Marshall Hiss

[wylie]

I'm working with a small Marshall amp (really starting to like the sound of this thing) however does anybody know if theres any way to kill the hiss that comes out of these,it's almost not noticeable in mix but I'd rather not record it if at all possible.
I lifted the ground and flipped the polarity which cut the hiss in half, the power supply is fairly clean no florescent lights or dimmers.
I'm thinking maybe theres some kind of power filter that would go between the outlet and the amp.

<small>[ November 10, 2004, 09:58 AM: Message edited by: wylie ]</small>

[James Steele]

You like the sound of the Marshall, eh? C'mon... a POD is just the same! Hehehe...

Seriously, as a longtime Marshall devotee, there's nothing quite like a *good* Marshall amp. I have noticed some do "hiss" more than others. You seem to have minimized much of the problem. As you said you really can't hear it much in the mix, so I'd probably leave well enough alone. I'd experiment with the main volume of the amp. Sometimes running it louder will increase the hiss, but not as much in relation to the actual desired sound.

The main thing I'd suggest doing is simply record the parts as normal and do what I like to do, which is go in and edge-edit out anywhere where there is no actual guitar being played, but just background hiss from the amp. Also, there are some noise reduction units you can use like the Rocktron HUSH units which will acheive good results without messing up the character of the tone too much. There is the older analog HUSH units which are supposedly less damaging to the tone, and digital units. I have one of the latter which is incorporated into my Intellipitch that I used live, and it seems to be fine.

For the sake of redundancy though... once more... I'd say just edit out the pauses in the guitar tracks. You can also try gating it, but I prefer to just go in and do it manually.

[studioprez]

Speaking of the POD, you'll get that classic Marshall hiss if your runing high gain settings on a pod or V-amp running a Marshal patch, it's just the nature of the beast. John already mentioned edge editing, my favorite, or you can use the noise gate plugin or an automated mute if your lazy and can spare the CPU time.

[studioprez]

Sorry...James I'd also mention it's a good idea to edge edit all of your discontinous tracks (vocals,etc) It makes for an overall cleaner mix and reduces your CPU drain.

[wylie]

POD? I thought that was a kids toy or maybe I'm just old, o ya and grey.
I think I'm just getting a little fussy I know in years past I've just used "strip silence" in DP and that works good with a dash of EQ.
I was just talking to our electrician he tells me to try an isolated circuit and hes going to see if theres some kind of filter he thinks there is.
I let you know what he comes up with.
For years I've used and old LAB series its was always nice live but this little Marshall I think its only about 30watts,if you plug a Crybaby in a crank it up,I'm getting some rippin guitar tracks down with it.The owner left it here after a session I'm hoping he doesn't remember where it is.

[James Steele]

I was joking about the POD. I had the original version and the 2.0 upgrade and it was decent enough for demos and not playing loud when you didn't want to bug the neighbors, but I found the tracks recorded with it never really felt right in my mixes... and if you decided to do the old standby trick of doubling your rhythm parts (by playing them twice) and spreading them... ick...

Oh yeah, and by all means, cut out everywhere where there is silence and nothing going on. Vocal tracks, guitars, bass... you name it. I try not to do that on drum tracks however.

[wylie]

*good* Marshall amp.

Hey James I think this must be a good one JCM800 it looks like it fell off the truck a few times and it smells like beer so it must be a good.

it's just the nature of the beast

I've heard some pretty quite guitar amps Marshall's included this seems to have extra hiss although my pickups are very hot I'm sure that doesn't help.

I wonder how long it has to stay here before it becomes mine?

[James Steele]

JCM800s are awesome heads. My lead guitarist bought one on my recommendation and the thing sounds great. It's one of the newer reissue JCM800s, as it has channel switching and a reverb tank and I think the original ones had none of that.

My main head is a 79 MkII Master Lead (6550 tubes) and I have a DSL 2000 as a backup. For pure tone I prefer the former... for off the shelf flexibility and versatility the latter. Some people say they don't like the DSL heads, but I spent some time twiddling with mine and found something approaching that of my primary head. Spending more time might yield better results. I'm thinking of switching to the DSL for live performance just for the versatility of the clean channel, etc.

You might still have the head checked out if the hiss is bothering you. I haven't messed with a JCM800 extensively so I don't know if most of that is from the high gain preamp and whether if you can back off some of that it will help.

[wylie]

Your right great amp, you couldn't ask for a better amp for recording I'm having a great time with it.
You know your havin fun when you forget to breath when your laying down lead tracks.This thing is turning me back into a rocker.
I ran a power cord over to a isolated circuit with the ground lifted and polarity flipped( I know this is not electrically sound and a never do live) but the amp at almost full volume is dead quite so most the hiss is coming from the old Gibson humbucking pickups
I don't think they used allot of shielding in the 70s maybe thats where the HUM in bucking came from.
The tracks I did last night have allot less hiss.
Theres no reverb on this JCM800 I don't use one to record anyhow,but this amp is really beat up,a knob is missing and it looks like been on 3 world tours and it still sounds great maybe even better than new?
Thanx James for bringing UN back online.

[James Steele]

Originally posted by wylie:
Theres no reverb on this JCM800 I don't use one to record anyhow,but this amp is really beat up,a knob is missing and it looks like been on 3 world tours and it still sounds great maybe even better than new?

Cool! You have one of the original ones then. Sweeeeet! Isn't it fun?!! The POD is a useful thing, but as you've found out by now, it can't "emulate" what you got there. There's something too inside that changes when you plug into the real deal... the living, (fire) breathing, Marshall. Man, I love 'em. Some guys dig their Boogies-- I'm a Marshall guy forever!

[studioprez]

I record with a custom a bud built(Thunder Tweak Amps) Its based on a Vox AC30 amp with a Vox top boost and JCM800 preamps,switchable,and a 2X12 cab. Some of the older Marshals had poor quality caps and transformers but pretty much everything since the plexi has been quiet including the JCM800 reissue. You might also need to check your bias voltage, there's some sites out there with instructions, if you want the URL let me know and I'll dig it up.

[wylie]

Some guys dig their Boogies

I have some friends with Boogies, never recorded one though I'd like to hear the dif, I think there a little over priced.

if you want the URL let me know and I'll dig it up.

I'd like that link Ben if you don't mind I'll print it off, I don't own this thing yet but when the guy comes back for it I going to make him an offer for it I know he's hurtin for cash.

[Tritonemusic]

Originally posted by wylie:
I don't think they used allot of shielding in the 70s maybe thats where the HUM in bucking came from.

Actually, it's quite the opposite. They were called humbuckers because they have less hum than single-coil pickups. Check out this page:

http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_fall2003.web.dir/Louis_Rudolf/newtechnology.html

[studioprez]

Hey Wylie here's the URL Amp Page Thats's probably the best starting point on the web and my buddy Ace has got stuff there also. Go to his site if you have questions and mention me in the e-mail. He is a serious vintage Marshal guru. He does his own redesigns including a fifteen watt head that sounds like a 100 watt plexi at low volumes built just for tracking in the studio. Great tube man( and DP user) Sonic Deli

"Started with tubes"
"Gonna die with tubes"

[wylie]

Thanx allot guys.

Hey 666 that link you posted at the bottom says.

The most recent development in pickups are the new optical pickups. They actually use a laser that is directed onto the string. When the string moves, the laser can detect the amount of movement and translate it to a current. This completely eliminates all unwanted noise that even magnets have.

This sounds interesting, I'm curious are these out? have you seen or heard any in use? I can't imagine they'd be very warm sounding.