saltbath86
Joined: Aug 23, 2018
Posts: 5
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Posted on Aug 23 2018 08:15 PM
Hello All! This is my inaugural post on the forums, I know this isn't necessarily the standard type of post for this site, but I've found after years of lurking, ya'll are much more helpful and welcoming than any other forum out on the internets.
My question; anyone using a Belle Epoch (for slap-back or anything) have issues with excess noise? I'm wondering if the "color" the sought after preamp adds is not my cup of tea or if my unit is just defective. In true bypass mode I have no noise but the click when I turn it on is monstrous!
Is this just 60 cycle hum? Will running it at 18v help in any way? Am I just a baby who needs to accept the inevitable noise inherent in us all?
BTW, I'm running a Squire frankenstrat with a Bob Shade Trem and Fender hot noiseless pups into a late 90s Blues Jr. There are other pedals involved, I've tested them and they're not the issue but I'm happy to tell you all about them. Thanks for any and all help!
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Surfadelphia
Joined: Sep 04, 2017
Posts: 403
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Posted on Aug 23 2018 08:38 PM
As per Catalin Bread, the Belle Epoch was designed to be run at 18V. I have one and run it at 18V and the pedal is very quiet....pretty much dead quiet. I originally tried running the pedal at 9V and the pedal had much less headroom and produced a more "smeared" dirty tone. Also, when you run the pedal in "buffered" mode the pre-amp is essentially always on providing extra gain....couple that with the dirtier and less defined tones you get with 9V's and it's going to act sort of like a low gain drive. Some folks might even prefer that sound. I would suggest trying it at 18V in buffered mode and see what happens. When I switched to 18V it cleaned the tone up (much more articulate sounding) and opened up the tone of the pedal and delays. Also, the Epoch has a trim pot inside that you can adjust the gain. You shouldn't be getting much 60 Cycle Hum with the noiseless pu's unless you have a grounding problem or something.
Last edited: Aug 23, 2018 20:41:39
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saltbath86
Joined: Aug 23, 2018
Posts: 5
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Posted on Aug 23 2018 08:51 PM
Awesome! I'm all for a little dirt and I usually run it in buffered mode, I was just switching it up to see if I could properly diagnose the problem. I was hesitating to order an 18v adapter for my power supply but they seem to be pretty inexpensive, especially if that could fix the problem.
Have you ever had the issue of it oscillating regardless of where the Echo/sustain knob is set as the amp is warming up?
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Surfadelphia
Joined: Sep 04, 2017
Posts: 403
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Posted on Aug 24 2018 02:12 PM
Not that I can recall. It's been a solid unit for me. But in my experience, it really comes alive at 18V.
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2226
North Carolina
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Posted on Aug 24 2018 09:01 PM
Might be worth seeing if any of this rings true for you:
https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/27332/
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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saltbath86
Joined: Aug 23, 2018
Posts: 5
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Posted on Aug 26 2018 04:05 PM
It definitely rings true, thanks for sharing that. I mostly skimmed through all the posts so you might have already stated it but what'd you end up doing with your Belle Epoch? Was it defective? if so, did they repair it? I narrowed some excess noise to another faulty pedal but I definitely don't appreciate the amount of click noise when the Belle is in true bypass, it will remain in buffered mode from now on. I ordered a doubling cable for my power supply and am excited to hear how it sounds at 18v
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Fady
Joined: Mar 07, 2010
Posts: 2226
North Carolina
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Posted on Aug 26 2018 06:38 PM
I did end up sending it in for repair. I don't recall what they replaced but they did fix something with it (didn't just mail it back saying 'nope, tested fine here.'). Did seem a little better when I got it back, but the symptoms as I described in that other thread were still there. In my case it was what seemed like more white noise than it should have had. That was with only the mix knob being rolled up to around 10 or 11 o'clock (everything else rolled off/at 0).
— Fady
El Mirage @ ReverbNation
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saltbath86
Joined: Aug 23, 2018
Posts: 5
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Posted on Sep 08 2018 05:44 PM
So, after all of this, I narrowed down the noise to a different pedal that was repaired and everything sounds great. I ordered a voltage doubler cable from voodoo labs (y shaped on 1 end and red tip on the other) to run it at 18v and it doesn't work. I saw there was also a current doubler adapter cable also available. Did I get the wrong cable or is mine just shitty?
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Kuk
Joined: Feb 13, 2007
Posts: 132
NW Fla Gulf Coast
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Posted on Sep 08 2018 09:00 PM
Cool that you got that noise trouble taken care of!
The doubler cable with the red end is a polarity reversing adapter cable. I think you need P/N PPY, the non-reverse polarity doubler cable.
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psl
Joined: Apr 15, 2021
Posts: 1
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Posted on Apr 15 2021 05:40 PM
Sheesh! I guess nobody here has ever played through a real EP-3. That noise was always there in the output of the EP-3; I always thought it was tape noise, after all that piece of tape ran past the heads for hundreds of hours. . .
-=P=-
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