Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Deluxe Big Muff pi noise gate stutters or alternates at every position
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August 2, 2015 at 9:43 pm #84041monkeymantraMember
Hi my new (today) deluxe Big Muff (not bass) doesn’t cleanly gate in any knob position. It either stutters on and off until killing, or it alternates off and on a few times before settling at gated. Anyone else experienced this? No effect pedals before the muff. Is there an internal adjustment that can be made to adjust the gate check frequency or anything? It happens most times so I dont think it’s any stray level boosts or harmonics.
Thanks!
August 16, 2015 at 4:30 pm #120845gematherMemberRemove the solder flux with a brush and alkohol from the pots.
August 18, 2015 at 8:42 pm #120849monkeymantraMemberThanks gemather for taking the time to respond. I actually swapped it in store for a germanium 4 after another deluxe showed the same problems. I originally wanted the germanium but was momentarily swayed by the noise gate. Bad mistake
The germanium has a far richer tone to my ears. And I bought a decimator g string II for noise control. The germanium 4 behaves very nicely in the decimators noisy loop and I have everything I really wanted from the start! Thanks again.September 13, 2016 at 12:08 am #122015DocdemersMemberHi,
just bought the Deluxe Bass Big Muff and it seems that I have a similar problem. The gate knob is only at 9 o’clock and it is cutting the sound on and off all the time at random (or at least it looks like at random to me! )
I use an ESP active bass with an Ampeg mini amp. Maybe I am missing something or maybe I am just unlucky and the muff is malfunctioning right out from the box.
Any advice for me before I bring it back to the retailer?
Thank you.
September 13, 2016 at 1:29 pm #122017Flick (EHX Staff)ModeratorQuote:Hi,just bought the Deluxe Bass Big Muff and it seems that I have a similar problem. The gate knob is only at 9 o’clock and it is cutting the sound on and off all the time at random (or at least it looks like at random to me! )
I use an ESP active bass with an Ampeg mini amp. Maybe I am missing something or maybe I am just unlucky and the muff is malfunctioning right out from the box.
Any advice for me before I bring it back to the retailer?
Thank you.
What position do you have the PAD switch set to? Does the gate behave more predictably if you flip the PAD?
September 13, 2016 at 2:36 pm #122019DocdemersMemberHi, thanks for the quick reply!
Yes the PAD was set at -10dB since I am playing with an active bass.
Ok, just gave it another try this morning (just bought it yesterday evening so… ) and here’s what I notice.
There is actually a slight variation while switching the PAD. Instead of “muting” at around 9 o’clock, it turns the sound off at around 11 while sets at 0 dB. I also notice that when I turn my bass volume higher (around 3/4 full), the threshold is also higher. It goes up at around 10-11 o’clock on the -10 dB setting and at around 1-2 o’clock while sets on the 0 dB. I must point out that my bass battery is brand new and that my Big Muff is wall plugged.
Is it a normal? Why is it gaving me a higher threshold at 0 dB but not at -10dB? Wouldn’t it be supposed to be the opposite?
I saw a video with Tony Levins showing the benefits of the pedal and he was actually able to continue playing after setting the gate. Why can’t I? Am I forced to play really loud?
Thanks for your time and support.
September 13, 2016 at 2:58 pm #122020Flick (EHX Staff)ModeratorTry this:
1. Turn the GATE knob down to fully counter-clockwise so that the gate is disabled.
2. Set the PAD switch to wherever you prefer.
3. Ensure the Big Muff is set up in such a way so that you hear obvious hum.
4. Mute the strings on your bass by holding the strings.
5. Turn up the GATE knob until the gate kicks in and the hum disappears. Then turn up GATE just a little more.Now try playing your bass, does the gate react predictably?
September 13, 2016 at 3:13 pm #122021DocdemersMemberIt works fine! Thank you major!
My set up doesn’t have a big hum so it looks like I was just pushing the gate a little bit too far! Around 8 o’clock seems fine.
Last question: what will happen if I ever use a set up with a major big hum and that I need to turn the gate at let say 2-3 i’clock. Will it work or will it cut all the time?
September 13, 2016 at 3:21 pm #122022Flick (EHX Staff)ModeratorQuote:It works fine! Thank you major!My set up doesn’t have a big hum so it looks like I was just pushing the gate a little bit too far! Around 8 o’clock seems fine.
Last question: what will happen if I ever use a set up with a major big hum and that I need to turn the gate at let say 2-3 i’clock. Will it work or will it cut all the time?
It’s a little hard to say, it depends on the source of the hum actually. The gate in the Deluxe Bass Big Muff (DBBM) is able to cut out the noise that is produced by the DBBM itself based on analyzing the signal from your bass. If something after the DBBM is producing noise or hum, the DBBM’s gate won’t do much to reduce it. If the hum is coming from the bass itself, then the DBBM will remove this hum as long as the GATE knob is set correctly. You may have to increase the GATE knob’s setting to remove louder hum from a different instrument or environment. If you are using active pickups then the hum produced by your bass should be pretty consistent as you change environments.
September 13, 2016 at 3:34 pm #122023DocdemersMemberAwesome!
Thanks again for your time helping a newbie (started playing bass 4 weeks ago!).
March 29, 2018 at 1:55 pm #123749BlueChickenParticipantBringing back this thread because I am having similar issues.
I bought the Deluxe Muff Pi as a high-gain fuzz and planned to use the noise gate to keep my signal silent when not playing. Pedal works great but every time the gate activates it lets out a click. Normally I would fix this on a noise gate with the attack function, but the Muff only has the one gate knob. Is there a way to eliminate this click when the gate opens, as it happens EVERY time regardless of the settings (if I drop all settings to 0 but the gate, I can still hear the click of the gate opening).
It can be heard over the mix and is really out of place. Any suggestions/advice/anyone else with this issue?
March 29, 2018 at 2:02 pm #123751Flick (EHX Staff)ModeratorQuote:Bringing back this thread because I am having similar issues.I bought the Deluxe Muff Pi as a high-gain fuzz and planned to use the noise gate to keep my signal silent when not playing. Pedal works great but every time the gate activates it lets out a click. Normally I would fix this on a noise gate with the attack function, but the Muff only has the one gate knob. Is there a way to eliminate this click when the gate opens, as it happens EVERY time regardless of the settings (if I drop all settings to 0 but the gate, I can still hear the click of the gate opening).
It can be heard over the mix and is really out of place. Any suggestions/advice/anyone else with this issue?
This sounds like the gate is malfunctioning and needs to be repaired. If this is a new purchase I recommend you either exchange for a different unit or send it in for repair. Try info@ehx.com if you want to send it in.
March 29, 2018 at 2:15 pm #123755BlueChickenParticipantQuote:Quote:Bringing back this thread because I am having similar issues.I bought the Deluxe Muff Pi as a high-gain fuzz and planned to use the noise gate to keep my signal silent when not playing. Pedal works great but every time the gate activates it lets out a click. Normally I would fix this on a noise gate with the attack function, but the Muff only has the one gate knob. Is there a way to eliminate this click when the gate opens, as it happens EVERY time regardless of the settings (if I drop all settings to 0 but the gate, I can still hear the click of the gate opening).
It can be heard over the mix and is really out of place. Any suggestions/advice/anyone else with this issue?
This sounds like the gate is malfunctioning and needs to be repaired. If this is a new purchase I recommend you either exchange for a different unit or send it in for repair. Try info@ehx.com if you want to send it in.
I was hoping to avoid that as I am in Canada, so sending the pedal in costs almost as much as the pedal itself as it is no longer under warranty (a friend had it sitting in a box for a few years). But I will contact them and see my options, as I am already sending another pedal to EHX for repair at the moment.
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The germanium has a far richer tone to my ears. And I bought a decimator g string II for noise control. The germanium 4 behaves very nicely in the decimators noisy loop and I have everything I really wanted from the start! Thanks again.- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
