GK cable is noisy as hell

Started by TINLEY, March 19, 2016, 01:04:07 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

TINLEY

I have a piezo bridge in one of my guitars and tried to connect it to the VG99 using a GHOST Hexpander

The noise was horrendous and made the whole thing totally unusable

so I made a link box up which takes the piezo direct into a 13 pin socket

same deal

I have an 8 pin MINI DIN out on my guitar (s) so I made an adapter which connects an 8 pin MINI DIN socket direct to the 13 pin input

NO NOISE

in fact it is so quiet I thought it wasn't connected till I hit the strings

so is there any issue with connecting a PIEZO direct to the VG99 rather than via a pre-amp?

I think the +7V supply being carried down the wire is not clean unless it gets grounded?

if the +7v is left open circuit - or maybe PIN9? then I think it bleeds into the guitar signal as hum?

anyone else got any thoughts on this?

thanks

Mark


Elantric

#1

TINLEY

Thanks I will give that a try

I have more than one cable with this problem

The 13 pin plug I just wired with ONLY 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 does not have this problem

Is there any disadvantage in connecting the PIEZO direct to pin 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ?

The levels seem sane enough and it actually sounds better than it did through the HEXPANDER

Thanks

Mark

Elantric

#3
if it works for you - Go for it

And know it's lucky you are using piezo saddles which can function passively without a preamp ( typical characteristic reserved for LR Baggs Piezo saddles)

vanceg

Of the 30+ Ghost Hexpander installs I've seen, 60% or more suffer from HORRIBLE noise problems.  Often traceable to the Hexpander card or the connection between the hexpander card and the main Ghost card.  I no longer use the Ghost system for this reason.   If you have a good one, they are really pretty nice...but I don't count on buying a good one....


Quote from: TINLEY on March 19, 2016, 01:04:07 PM
I have a piezo bridge in one of my guitars and tried to connect it to the VG99 using a GHOST Hexpander

The noise was horrendous and made the whole thing totally unusable

so I made a link box up which takes the piezo direct into a 13 pin socket

same deal

I have an 8 pin MINI DIN out on my guitar (s) so I made an adapter which connects an 8 pin MINI DIN socket direct to the 13 pin input

NO NOISE

in fact it is so quiet I thought it wasn't connected till I hit the strings

so is there any issue with connecting a PIEZO direct to the VG99 rather than via a pre-amp?

I think the +7V supply being carried down the wire is not clean unless it gets grounded?

if the +7v is left open circuit - or maybe PIN9? then I think it bleeds into the guitar signal as hum?

anyone else got any thoughts on this?

thanks

Mark

copperfrog

when i finished my install i got noise as well, it was from the magnetic pickup jack touching the metal of the jack plate which went away after i crafted a piece of wood coaster and replace it
i believe the ghost website suggest wrapping the boards in elect tape and making sure nothing touching any grounding paint or shielding from pickguard but can be a tight fit
i once bought a brian moore gk guitar that had noise that went away after i removed the washer from the volume knob and made direct contact with the grounding paint-is that safe? i don't know :'(
vg99 boss gp10 tripleplay live3 digitech harmonyman

TINLEY

Quote from: Elantric on March 19, 2016, 05:19:17 PM
Go for it

And know it's lucky you are using piezo saddles which can function passively without a preamp ( typical characteristic of LR Baggs Piezo saddles)

Okay thanks - I do have a GK3 but this whole sticking it in place with double sided foam is idiotic - and the adjustment of the arc with a screw which really shouldn't be anywhere near things that get hit hard etc

Every time I pick the guitar up to play it - it sounds completely different

I just liked the idea of having a benchmark and now I realise there isn't one ;/)

Thanks