Is my Ring Mod malfunctioning?

[mhuxtable]

Hey guys...long time lurker. Big Moog fan.

I noticed my Ring Mod making a weird sound...

At low volumes (like at the end of the decay of a note, or just the volume rolled back on the guitar...which is a Moog E1) there is a static like noise coming from the ring mod. It sounds much like what your guitar sounds like when you turn a tube guitar amp off and keep playing (for those of you with tube amps).

Is this just an inherent sound due to the fact that there is no output volume on the Ring Mod (why is that anyway?) it makes this sound whether I'm making ring mod sounds or trem type sounds.

[jeepo]

Does the noise decay too soon after? Sometimes when using my ringmod I experience a similar event, where a ringmoddy sound will continue for a short period of time after I stop playing a note.

[mhuxtable]

I got an answer on another forum....for those who'd like to know:

This is from the Moog website (should've checked I know )
I have an MF-102 ring modulator. I can hear the carrier frequency in the background. Is this normal?

Yes. Some amount of carrier bleed-through is inevitable in a ring modulator. There is a squelch circuit that minimizes the amount of bleed-through, and squelches the carrier when there is no signal. By feeding the MF-102 as hot a signal as possible (making sure the drive light is in the yellow range), the bleed-through can be made less noticeable.

I have an MF-102 ring modulator. When I play quietly, the notes cut off before they die out completely. Is this normal?

Yes. The MF-102 has a squelch circuit that minimizes the bleed through of the carrier oscillator. As the squelch circuit kicks in, it can audibly effect the decay of the note. This can be minimized by

[Just Me]

It is carrier bleed and normal. Some will be more apparent than others due to the components match. Some ring mods have a VCA to gate the noise at a predetermined level to mask that bleed. I don't know if the Moog one does.