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bryanm707
New
Username: bryanm707

Post Number: 1
Registered: 6-2014
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 9:41 am:   Edit Post

I've got the weirdest noise coming from my epic. It's not a buzz or hum like I would expect from a guitar. Rather it's a fast ticking sound, about 3 or 4 ticks per second. I've noticed that my cable is often under sideways tension when it starts (I wrap the cable around the strap lock before plugging it in), but releasing the tension doesn't always make it stop. It doesn't bother me in the practice room, but it puts everyone in a panic when it's going through the mains at a gig. Anybody else run across this?
jimmyj
Senior Member
Username: jimmyj

Post Number: 526
Registered: 8-2008
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 1:20 pm:   Edit Post

You're gonna laugh but do you wear a watch and if so which arm? The pickups are able to amplify that movement if it's close enough.
Jimmy J
bryanm707
New
Username: bryanm707

Post Number: 2
Registered: 6-2014
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 3:36 pm:   Edit Post

No, I don't. There are never any clocks or watches nearby when it acts this way. It definitely acts like a short of some kind.

Does anyone know if a bad ground could cause something like this?
slawie
Senior Member
Username: slawie

Post Number: 638
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 3:58 pm:   Edit Post

Are you using any effects in the signal chain. I had a chorus that would put out a click in time with the frequency setting.
Eliminate anything in the signal chain
Replace the battery
Try another cable
Clean the output jack. Isopropyl alcohol on a swab.

What is your rig/setup?

slawie
gtrguy
Senior Member
Username: gtrguy

Post Number: 758
Registered: 9-2004
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2014 - 10:34 pm:   Edit Post

Must be the fuel pump!!! ;>)
mtjam
Intermediate Member
Username: mtjam

Post Number: 169
Registered: 11-2011
Posted on Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 4:34 am:   Edit Post

I was thinking of your bass picking up a watch ticking, but Jimmy beat me to it! That's what happened to me once! Good luck with the diagnosis.
jalevinemd
Senior Member
Username: jalevinemd

Post Number: 950
Registered: 12-2003
Posted on Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 5:55 am:   Edit Post

I've had similar issues with cables that have shorts in them. You said it sometimes goes away when you adjust your cable. Does it go away completely with a new one?

As stated by Slawie, check any pedals you use. I have a thread started about a flanger that is producing a rhythmic clicking only with my Alembics.
bryanm707
New
Username: bryanm707

Post Number: 3
Registered: 6-2014
Posted on Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 8:29 am:   Edit Post

It isn't the fuel pump or the flux capacitor...

I'm pretty certain it has happened with other cables, but I've been using the same one for awhile, so I'll try a different one. I sometimes use effects, but this happens regardless. I'll try cleaning the jack real good, too. I just replaced the battery...

I play through a variety of old Trace Elliot preamps, btw. (Love them!). I doubt it's that far down the signal chain, though. I guess I'm going to have to get absolutely forensic about this, but I was hoping this was something others would recognize right away and save me some time. I'll post whatever I'm able to determine...
hieronymous
Senior Member
Username: hieronymous

Post Number: 1376
Registered: 1-2005
Posted on Sunday, June 15, 2014 - 9:33 am:   Edit Post

Is it picking up a cell phone? That makes a distinctive kind of sound that can come through speakers. When I saw Stanley Clarke recently there was some strange noise audible during quiet sections - I asked the sound man afterwards and he said he had left his cell phone in his pocket!
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 3542
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, June 20, 2014 - 7:31 am:   Edit Post

Pacemaker?

graeme
sonicus
Senior Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 3460
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Friday, June 20, 2014 - 7:56 am:   Edit Post

Not to hi-jack ,But anyone with a pacemaker must not get within the close proximity of an electrical so called " Smart Meter" . Smart Meters can ALSO be the source of noise ! I opted out from Smart Meters and I encourage everyone else to do so . I submitted a report to the CCST ( California Council on Science and Technology) regarding Smart Meters . My comments can be found under ; Personal accounts , comment #50.

To access the comments database, please enter username: guest and password: guest.

http://www.ccst.us/projects/smart2/

(Message edited by sonicus on June 20, 2014)
edwardofhuncote
Junior
Username: edwardofhuncote

Post Number: 49
Registered: 6-2014
Posted on Saturday, September 27, 2014 - 6:40 pm:   Edit Post

Experienced this trouble once with my cell phone... first a crakle-y "buuuzzzzz, then - tick-tick-tick-tick-tick. Cut my phone mobile data off and it went away.

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