ISP Decimator G-String II

[Dave Sloven]

I'm assuming this pedal is very similar to the first version of the G-String.

I have one but it doesn't seem to be making much effect, even when put through the effects loop and the front end together as specified.  I am wondering if I am doing something wrong!

Should the pedal be very early in the chain - i.e., before the overdrive but after the tuner - or should it be after all the potential noise-producing things in the front-end (in my case this is limited to a Maxon OD-9 and an Electro Harmonix Metal Muff, besides the tuner of course)????

It's a very expensive piece of kit - cost me around $270 local currency, almost as much as a set of BKPs - so it's very important that it actually works!  Some people have raved about them, and I have seen them on youtube silencing a whole heap of pedals, but it doesn't seem to have much effect on mine.

All I can think of is that my signal chain is set up wrong or I have a defective pedal. I twiddle the knob around a lot but it generally sounds the same.

[megaup987]

I have the first version of the G-string.

I put the first thing in my effects chain (Guitar straight into Guitar In on the Decimator G-string), then from Guitar Out to all my effects, overdrive, ect, then to the amp. From amp Effects Loop Send I plug it into Dec In on the Decimator and then Dec Out to delays, reverbs, etc and finally to Effects Loop Return.

Basically what the pedal does is it tracks the guitar signal coming into Guitar In and sends it unaffected, though buffered out of Guitar Out. The actual noise reduction occurs between Dec In and Dec Out.

I hope this helps.

[Dave Sloven]

Thanks!  I'll give that a try.  Do you have a tuner?  I figured that would go in front, simply because it is always on true bypass when playing.  My tuner is a TC Electronics Polytune.  My only real effects at the moment are the overdrive and the distortion, both of which I mainly use as boosters, with the fuzz cut.

[megaup987]

I actually have a tuner after the pedal, but I really don't think it'll make a difference either way, especially if the tuner is off most of the time and is true bypass.

[Dave Sloven]

With the Polytune you can't play through it - it cuts the signal chain when it is engaged, so no signal would be going to the Decimator.  I will try the following:

GUITAR-->POLYTUNE-->G-STRING-->OD-9-->METAL MUFF-->PEAVEY 6534+-->G-STRING-->PEAVEY 6534+

 I don't have a wah as yet but if I get one I will place it after the G-String guitar out.  I guess delays and reverbs go between the G-String Dec Out and the Return in the loop

[Dave Sloven]

OK ... I tried it like that.  I still don't get a dramatic difference between off and on in terms of 'noise floor'.  What I do notice is that if I mute properly with my left hand the noise cuts right out in terms of anything arising from the signal chain. I still have a fizzy sound coming from the amp in lead channel and that drip drip noise has come back (in all channels, it's just louder in the lead channel) even though I have put a filter on the power outlet.  I am wondering if it is something to do with the tubes.

Here's a photo of the way I have the ISP connected now.



It is also said that one of the things that was improved with the 6534+ relative to the 6505+ was the noise gate, so maybe it was doing a half-decent job of that already?  Maybe the problems arise somewhere else?

[dave_mc]

i've got the bog standard decimator. it works well.

it might be worth image googling "boss ns2 x pattern"- i have an ns2 (which seems to be more similar to the g-string), and found it only really cut amp noise when run like that.

maybe you're already running it like that, though...

[JimmyMoorby]

Never had the g string but i always put the noise gate at the end of the chain so you get maximum noise reduction from your chain of fx.

[Dmoney]

There is no noise gate in a 6505+

That whole series of amps is noisy. The lead channel just has gain out the wazzoo.

When I had one, I ran an NS-2 as a gate in the FX loop of my 6505. It sounded terrible. The amp generated enough hiss to keep the gate just about open and all my notes decayed really weirdly. After that I just used it in front of the amp. It stopped instant feedback at loud volumes by cutting the guitar signal (and anything before it) going into the amp, including low level hiss from pedals, but that is all. I did have friends that ran it in the X-pattern thing but I could never get that to work for me either.

In my experience, pedals generate a bit of hiss, but usually only in a bad way if you're running them from a poor AC adapter. I doubt the decimator is acting as much of a filter, and more as a gate. The noise coring circuit in peavey amps pop in what was the XXX and the JSX, but not in the 5150 style amps as far as I know. They might have one in the EL34 thing you have though.

I find the hiss in those amps really annoying. That said, a lot of people love those amps. I have a 5150 II on my table here that I'm repairing for a friend, and it's making me want to buy one.
 

[Dave Sloven]

I had another try with the ISP pedal.  I think at least one time I had forgotten to turn the effects loop on, that explains a lot!  I then had trouble (some static noise) with the tuner in front of the Decimator, so I swapped them. I then had a lot of success with it, and it was definitely working, but then I got this other horrible noise coming through when I first touched the strings, kind of like a bad earth.  I thought something was wrong with my cabinet for a moment, but then I switched off the effects loop (thus cutting out the Decimator) and it went back to normal.  I also experienced a volume drop when this problem occurred.  I'm thinking it's either something to do with the loop circuit in the amp, something in the Decimator (unlikely), or something to do with the routing of the cables (it improved when I moved cables around, they might be touching one another here and there).  I think part of the problem might be the patch cables, which seem less substantial than the main cables I am using.

Anyway here's the set-up that worked:

[dingleberry]

TLDR

afaik ISP recommends using their products at the end of a gain pedal chain

http://www.isptechnologies.com/manuals/Decimator%20II%20G%20String%20Manual.pdf


You should go guitar > tuner > od9 > muff > decimator > amp input > amp send > decimator loop > time based effects (for future reference) > amp return

[Dave Sloven]

Thanks.  I'll try that.  I seem to be reading all kinds of set-ups online.  I know that's what ISP recommend but the first time I tried it something must have been wrong.  I'm a bit concerned that it reacted badly to just the tuner in front of it ...

[megaup987]

TLDR

afaik ISP recommends using their products at the end of a gain pedal chain

http://www.isptechnologies.com/manuals/Decimator%20II%20G%20String%20Manual.pdf


You should go guitar > tuner > od9 > muff > decimator > amp input > amp send > decimator loop > time based effects (for future reference) > amp return

I apologize, but I have to disagree. Here's what the manual says:
The Decimator II G String has 4 ¼ inch jacks. Connect the guitar directly to the Guitar IN. Connect the Guitar OUT to the input of the amplifier. Connect the DEC IN to the loop send and DEC OUT to the loop return. For best performance place all gain pedals in front of the amplifier and DEC IN. You can put Delay and Reverb effects pedals after the Decimator II G String and before the loop return to avoid cutting off reverb and delay tails.

So muff and OD should go in the loop of the decimator.

I'm a bit concerned that it reacted badly to just the tuner in front of it ...

There's really no harm in putting the tuner in the loop of the Decimator, before Muff and OD, of course. So maybe taking the tuner out of equation altogether will help troubleshoot.
To troubleshoot the pedal you can go: Guitar - Decimator Guitar In - Amp In - Amp Loop Send - Decimator Dec In - Decimator Dec Out - Amp Loop Return. Have your Decimator OFF and with threshold all the way to -70, amp gain petty high, roll your guitar volume all the way up, mute the strings but do not play anything and listen to the noise. Now turn the Decimator ON and start turning the threshold up until the noise floor is gone. Now play a couple of staccato notes to see how fast the gate is closing and raise the threshold up a little more.  You should not hear any noise anymore. If all is fine, then the pedal works fine.
Now try adding Muff and OD in front of the amp. If all is well, add the tuner just before your first drive pedal and assess how well the tuner works when Decimator is on.

[bucketshred]

When I used to play in a shouty metal band I used a high gain blackstar pedal and an NS-2 for all the tight syncopation. I ran my rig liiiiiiiike...

Guitar - tuner - overdrive - noise gate - phaser pedal - amp

And that's also how I've seen a lot of other guys run it too!

Paddy

[Dave Sloven]

It seems  to work the same either way.

I think I have an issue with earthing/interference either in the guitar, the loop circuit, or the cables.  The problem is only there when the loop is engaged and the ISP pedal is on.  It seems to have an effect when you touch the strings.  I am wondering if it is something to do with the cables all touching each other on the right side of the pedal.  If one of the cables is conducting through to the others intermittently that might explain the volume drop and boomp boomp noise when you touch the strings?

I still have that drip drip noise in the Peavey too.  It's just about driving me to drink.  I'm wondering if all of this could be somehow a bad tube.  Maybe it is to do with the bias?  I might ask someone to look at it