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my amp picks radio stations! help

brathairbrathair Posts: 6
edited September 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
i am new to the electric guitar world and the small 15 watt ibanez amp i have picks up a local radio station. it comes through pretty clearlu and pisses me off. what can i do about it?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    Originally posted by brathair
    i am new to the electric guitar world and the small 15 watt ibanez amp i have picks up a local radio station. it comes through pretty clearlu and pisses me off. what can i do about it?

    Yeah, I had the same problem. Is your amp near your tv or a/v equipment? If so, move your amp away and it should solve your problem.
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
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  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Are you close to a radio tower?


    Your guitar strings, pickups , cords, and parts inside the amp are like antennas.
    Pull out the cord, if it still gets radio it's probably in your amp, especially in distortion modes, as they amplify the interference. It may even be house wiring. Sometimes the house grounding isn't up to par and will send the signal through. If the three prong electrical receptacle isn't grounded right, that could be it.
    Or it could be a poorly soldered joint in the amp, or a component.

    If you plug the guitar in, and then you get radio, and it changes as you move around, it could be the cord or the guitar. A "shielded cord" may help, or sometimes the guitar ground isn't right, which is easy to fix. sheilding the guitar may also help.

    If you have effects, they are culprits a lot. Especially distortion and Wah pedals. Wah Wah pedals bring out the worst in your rig!

    It's a common and a pain in the youknowwhat problem, sometimes is easy, sometimes you need to have things shielded by a tech, but try simple things first.

    Then report back by Thursday:D
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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  • PJamGrunge10PJamGrunge10 California Posts: 596
    thats awesome!!
    Stone Gossard...riffmeister extraordinaire!

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  • Brain of DirtyFrankBrain of DirtyFrank Posts: 20
    i borrowed my band teachers old fender bass when i was in highschool and it picked up some AM religious station
  • All Those YesterdaysAll Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    My amp with my cheap les paul picks up some church station too. At the end of rage against the machines "sleep now in the fire" you here that crazy techno music, and that was from what Tom Morello was using. One of his pedals that is picked up that station.
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

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  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    If you listen to Jimi Hendrix live at the Isle of Wight, you hear the air traffic control and cockpit radios. That had to sound good through like 12 stacks of Marshalls!

    :eek:
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    i can do that with my wah pedal in the right position. i was getting french CBC one night. sounded great with some delay.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Originally posted by exhausted
    i can do that with my wah pedal in the right position. i was getting french CBC one night. sounded great with some delay.

    So your chain is :
    Guitar- Wah - French CBC - delay- amp? Or delay after miked amp? :)

    I guess if you put an octaver on there it would sound like the Black Sabbath voice from "I am Iron Man" in French!
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    Any pedal that adds or affects the gain of your rig will affect this phenomenon, so distortion, fuzz, overdrive, compression or clean boost will make this seem worse. Most often, it's AM stations or citizen's-band broadcasts that are picked up (although FM stations can come through, too). I used to play bass in a band, and the bass I was using had active pickups, and where we practiced it picked up a certain AM station probably better than a radio could've. Ridiculous.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • UNDONE*21UNDONE*21 Posts: 207
    This reminds me of spinal tap! HAHAHA!
    Like a cloud dropping rain, I'm discarding allllll thought.
  • HoorayForHumansHoorayForHumans Posts: 151
    my amp does that sometimes. the first time it did that, it scared the shit out of me. it was a really weird talk show, and i thought there were voices in my head or something.
    this heart's on fire
  • Cropduster84Cropduster84 Posts: 1,283
    ITS FREAKY WHEN THAT HAPPENS LOL!
    'The more I studied religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.' - Sir Richard Francis Burton
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    And venturing only slightly off topic, does anyone ever get Short Wave through their four track? That's spooky too!

    :)
  • gotz idgotz id Posts: 125
    It happens.
    I wish I was the 10Club holiday single, the one that never showed up...

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