1 (edited by Bass Viking 2012-03-23 15:00:06)

Topic: Accoustic Amp interference question

I have an Accoustic brand AG60 accoustic amp and so far have been very pleased with it; however I am experiencing something I don't know what to do with.  About twelve miles up the road is a low power faith based radio station and everytime I turn my amp on, I get their signal coming in thru the amp.  Does anybody know how this can be prevented or what can be done to keep it from happening?  I would really appreciate any ideas as I am still such a newbie with amps, guits, mics and such that I really have no clue and would love some perspective.  Please give me a shout out if you have any ideas!   Thanks
Big Jim  aka Bass Viking

Find a Path or Make One    This is a motto I have been following my entire life and one I am currently using with my music.
Big Jim from Ashville Ohio

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

???

Does it happen no matter what socket you plug it into in your house?

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Does it happen with a guitar plugged in or when it's just sitting there by its lonesome?

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

try a different cord and not having the power cord stretched out all the way.Long wires can act as antenna`s. I used to get WLS in Chicago on an old Kustom head I had.And if I put it in a different room I picked up BBC.Sad to say,nothing worked for me and I always had trouble with that amp in my house.Anywhere else it worked fine.Also try using it in a different room.Hope that helps. Keep one thing in mind. If its a faith based radio station. Maybe it`s God`s way of telling you something!!!

Enjoy Every Sandwich
Nothing In Moderation  -- Live Fast. Love Hard. Die Young And Leave A Beautiful Corpse. -- Buy It Today. Cry About It Tomorrow.

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

I used to have a Schure P.A. system that picked up C.B. radio signals. We would pause singing for a moment at our bar gig and "10-4 good buddy" would boom out of our P.A. speakers.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Toots having met you on Skype you look like you used to have/do/etc lots of things. I can't WAIT to parrrrrrrrrty in 'bama with ya.

7 (edited by tubatooter1940 2012-03-24 12:15:21)

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

BGD, you can definitely pick. You are a snappy guitar player. Everybody loved that as well as your your voice. You have good range - smooth or groaty sound control. I envy you your youth and energy.
My pipes get groatier by the day. Most times it's fun. Sometimes it's painful.
Your first song was dynamite and I would like to hear it again.
A link would be appreciated.
Sure would like to hear you jump on some Southeastern material.
If you hear something you like in my song list you can use I can send U-Tube links, chords and lyrics. Would be great to have a jam archive available on Chordie.
toots
P.S. Joe, if you make it to Alabama (A.K.A. the Redneck Riviera) we can hoist a beer or 12, grill something recently deceased and do a sail out on Mobile Bay.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Hi Jim

I'm with Joey on this something is acting as an aerial and it's probably a badly insulated lead. My father in law was an electrical engineer until he retired, I'll give him a buzz later on today and get his view and let you know what he thinks.

Jerry

Live the life you love, love the life you live

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Ya know guys, I've heard of people getting ham radio interference with their cable television service - yup, ham radio going right through their TV.  Those people are never happy, but I don't think there's much you can do about it except to - like everyone else has said - limit the length of wires that may be acting as antennas.  There's so many FCC regulations and notices on allllll electronic equipment stating that they are within regulation and fine print about possible intereference that I don't think there's much you can even do legally to prevent such issues.  Like JX3 said though, maybe God's trying to tell you something!  ha ha! 

I would absolutely try plugging into a different outlet and wrapping the chord up so it's not stretched out, and try being as close to the outlet as possible and see if that makes a difference.  Radio waves are often hindered by metal doors and mirrors too... so perhaps there's a little decoration you could put up to help the issue out!  smile  Just some thoughts!

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

thanks to everyone for their feedback.  It seems to just be there as soon as I turn on the amp with mic's plugged in.  I have moved it around the room, used a different plug; put it close to the plug, far away from a plug, have yet to roll up the excess chord and try that.  I have takent this several times to the nursing home, the senior center and other places and didn't have this problem there.  If only my cell phone or Wifi signal could be here so strong in this little creek valley.  Thanks for all the replies.  I will endeavor on!

Find a Path or Make One    This is a motto I have been following my entire life and one I am currently using with my music.
Big Jim from Ashville Ohio

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Hey Jim,
That sounds like a bit of a nuisance all right.  I know nothing about electronics, so with a grain of salt, you might want to check out http://195.84.101.101/~goranl/interference/page6.html  The "fix" is pretty inexpensive and might be worth a try.
Jim

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Do you use cheap guitar cables? Could be a cable shielding issue too....

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Though I'm not an electrical engineer, I do have a lot of experience with this type issue through my work.....couple of things: lots of times it's the inductive nature of the pickups that tend to "amplify" the signal, you can take them out and shield the backside using fine mesh cooper screen or, replace them with higher quality pickups.  Also, if you unplug the guitar and still hear the radio, same thing applies. take the chassis of the amp out and make a shield for the electronics or tube portion using fine copper mesh screen....without going into details, it's the Michael Farady principle about lines of (electromagnetic)force, using a very small mesh, non ferrous screen like copper, you can block the interference.....the previous post about guitar cable is important, using a cheap unshielded cable will definitely not help and, probably THE most important thing is to make sure your power supply is not "dirty". you can check this by using a simple multimeter....your looking for voltage between ground and hot (ground being the round portion of your wall outlet) meter between the two and make sure you have 0 voltage...anything more than .200 is bad.....maybe try turning off the toaster when you play because everything in the house shares the same neutral....or(finally) you can try using a ground lift adapter...you know those plastic adapters that turn 3 leg plugs into 2....about 79 cents at the store.....wow, I ended up posting a ton, hope I don't ramble that much in person.....

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Thanks for the replies!  My cables are definitely not the "cheapest", they are professional low line noise cables from Shure.  My house is new in the last year, but I will check my power supply.  I don't plug in my accoustic, I only mic it so there is nothing going on in a guitar.  I appreciated everybodies responses as I didn't have a clue, but will continue to seach for the mystery; and sweetmix4u; No you didn't post too much, thanks.

Find a Path or Make One    This is a motto I have been following my entire life and one I am currently using with my music.
Big Jim from Ashville Ohio

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

I see, guess we can discount the pickups. if your running a mic into an amp, then almost certainly it's in the amp or power, but not the cable. on a mic cable, your using low impedance which is very effective against radio interference.  Also, having a new house does not absolve the power issue as all house are wired the same. I still recommend lifting the ground as a cheap experiment to see if it helps eliminate at least some 60cycle hum. with a mic, you could also use a Direct box, it has a transformer built in to help eliminate hum....aside from that, perhaps another amp or setup....I have Garage band on my Mac and its the cats meow for guitars, mic's, keyboards or any instrument...either way, be persistent and you'll find the problem...good luck my friend!

Cheers

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Just FYI guys, I'm a professional sound guy if you happen to have questions in that field....I'm more than happy to help anyone....

Cheers

17 (edited by jerome.oneil 2012-03-25 22:59:53)

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

If you're using balanced cables that should eliminate them as a suspect.  What frequency on the AM does the radio station transmit?

Also "low noise" cables does not imply shielded.   Low noise generally implies a balanced cable (which should only be relevant on a balanced input) but they can still pick up RF.  Try some different cables and see if that doesn't help.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Well as long as you're offering, sweetmix, could you recommend a good microphone for an amateur player? The mic will be plugged into a Kustom Sienna 16 watt amp. I don't do performing for audience . . . yet, but I would like to get some practice about what it's like to sing and play through a single amp.

Thanks!

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Sm58. Cheap and only live mic you'll ever need

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Schure SM58 +1.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Thanks Tuba and BGD, I'll look for the Schure Sm58. I appreciate your advice about this a lot!

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Hey M.B.  I have the Shure SM 58 for voice recording and use a Shure SM57 for miking my accousic.  Both came highly recommended to me by others and have seemed to serve me well.

Find a Path or Make One    This is a motto I have been following my entire life and one I am currently using with my music.
Big Jim from Ashville Ohio

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

SM58 for vocals, absolutely.  Depending on what you want to do with the amp, it will either work great for close mic, or if you have a nice room to play in and you want the "sound of the room," some form of condenser mic.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

Going direct into the amp using a microphone to amplify the guitar is not the ideal situation for live application. I'd recommend getting an actual acoustic guitar pickup. While using high quality mic's are great for studio recording, live use is a completely different situation. by using a pickup, you'll have much greater control over all the amplifiers parameters like, gain before feedback, tone, volume and, with some higher quality pickup's, you'll actually enhance the natural resonating tone of the wood. simply put, combining a good amp and pickup is a hard combo to beat for a live performance with an acoustic guitar.

Re: Accoustic Amp interference question

sweetmix4u wrote:

Going direct into the amp using a microphone to amplify the guitar is not the ideal situation for live application. I'd recommend getting an actual acoustic guitar pickup. While using high quality mic's are great for studio recording, live use is a completely different situation. by using a pickup, you'll have much greater control over all the amplifiers parameters like, gain before feedback, tone, volume and, with some higher quality pickup's, you'll actually enhance the natural resonating tone of the wood. simply put, combining a good amp and pickup is a hard combo to beat for a live performance with an acoustic guitar.

I don't know for sure if you were talking to me, but my guitar is an acoustic/electric with a built in pick up. The microphone is for my voice, not my guitar.