Home › Forums › Help/Technical Questions › Germanium OD Acting Really Strange
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December 25, 2008 at 11:55 pm #77442kmdrkulMember
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?
December 26, 2008 at 6:52 am #89646julianModeratorYou try changing the settings?
Because the Germanium OD can get some weird sounds because the voltage and bias is controllable
December 26, 2008 at 11:39 am #89647Kevin DemuthMemberQuote: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.
December 26, 2008 at 12:47 pm #89649MINGMemberMine does this too on certain settings. A lot of my fuzz pedals do too.
December 26, 2008 at 1:45 pm #89653KrinorMemberAre 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 ?
December 26, 2008 at 3:13 pm #89656Dr. MattModeratorThis 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.
December 26, 2008 at 9:18 pm #89663Ned FlandersModeratorEffects 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.
December 27, 2008 at 4:18 am #89701amm2911ParticipantQuote: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!
December 27, 2008 at 5:47 am #89702julianModeratorWhen 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
January 3, 2009 at 5:32 pm #90043kmdrkulMemberI 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?
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