TU-2, CS-3 and power adapter chain (and HUM!)

And after a bit more testing, I've found out the power supply/chain combination that I have causes an unbearable hum whenever my Big Muff Pi is turned on. This renders it basically unusable. Which sucks, because I'm out of 9-volts and out of batteries! I also have a Maxon OD-808 that won't un-screw, so when the battery dies on that, a power supply will be my only recourse if I can't get it open.

Here's my setup, in order from guitar to amp:

Boss TU-2 Tuner
Boss CS-3 Compressions/Sustainer
Maxon OD-808 Overdrive
CryBaby Wah
EHX Big Muff Pi
EHX #1 Echo
Ibanez FL-9 Flanger
Ibanez CS-9 Chorus

The adapter I have came with the EHX #1 Echo, it says it's a replacement for Boss or Ibanez adapters. Is this the culprit? Or the 1-Spot power chain? I have an adapter for my Zoom, and they both seem to create the hum, but only when I use the power chain. Right now I'm powering the #1 Echo with the EHX adapter, and the Maxon OD-808 with the Zoom adapter, and plugging them in to individual pedals doesn't seem to create hum.

Should I take the power chain back? Is there a different kind that would work better?

Re. the battery power issue with the CS-3, don't know, but I have one and when you unplug the cable from the IN jack it powers off. The LED won't light without a cable plugged into the input; this keeps the battery from running down, you unplug the pedal when it's not in use. Haven't tried it with it plugged into an adaptor, I'll have to look when I get home. Don't know if this info will help....

As for the hum, from the Big Muff manual:

"To achieve its long sustain, the Big Muff Pi has very high maximum gain. This
requires that pickups and cables be well shielded and properly grounded to avoid
excessive hum when high sustain control settings are used."

Situation might be that the hum is already there and that the Big Muff is taking it from minor nuisance to major problem.

I have an effects chain that's similar to the one you describe:

TU-2 Tuner
BD-2 Overdrive
CS-3 Compressor
Crybaby
Big Muff
GE-7 EQ
CE-5 Chorus
Verbzilla

It's all powered by a OneSpot, except for the Verbzilla which for reasons I don't understand adds hum unless it's on it's own Line-6 wallwart.

Finding your hum will be a process of elimination. Might be your adaptors, but don't leap to that conclusion; it might just as easily be a bad cable, dirty connector, or such, or an issue with the way your cables are laid out. Make sure that everything's neat and tidy, eliminate any spaghetti or snake-pit looking cable situations, make sure that your adaptor wires aren't wrapped around your signal cables, that nothing's running alongside your A/C power supply cables, that your amp is grounded, all that good stuff. If that doesn't fix it start eliminating components one at a time until you find the culprit.

I have a nasty hum that comes through my system only when the hallway light on my second floor is turned on. The began when I replaced the bulb with a compact flourescent lamp. I did the whole house in compact flourescents, but it's only that light that causes the hum. Go figure.

Myself, I wouldn't run your chain like that. I would probably go like this.

1] TU-2
2] Crybaby- a wah should generally be first in your chain
3] CS3- keep settings moderate, at higher settings all compressors make noise
4] Big Muff
5] Maxon OD 808- can be used as overdrive alone, or to boost for solo when using the Big Muff
6] CS-9 Chorus
7] FL-9 Flanger
8] EHX Echo- Delays, reverbs and echoes should generally be last in your chain

It is not too good to use a compressor with a high gain pedal like the Big Muff. The Big Muff is noisy as is, with excessive compression it is just going to boost this noise. I am betting that is most of your problem right there.

If you place the Maxon after the Big Muff you will be able to use it for a solo boost and your tone will not lose definition. If you place the Maxon before the Big Muff, the BM will overly distort the Maxon, your solo will fuzz out and lose definition.

By the way, your TU-2 will power all these pedals. You just need the daisy chain cable. I own one, I believe it will power up to 7 additional pedals.

I don't think the 1 Spot is your problem, I also own one of these and I have no noise issues whatsoever. I really think your pedal order and the types of pedals you are using is what is causing all the noise, especially using the compressor with the Big Muff.

Here is a good site that explains why certain pedal orders are more advantagious than others.

http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-order.htm

I have found the advice on this page to be excellent.

Wes

Wes,

Those are good tips about the pedal order. I've tried mine in a variety of arrangements, and found the order I like based on what sounds good to me.

I've tried the Big Muff before the OD808 and found I couldn't tell much difference when the OD808 and the Fuzz were on, versus just the Fuzz. But when the order is switched I can tell a difference, the 808 seems to beef up the Fuzz sound.

I put the Chorus last because I have two amps and it's got stereo outputs. And I like the way the Flanger swooshes the Echo, which is a different effect if I put the Echo after it.

I've fixed the hum problem, partly by not using the compressor with the fuzz (I'd just gotten it and hadn't really worked out when to use it), and partly by re-arranging what's plugged into what.

I've got my DC adapter plugged into the TU-2, with the power daisy chain going to the Wah, the CS-3, the OD-808, and the FL-9. The #1 Echo causes noise if it's on the daisy chain, so I've got it connected to a separate adapter. And the Big Muff and CS-9 run on 9-volts.

I'll probably tweak the order more in the future as I learn more or my tastes change, but this works for me right now.

Here is the order I'm using now:

Boss TU-2 Tuner
CryBaby Way
Boss CS-9 Compression/Sustainer
Maxon OD-808 Overdrive
EHX Big Muff Pi
EHX #1 Echo
Ibanez FL-9 Flanger
Ibanez CS-9 Stereo Chorus

Changed it a little since my first post.