Tubecreamer NOISE!

[BrianK]

Hi,

I have just completed my Tubescreamer project using the Tonepad layout and RTS board from Francisco Pena. Everything went without a hitch.  :lol:
After assembly, I hooked it up and plugged it in! (I did wire in a 3PDT for true bypass) The overdrive was nice and warm and it has great bottom end. HOWEVER......when the Tubescreamer is on...there is avery audible "hiss" in the background. It is somewhere in the circuit as far as I can tell. The hiss disappears as soon as I switch it off. I have checked all of my solder joints and connections and nothing sticks out.

Is there something I can do to reduce this hissing noise? It ruins an otherwise great pedal!


Thanks for your help!

Brian

[Alpha579]

Certain OP-amps are very noisy, so that could be a problem. Did u house it in a metal or plastic container? and what type of Caps/Resistors did u use. I know these sort of things dont make a huge difference, but every little helps...

[Somicide]

i had a similar problem with a BMPi I made, are you sure you have everything properly grounded?  try touching the ground of your input cable, see what that does.

[smoguzbenjamin]

I think it is the opamp you're using. Try using a different opamp like a 4558 or a TL082. Remeber that every single bit of hiss and hum in a signal before the distortion is going to get really amplified and stand out in your end product.

But hell, my metalzone does the same thing

[markusw]

I had a similar problem with a tubescreamer clone connected to a switch mode power supply. After adding a 50R or 100R between the negative pole of the power jack and the circuit and a 100 µF electrolytic cap after the resistor to positive pole of the jack everything was fine (should be a low pass filter if I am right).

Hope this helps.

[smoguzbenjamin]

Clever... I might use that trick on my power strip!

[markusw]

Clever, yes. But not my idea.  I got it from one of Craig Anderton´s books.