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Topic: Harmonic distortion from RV-3 pedal |
Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 23 Oct 2017 6:20 am |
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I just pulled out my old RV-3 pedal and am trying it with a Roland Cube 80XL amp and find that I'm getting a lot of harmonic distortion ("difference frequencies"?) when using it. I expect that from distortion pedals but is it to be expected from a simple delay pedal? Anything to be done about it?
Thanks.
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www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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robert kramer
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 23 Oct 2017 2:38 pm
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| Are you using the the Mono "A" output. What you describe sounds exactly like what happens when plugged into "B" output (using one amp). |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 23 Oct 2017 2:43 pm
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Robert, I am indeed coming out of the "B" output. But now that you mention it, I see that "A" is labeled for "Mono" so, as I am using only one amp, I'll try that tonight and see if it cleans up.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Jim
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Stephen Cowell
From:
Round Rock, Texas, USA
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Bob Watson
From:
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
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Posted 23 Oct 2017 10:55 pm
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| I use an RV3 with a Roland Cube 60 and I haven't had any issues. I use overdrive pedals occasionally and it sounds good with them. I use a one spot to power it up instead of batteries. Best of luck getting it to work right. |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 4:27 am
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Does it do it with a different amp?
fwiw, 'Never had a problem with RV3's. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 5:40 am
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| Pete Burak wrote: |
Does it do it with a different amp?
fwiw, 'Never had a problem with RV3's. |
I'll try a different amp today and report back.
BTW, I tried removing the Li'l Izzy, to see if that was contributing to the problem, but it didn't make any difference.
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 6:32 am
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| Jim Cohen wrote: |
| Stephen Cowell wrote: |
| I'd try a fresh battery! |
I'm using a wall-wart, no battery |
Try a battery, just to rule out a power supply noise issue.
h |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 6:35 am
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| Howard Parker wrote: |
| Jim Cohen wrote: |
| Stephen Cowell wrote: |
| I'd try a fresh battery! |
I'm using a wall-wart, no battery |
Try a battery, just to rule out a power supply noise issue.
h |
I'll try that. And while I'm at it, I'll try removing the battery which is still inside even though I'm using a wall wart and the wall wart should be superseding the battery but maybe that's where there is an issue?
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Howard Parker
From:
Maryland
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 6:40 am
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| Jim Cohen wrote: |
I'll try that. And while I'm at it, I'll try removing the battery which is still inside even though I'm using a wall wart and the wall wart should be superseding the battery but maybe that's where there is an issue? |
I think the battery is bypassed. I don't recall on that pedal. I always remove batteries to prevent physical leakage.
But, that's just me.
h |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 8:29 am
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Just to run the tangent that Howard broached, it is a good idea to remove the battery unless you've left it in because you intend to use it.
I once bought a used pedal. From day one I ran it on a wall wart. I ran into problems, opened it and discovered that it had been shipped with a battery inside (that had been in there for the couple of years that I'd been using the pedal) that was leaking. 'twas a mess.
Nothing to do with your problem. Just a PSA. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 8:48 am
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| fwiw/ime, The RV3 can barely make it through one gig on a single battery. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 24 Oct 2017 8:10 pm
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OK, so here's the update:
I removed the battery and just ran off the wal-wart. No change.
I tried a different amp (NVL 112), no change.
I tried changing one cord that I haven't always trusted 100%; no change.
I tried the on-board delay on the Cube instead of the RV-3, no distortion.
Conclusion: it's got to be the RV-3 unit. What else is there?
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2017 6:16 am
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is it AFTER your volume pedal?
B |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 25 Oct 2017 6:29 am
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| Brad Sarno wrote: |
is it AFTER your volume pedal?
B |
Hey Brad. Thanks for popping up. Yes, it is after. Based on your question, I just tried putting it before the VP and it created constant distortion that was much worse than the fainter harmonic distortion happening when it was after the VP.
Mystery continues... maybe my RV3 pedal has just gone bad?
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2017 10:33 am
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| Could it possibly be the jack(s) on the RV-3 being dirty or loose? |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 25 Oct 2017 1:20 pm
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Update: I used the spray cleaner in the input and two output jacks. Let it dry for about 10 min then plugged it in and I got all kinds of racket and distortion! I thought I'd ruined it, but then I thought that maybe it was still wet and so I got a can of compressed air and blew into the input/outputs and (hopefully) dried them out. Then plugged it in again and the distortion went away fully (whew!) but the harmonic distortion is still there, especially above the 12th fret...
Any more brainstorms?
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Godfrey Arthur
From:
3rd Rock
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Posted 26 Oct 2017 12:05 am
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| Howard Parker wrote: |
I always remove batteries to prevent physical leakage.
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That or tape them up closing off all the leak areas in the case of 9 volt so if they do leak, they will leak into some clear packing tape and not make as much of a mess.
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I used the spray cleaner in the input and two output jacks.
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Was going to mention the jacks being dirty.
Get a 9mm plastic gun barrel brush. This will fit a 1/4 inch phone jack. Spray some plastic-safe cleaner on the brush, and ream the in/out jacks a few times being mindful of not being too rough and going too far inside the jacks.
Is your wall wart the correct amps for the delay pedal?
Delays take a lot of power.
The Boss adapter (PSA-120s) for these digital pedals are at least 500ma of power.
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ShoBud The Pro 1
YES it's my REAL NAME!
Ezekiel 33:7 |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 26 Oct 2017 4:44 am
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| Godfrey Arthur wrote: |
| The Boss adapter (PSA-120s) for these digital pedals are at least 500ma of power. |
Actually, the one I'm using is only 350ma. I'll scrounge around and try to find another one today. Thanks.
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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