H9 and HX Stomp

[Limeuel]

I have placed the H9 in the effects loop of my Stomp. It works great except for one thing. When the H9 is bypassed, there are several notes on the fretboard that get a digital artifact that sounds like a muted buzz. When I turn off the the effects loop in the Stomp chain it sounds fine. Anybody else experienced this? I’m using a Strat.

[joecozzi]

Hi Limeuel,

What bypass mode do you have the H9 set to? Also, what kind of signal level do you have the outputs of the HX Stomp’s loops set to? Are you sending signal to the H9 in mono or stereo, and are you sure you’re using the right signal path on the HX?

Just so I understand you clearly, you’re saying this “muted buzz” happens only on certain notes on the guitar? Have you tried putting another effect in place of the H9 to see if the same thing happens when you bypass that other effect?

[Limeuel]

I will have to check which bypass mode is selected. This occurs only when I click the switch off on the H9. When I click it back on everything works fine.

All the outputs and inputs are set to instrument level. The signal is mono in and out. I have used other pedals (overdrives, delays, reverb, etc.) without any problems.

I have a feeling that the internal bypass setting might be the culprit. I will fiddle with it and report back. Thanks for your quick reply.

Lim

[joecozzi]

I have had challenges with HX Stomp’s effects loops in the past. In fact, it had to do with level mismatches. You can see people complain about it in their forums. Check out this reply I got when I contacted their support back in 2021 about it. Maybe making these adjustments might help you. Switching the effects loop to line level for H9 worked well for me as well as adjusting the FX send and return levels. Everything sounds great!

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[Limeuel]

Hi Joe,

I tried everything mentioned above and still got the buzz in the DSP & DSP+FX bypass modes. I didn’t get it when I went to Relay bypass, but it colored my sound which is weird because it is supposed to be true bypass. Here is another crazy thing. The buzz only happens when I play a C note in different places on the fretboard. It doesn’t happen with every C note just in certain places. Go figure.

[joecozzi]

This is highly unusual, especially the part about the specific notes. Can you try plugging in directly to your H9? Do you notice any problems in isolation? Take everything out of your chain except the H9. What do you notice?

[Limeuel]

In isolation there are no issues. I’ve swapped out tested cables and it still persists. I turned it off and back on and now it is making the same buzzing on various C notes when activated and bypassed. Crazy stuff.

[joecozzi]

If in isolation the H9 works as intended, it leads me to believe the problem lies with the Stomp. Have you tried starting a preset from scratch? I would simply create a signal flow with out amps or effects that engages the loop. Make sure all global EQ’s and dynamics are turned off.

[Limeuel]

I rebuilt one of the preset that was creating the buzz and it is gone.  Everything sounds great. No sure what caused it, but I’m sure it was user error at work. Thanks so much, Joe for taking the time to help me work through this. Best wishes!!

Lim

[joecozzi]

Best of luck to you, my friend. I love my HX Stomp/H9 combo. Glad you sorted it out.

[limbop1]

Problem Update

Hi Joe,

I discovered that the buzz was tied in to the mix level on the HX Stomp. Whenever I adjusted the mix on the problem presets, the buzz went away. Go figure. Thanks again for all your patience and help!

Lim

[rbbrnck]

…i do, too, run H90 through the FX Loop of one HX Stomp – and while in my current setup i have not experienced an issue similar to what you describe with it, i have it clear as sunlight that the same artifact is happening in my kit with my (pair of) TC Electronics Ditto X2 looper(s) are plugged, series, into the FX Loop of a second HX Stomp – when its Mix control isn’t set to 100.

i have figured this issue as the result of a phase problem (for the techies among us, read my lips here, please: i deliberately wrote phase, not polarity) that stems from each device’s own latency, in my case.

even if my 2 loopers do not have a (proper) dry/wet control (only a playback gain pot), the artifact you’re describing matches my experience in full.

i could trigger the same result (as a proof that my rumination had purchase) by summing two different signal paths after a really modicum amount of delay (~0.2ms, if i’m not tricked by my exhausted memory) was added to only one of them… exact figure might differ from my recollection, and i apologize for this in advance, but it is that small amount of time addition that creates a partial cancellation of multiple specific frequencies – comb filter describes it quite effectively, within the perimeter of my limited vocabulary.

it explains, to me, how wisely Eventide have chosen to add a delay control onto the H90 Insert Routing path: had my own two HX Stomp had such feature within their FX Loop, i would have had proof of my theory in a few second’s time (instead of weeks of mumbling).

bottom line is, i have a table full of digital stompboxes, which i daisy-chain in really long sequences for my sound design practice, each of which requires (beside the time that its internal processing takes) also the time needed for Analogue-to-Digital conversion, and that for Digital-to-Analogue, too… latency, simply said, comes from the sum of these processes.

i’m aware of veering to a most extreme approach in my signal chain vision, but that’s why i’ve been longing for AES/EBU digital-in/out-only FX pedals for years (though i know all too well that they won’t ever exist, in stompbox format).

[limbop1]

I should clarify that the mix was for the effects loop.

Lim

[andhy]

hi Lim,

I am new to this and have  a couple H9 and an HX stomp XL. Can you please explain your signal path? Also if possible how you setup the level settings, including the FX send return. I want to use an H9 in the HX stomp loop as well.

Thank you,

andy

 

[rbbrnck]

…my H90 lives and sings within my HX Stomp (not XL) FX Loop merrily – i’ve set all levels to Line (there’s other stuff in front of the HX Stomp input) on both HX Stomp and H90, and keep the Mix control of FX Loop at 50%, which suits my signal chain logic, being that H90 to me mostly serves FX that could be run “as an aux send” off a mixing console.

i can of course alter the Mix amount without great concerns, keeping as i do within time-based FX that don’t call for full-through processing, also because HX Stomps on my pedalboard are physically closer to my right hand, for tweaking knobs while my left one hammers on strings…

i keep a drawer of Lehle transformer boxes within reach at all times, shall the spooky ground loop lurk from dark alley and bite my audio feeds… but neither has the H90-as-FX-Loop to the HX Stomp needed, nor the two Strymon Timeline(s) that are daisy-chained within the H90 stereo insert FX Loop… i was afraid to run onto hum mayhem, hence the shield and sword of Lehle’s remedy, but there was not a single issue that spoiled my sonic exploration so far (and it’s in a dead-silent studio room, not a loud stage in a noisy club or venue at which artifacts may easily get away un-noticed).

[andhy]

Greatly appreciated the kind reply and details!

 

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