Home Forums Help/Technical Questions Germanium OD Acting Really Strange

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #77442
    kmdrkul
    Member

    So I just got an Electro Harmonix Germanium OD pedal for Christmas. I set it up by itself, not strung up with any other pedals and turn everything on. When I hit the footswitch and turn the pedal on, I get the strangest noise coming out of my amp: talk radio?!? Essentially, whenever I activate my pedal, it somehow picks up a radio wave (I’m assuming, I don’t know about these kinds of things…) and plays radio through my amp. Any suggestions?

    #89646
    julian
    Moderator

    You try changing the settings?

    Because the Germanium OD can get some weird sounds because the voltage and bias is controllable

    #89647
    Kevin Demuth
    Member
    Quote:
    So I just got an Electro Harmonix Germanium OD pedal for Christmas. I set it up by itself, not strung up with any other pedals and turn everything on. When I hit the footswitch and turn the pedal on, I get the strangest noise coming out of my amp: talk radio?!? Essentially, whenever I activate my pedal, it somehow picks up a radio wave (I’m assuming, I don’t know about these kinds of things…) and plays radio through my amp. Any suggestions?

    some pedals can do this. i don’t really know why…

    are you using a battery or power supply?

    i only ask because mine introduces a high-pitched (but quite low level) whine but ONLY when it’s daisy chained with certain pedals. if i use it in a different chain of pedals or with a dedicated power supply or battery, it’s quiet.

    #89649
    MING
    Member

    Mine does this too on certain settings. A lot of my fuzz pedals do too.

    #89653
    Krinor
    Member

    Are you running it on a battery or are you using a wallwart. Try both, and also try changing the cables and moving the pedal further away from the amp etc. Maybe some simple RF rejection would be a good idea for future editions of this pedal ?

    #89656
    Dr. Matt
    Moderator

    This seems like quite a common problem with FX pedals, particularly fuzz pedals. It’s actually quite common with most audio gear. If you’re picking up radio signals it normally means that something isn’t correctly shielded.

    #89663
    Ned Flanders
    Moderator

    Effects with germanium transistors do this often, just depends on your location and house wiring. I have a silicon fuzz, the ultra lord, that does it so its not limited to germanium effects but more common in them. It does it sometimes so clear I can hear every word on the radio and the funny thing is that its American radio yet I’m in Australia! Just try it in a different room, different power outlet and different positions and settings, sometimes you cant get rid off it sometimes you can.

    #89701
    amm2911
    Participant
    Quote:
    Effects with germanium transistors do this often, just depends on your location and house wiring. I have a silicon fuzz, the ultra lord, that does it so its not limited to germanium effects but more common in them. It does it sometimes so clear I can hear every word on the radio and the funny thing is that its American radio yet I’m in Australia! Just try it in a different room, different power outlet and different positions and settings, sometimes you cant get rid off it sometimes you can.

    I once heard Japanese radio using a Marshall Guv’nor, and I live in the US!

    #89702
    julian
    Moderator

    When Sonic Youth played point state park in 2003, Thurston was getting rap music through his amp

    I’ve actually yearned for a pedal that could do the radio thing on a consistent basis

    #90043
    kmdrkul
    Member

    I figured I’d leave the radio coming through my amp, since whenever I’d play I played loud enough to drown out that sound anyway. So I decided to chain it up with a couple of other pedals, just two at a time. Each time, there would be a ridiculous sounding buzz coming out of my amp and no power whatsoever going to my guitar….

    Is mine just faulty or what?

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.