Noisy mf 101, possibly grounding?

sofab0y · Post by **sofab0y** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 12:16 am

Hello everyone. I have had a bit of bad luck with the MF 101. I had one previously that was very noisy, and ended up getting a new one that is less noisy but still not great. I have run sound for other bass players using these and not got the same sound mine has.

I found a post on this forum from awhile ago reccomending shielding the wooden sides on the inside to create a contact between the metal top and bottom.

Does anyone know anything about this, or perhaps someone I can talk to at moog?

The sound is always present in the background, though the effect of the lowpassfilter works fine still. The unit creates the sound even when nothing is plugged into the audio input. This makes me think that it is a grounding issue as it is unaffected by anything. It is still the same if the effect is bypassed.

thanks for any thoughts

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:42 pm

Hi there

What kind of noise are we talking about here? Ground-loopy 60-cycle hum or washy white noise?

My first suggestion would be to check the power adapter; is it the original? Does the problem change with where you plug it into? Or at different locations?

And make sure your cables are of good quality and not too long.

If there is lots of RFI (radio interference) in your area you could try shielding the wooden sides by taping them with alumin(i)um foil. The panel and bottom plates are electrically connected already; you should notice the paint is scraped off one of the screw threads. When the bottom plate is screwed on, the screw completes the circuit.

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:39 pm

Are you going into a mixer ? Whereis the output of the 101 set ? If all the way up back off a bit. How about the input trims if you have them. Sorry of you checked all that

.

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:28 pm

(there's no output level setting for the 101 (and 102)).

If the input's distorting, that's an easy fix.

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:42 am

latigid on wrote:(there's no output level setting for the 101 (and 102)).

If the input's distorting, that's an easy fix.

I know that, forgot for a second

sofab0y · Post by **sofab0y** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:08 am

I guess the best description of the sound would be that its similar to when you have on a high gain distortion pedal on a guitar, and there is that sound in the background if you aren't playing.

I have tried plugging it in different places and the noise is generally the same. The sound of the bass is louder than the noise, but it is definitley always audible behind it.

The noise is still there even if the gain and all knobs are set to 0. So even if it is passing no signal through it it is still there. It remains about the same until the gain hits around 3:00 or 4:00 and then gets louder.

The power supply is the original that came with it. Although I do remember when i first got it it didn't quite sit right when in the moogerfooger and would sometimes move slightly turning the whole unit on and off quickly. This didn't create the sound but it did used to happen.

Curiously, when the mix knob is between 11 and 1 it is slightly quieter, but everywhere else it is the same. So even with the mix at completely off, it is louder then with the mix knob at 12:00. Also, the sound is the same when the unit is engaged and disengaged.

Tommorow I will make some recordings of this with clean comparisons. Maybe this will help to diagnose?

thanks

sofab0y · Post by **sofab0y** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:09 am

No I'm not going into a mixer, just straight bass to mf 101 to amp. I was using it originally with other pedals but the sound is always the same even if Im using it with other stuff. So there no gain knob set too high somewhere.

Is that the input trim your referring to? There isn't one inside the mf 101 is there?

latigid on · Post by **latigid on** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:28 am

Hey, put some samples up if you like. Are you sure it's not your cables? My MF-101 certainly isn't noisy, and you'd be very unlucky to get two that do it. Try emailing Amos; you can do it through the moog website.

I think Brian is talking about the Drive knob which sets the input level.

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:18 am

Is that the input trim your referring to? There isn't one inside the mf 101 is there?[/quote]

No. The input trim would be on an audio mixer. Some of the "lower cost" ones don't have trims though.

bunnyman · Post by **bunnyman** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:06 pm

My 101 is pretty noisy, too (Big Briar model). I find it really helps if you put the hottest signal you can into it. It LOVES direct output from VCOs, but I really need to crank the input for my bass guitars. I get a good result from the FX chain on my Hughes & Kettner BassBase 400 (don't engage the pad, though). Strangely enough, the equation seems to be: hotter input for less noise. Overdrive that sucker!

-andrew bunny

xgsjx · Post by **xgsjx** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:21 am

Hi,

Did you get anywhere with this?

My 101 makes a buzzy hum & think it might be the same problem you're having. I'm also considering doing that mod for shielding the sides so I'm interested to see how you get on.

I tried a few different adaptors & different cables but to no joy, the only thing I found is that the Godlyke power all makes a squeal in the background from the 101.

If I find a solution before you then I'll pop it on here.

G

sofab0y · Post by **sofab0y** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:30 am

no i still have not solved this problem. I would really love to...I love what this unit does, its just not worked for me 2 out of 2 times and its frustrating because Ive seen other people use them with no issues.