KORG DTR1 noise

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 8 Jan 2007 4:26 am

I wonder if anyone else has experienced this too..
My cable run is: wire 1 to my rack in, wire 2 from the rack to volume pedal, wire 3 from vp to amp.
I don't keep my tuner in the loop, I will unplug my cable 1 and plug into the tuner when I need to.
The only wire going into the amp is from the volume pedal, the steel is unplugged from the circuit.

I am gettting intermittent crackles and a mostly a distorted fuzz tone like string tone (very low volume) coming thru the amp. Is this a problem with the KORG or from proximity to the amp ? Any ideas ?

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 8 Jan 2007 5:51 am

No, I don't think so.
You should isolate the noise problem by removing the stuff from the rack and connecting the guitar through one piece of equipment at a time, including the volume pedal. Don't forget to substitute cables.
The Korg can cause HUM by close proximity and ground loops. I use a 3 prong to 2 prong AC adapters on my DTR-1s to eliminate ground loop hum. When mounted in a rack, all equipment cases will have a common ground through the rack mount screws.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 8 Jan 2007 11:38 am

check this out.. i decided to start checking wiring..so I started by moving the volume pedal ( it is a drop pin type MSA, the pin drops thru the hole in the pedal bar into a ball joint attached to the pedal housing)

The crackling and the fuzz tone stopped as soon as I removed the pin and moved the pedal.
Now this was happening on my old steel as well as my new one. The pedal has contact with the steel at the ball joint, the pin, the base of the adjustable feet (the rubber feet have worn thru), and the front of the body on the tabs attached to the pedal rack.
I was able to insulate the contact points with duct tape, except for the drop pin.
This noise started when I first started to use a rack mounted tuner.
Is this because of the ac ground from the Korg?

As long as I don't let the volume pedal touch the steel .. there is no noise.

Does anyone else use a drop pin or emmons type pedal that attaches to the rack. & have this happen?

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 9 Jan 2007 4:13 am

Bo, Have you tried different cords? Maybe the volume pedal housing is not making good connection with the cord shields, due to defective cords. You might try spraying some contact cleaner in the jacks and pushing the connector in/out several times.
You can also check the wiring inside the pedal and tighten the nuts on the jacks in the pedal. Also make sure that the guitar jack is making good contact with the metal on the guitar.
I have solved problems such as this, several times, by cleaning the guitar jack. Nothing is going to work if you aren't using good cords.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 9 Jan 2007 4:27 am

John, these are all brand new George L cords. When I get back from rehearsal tonite I will check the pedal for contact problems and tighten the jacks.
When this noise is occurring, if I turn off the tuner it stops (remember the steel in no plugged into the amp at this point) .
It also stops if I break physical contact between the pedal and the pedal bar.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 10 Jan 2007 5:20 am

Bo, I did not see where you mentioned the type of volume pedal you are using. Is it a powered pedal, such as the Hilton, or is it a passive pedal with no power connected to it?
Also, about the cords ...... "brand new" does not assume "good".

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 10 Jan 2007 7:06 am

I mentioned above the vol pedal is an MSA w/ new pot .. no external power.

I am wondering if I remove the ground pin from the DTR1 plug if it will go away..

There is obviously some kind of mis match .. when this is happening.. the steel is plugged in to the tuner..
but the volume pedal is plugged into the amp .. of course if I un plug it .. the noise stops.. it happens with both my steels .. both have the pedal attached to the pedal bar

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 10 Jan 2007 9:25 pm

Well, I fixed it .. I lifted the ground on the Korg at the Furman box ..and the crackle and over drive sound stopped.
The power strip probably could be replaced with a better one and it only has the wall wart from my EFX box in and the AC from my Furman plugged into it, the wart is huge and would not hang upside down from the Furman in my rack.

Why would the ground cause the noise? and why only at the pedal rack / volume pedal contact?

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 11 Jan 2007 5:34 am

Bo, I don't have a schematic for the Korg tuner, so I can't tell you how the grounds are configured. I do know that I MUST lift the ground on the Korgs or I will hear hum in my system.
I use a DTR-1 in my rack for gigs, and I use a DTR-1 in my home studio. I use an AC adaptor plug at both locations to eliminate hum.
Hum is caused by a difference voltage between 2 grounds. I suspect that you are hearing "arcs" when the 2 pieces of metal make and break contact.
I wish I could explain your problem in more detail. Sometimes I must plead ignorance.