (Radio Slack) power supply (i.e., 1.5-12V/300mA unit set for 9V) to run my Boss DD-3, and I get a lot of hum when the unit is turned on. It's setup steel-vol. pedal-DD3-amp. I'll try your configuration, but I was wondering about the power supply. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Steve

Moon in Alaska · Post by **Moon in Alaska** » 22 Jan 2000 11:45 am

Steven I have a friend who had a hum from his power supply on the Boss. We ordered him a PSA 120 which is the proper one and cured his problem.
Lem, Yes, if you use your volume pedal to mute the sound, it will not carry on the effect.I mute totally with my palm and the delay and or reverb carries own. These kind of discussions have really taught me a LOT !!

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**Moon Mullin in Alaska**
==Carter S-10==
**OLD Fender - 400**
==Evans FET-500 Custom LV==

Larry Hendrickson · Post by **Larry Hendrickson** » 22 Jan 2000 12:36 pm

Are any of you guys using both the delay and the reverb on the RV-3 ? I was wondering if the reverb on the RV-3 sounds better than the stock Nash 400 reverb. Larry

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 22 Jan 2000 12:49 pm

Nowdays we have so much stuff in line creating gain, it is real easy to overdrive the signal to a amp. It gets really confusing! For example, a Peavey Pro FEX II has 3 volumes. One in front, one in back, and the program volume. Many people have effect units, stomp boxes, that can't be turned down,because they have no volume control. It is such a problem, I am thinking of making a "IN-LINE" signal reducing box. All it consists of is a pot to reduce signal. I've been testing one and it does not effect tone! The only thing I have to work out is the POT size. The one I have in my bread-board test unit is a 5K, and seems to be to quick. ----- About the noise in the power supplies. The ones making noise are not filtered correctly. By filtered I mean capacitors to prevent DC ripple. Get a better filtered power supply to prevent noise.

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[This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 22 January 2000 at 12:53 PM.][This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 22 January 2000 at 03:25 PM.]

Len Amaral · Post by **Len Amaral** » 23 Jan 2000 7:20 am

To Steve & Larry:
Not all 9 volt ower supplies are made the same. I have used various 9 volt power supplies with pedals and although they all work, some can be noisy. A safe bet is the Boss PSA-120 and for $18.00 it's a good buy and designed to use with Boss pedals. Frenchy turned me on to a cool way of using the Boss RV-3. If you are using a Nashville or other type amp with a spring reverb, try mixing the
RV-3 with a bit of the amps reverb. A pleasing mix of the digital & spring reverb is obtained and creates a warm sound. I use the RV-3 for reverb only and a DD-3 for delay and find this combination useful as the reverb & delay are independent from each other. Gizmo alert! I use the Boss three pedal case available for $28.00 through various catalogs. I have the RV-3 and DD-3 with a TU12-H tuner and the PSA-120 power supply installed in this handy little case. I'll post a separate thread with regard to this setup.

Dennis Detweiler · Post by **Dennis Detweiler** » 23 Jan 2000 7:58 am

I built a power supply using the schematics from a Radio Shack project book. I have the book stored somewhere around here, but can't put my hands on it. It has a light blue cover and about 9X11 size. I built it for less than $20 and added more filter capacitors than called for. It has a variable voltage output dial built into it. I also used a slightly bigger transformer and put extra ouput jacks in it. It is capable of running many effects units simultaniously. Absolutely NO NOISE.
DD[This message was edited by Dennis Detweiler on 23 January 2000 at 08:01 AM.]

Kenny Dail · Post by **Kenny Dail** » 23 Jan 2000 1:30 pm

Jim I have experienced amp breakup also from time to time. Here are a few things that I have experienced over the years. PV's (my preferred amp) are notorious for "dirty" pots and if you set your controls at the same place each time, this is where the pots start getting scratchy and dirty and can cause breakup also. I'm sure you know how to clean the pots by turning the control rapidly back and forth until the noise disappears. Another problem possibility is the jacks sometimes can lose their tension and vibration can cause a breakup problem. And last but not least is the cords themselves. An accidental jerk on a cord can cause a weak point in the signal even on the George L cords. I have found that I have to sacrifice and inch or two occaisionaly to maintain a good clean signal to the amp. Check these points before you spring for a costly repair.

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kd...and the beat goes on...

[This message was edited by Kenny Dail on 23 January 2000 at 01:33 PM.]

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 23 Jan 2000 6:13 pm

Thanks for the suggestions, Kenny. Sounds like good advice to me!

Kenny Dail · Post by **Kenny Dail** » 25 Jan 2000 9:40 am

Jim, have you solved the problem with the 'reaking up' yet?

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kd...and the beat goes on...

Bruce W Heffner · Post by **Bruce W Heffner** » 6 Feb 2000 8:07 pm

Jim, if I were you old buddy I would check my finger picks to see if they were on tight.

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www.pedalsteel.net

Kevin Walker · Post by **Kevin Walker** » 6 Feb 2000 9:03 pm

Jim,
Try using a three cord hook-up. Get the volume pedal out of the direct signal line.
I use a stereo processor. In order: Steel into processor in, processor out into Nashville 400. Use your Nashville 400 effects loop,front of amp;return and send to patch the volume pedal only. This may or may not help the problem. I've hooked up my rig several different ways, and this seems to give me the cleanest signal without any break-up.
FWIW.