Darkglass Cab Sim Noise

[AndrewJamess]

I recently acquired a DG Vintage Ultra V2. One of the main reasons I got this pedal is because I always run direct at church and wanted to beef up my tone with a cab sim; however, I have been unable to actually use the cab sim because it has a constant “airy” noise when the cab sim is engaged. Just wondering if anyone has the same problems or if anyone knows of a solution.

First time posting.
Thank you

 

[jblock]

I've heard that noise in some of the demos on youtube. Is this through the 1/4" out or the DI? If it's the DI you can always try the ground switch.

In some of the other Darkglass threads this noise is brought up in relation to other Darkglass models with cab sim. Doug from Darkglass has some tips in those threads of how to reduce the noise through the Darkglass software application. Perhaps he will chime into this thread.

 

[AndrewJamess]

I've heard that noise in most of the demos on youtube. Is this through the 1/4" out or the DI? If it's the DI you can always try the ground switch.

In some of the other Darkglass threads this noise is brought up in relation to other Darkglass models with cab sim. Doug from Darkglass has some tips in those threads of how to reduce the noise through the Darkglass software application. Perhaps he will chime into this thread.

It is through the DI. I have tried the ground switch but it didn’t make enough difference for me to feel comfortable leaving the cab sim engaged during a service.
I will try to find Doug’s tips you mentioned.

 

[chadhargis]

I had the same issue and ended up returning it. Here's a clip I made where I enabled the cab sim and disabled it. You can clearly hear the hiss.

 

[bigsnack]

Is this something hardware based, power supply, or software based I wonder? It's a total deal breaker for a purchase if this isn't fixable.

 

[TricksteR]

I recently acquired a DG Vintage Ultra V2. One of the main reasons I got this pedal is because I always run direct at church and wanted to beef up my tone with a cab sim; however, I have been unable to actually use the cab sim because it has a constant “airy” noise when the cab sim is engaged. Just wondering if anyone has the same problems or if anyone knows of a solution.

First time posting.
Thank you

I just ordered a Darkglass Vintage Ultra V2 too, and one of the selling points for this specific unit, for me, is also the cab sim.

2min40 mark. You hear the demo without & with the cab sim. The hiss is substantial even during playing. This is not acceptable for a pedal that is top tier and at this price tag. The cab sim has to be dead quiet, it is meant to feed PA system & DAWs directly. I've seen other comments in this regard as well. I also messaged Darkglass tech support team in this regard. I'm a bit worried. Can @Darkglass chime in please? is this a hardware or software design issue? If software, there can be updates or tweaks, but if it is hardware I'll have settle for a deluxe and buy a cab simulator pedal separately. Thanks!

 

[Darkglass]

Hi guys!

Thank you for the tag and questions!

The main reason for the hiss in some demos/cases is the problematically wide dynamic range the pedal has to function within.

To optimize signal to noise ratio, the best practice is to have a signal that’s slightly below the codec’s headroom limit.

Signal levels in basses can vary a lot, so we must set things at levels that might be suboptimal noise-wise on quieter basses in order to avoid saturation on hotter ones.

Good news is that this is something that can be very easily improved using the free Darkglass Suite (Suite – Darkglass Electronics):

Simply connect the pedal to your computer, turn up the Cab Sim Level on the Suite, which might require slightly adjusting the pedal’s Master or Level control, and that’s it.

For recording scenarios, which is when optimal SNR is key, you can turn it up as high as you want as long as you don’t get a nasty saturation.

This way you can have the pedal’s signal level optionally set for your particular instrument.

Any questions don’t hesitate to let me know.

Doug.

 

[TricksteR]

Thanks Doug for the clarifications. Your input is much appreciated! Can't wait to receive the pedal

 

[bigsnack]

Thanks Doug!!! Fantastic description of what’s going on.

 

[rmrz]

Hi all,

I bought also a DG Vintage Ultra V2 hoping to use the cab sim, but I get the hiss as mentioned by others here and in other places. I tried the suggestions made by @Darkglass in his previous reply to this post but the hiss remains the same, to the point that I'm not using the cab sim anymore.

I have to say, for the price of this pedal, I was expecting far superior quality. I got it for little over a month now and used mostly for rehearsals and at home and already one of the foot switches got lose and started to work funnily, switching on and off unexpectedly. I have tighten the lose bolt already and it works again (I hope) but still, a 360+ euro pedal should be way better than this. Sadly, I'm out of the return period so I have to either use it or resell it and lose quite a bite of what I paid :-(

 

[sunbeast]

Hi all,

I bought also a DG Vintage Ultra V2 hoping to use the cab sim, but I get the hiss as mentioned by others here and in other places. I tried the suggestions made by @Darkglass in his previous reply to this post but the hiss remains the same, to the point that I'm not using the cab sim anymore.

I have to say, for the price of this pedal, I was expecting far superior quality. I got it for little over a month now and used mostly for rehearsals and at home and already one of the foot switches got lose and started to work funnily, switching on and off unexpectedly. I have tighten the lose bolt already and it works again (I hope) but still, a 360+ euro pedal should be way better than this. Sadly, I'm out of the return period so I have to either use it or resell it and lose quite a bite of what I paid :-(

So you went into the software and boosted the input level there? The hiss SHOULD stay the same level when you do this, but your bass signal should now be much louder in relation to it as you are effectively adjusting the signal to noise ratio (then you can adjust the overall output by turning the Master on the pedal down if the board can’t handle the output or if you are getting clipping distortion at the output). If turning up the software input level also boosts the hiss the problem isn’t the cab sim but something before the cab sim (bass, cables, pedals, power or the overdrive/preamp section of the DG pedal).

As far as the loosening nut on the footswitch, if it is tight and working you should be good- I believe these are actuator switches vs mechanical so you are just triggering an electrical switch which is far more reliable (when it is assembled tightly!) than a standard mechanical bypass that wears out over time.

 

[Darkglass]

Hi all,

I bought also a DG Vintage Ultra V2 hoping to use the cab sim, but I get the hiss as mentioned by others here and in other places. I tried the suggestions made by @Darkglass in his previous reply to this post but the hiss remains the same, to the point that I'm not using the cab sim anymore.

I have to say, for the price of this pedal, I was expecting far superior quality. I got it for little over a month now and used mostly for rehearsals and at home and already one of the foot switches got lose and started to work funnily, switching on and off unexpectedly. I have tighten the lose bolt already and it works again (I hope) but still, a 360+ euro pedal should be way better than this. Sadly, I'm out of the return period so I have to either use it or resell it and lose quite a bite of what I paid :-(

Hey man,

Sorry to hear about this issue.

Please contact our support team ([email protected]), they will help you optimize noise performance and sort out any other possible issue.

Kind regards,
Doug.

 

[rmrz]

Thanks @Darkglass and @sunbeast for your quick replies!

So you went into the software and boosted the input level there? The hiss SHOULD stay the same level when you do this, but your bass signal should now be much louder in relation to it as you are effectively adjusting the signal to noise ratio (then you can adjust the overall output by turning the Master on the pedal down if the board can’t handle the output or if you are getting clipping distortion at the output). If turning up the software input level also boosts the hiss the problem isn’t the cab sim but something before the cab sim (bass, cables, pedals, power or the overdrive/preamp section of the DG pedal).

It is clearly the cab sim. As soon as I turn it off, the hiss disappears. It happens exactly as you describe it. The level of the bass signal goes up, the hiss remains. The thing is that the hiss is still quite perceptible when I'm not playing. Of course it disappears while playing, but when there should be silence, you can still hear it through the PA, so I ended up turning it off, which kinda defeats the purpose of the cab sim.

As far as the loosening nut on the footswitch, if it is tight and working you should be good- I believe these are actuator switches vs mechanical so you are just triggering an electrical switch which is far more reliable (when it is assembled tightly!) than a standard mechanical bypass that wears out over time.

Yes, I've tighten the nut and it is fixed now. My point was rather, that this is a NEW, 360 EUR+ pedal. That nut shouldn't be getting lose after 4 or 5 rehearsal sessions. I notice that if it gets lose and the switch rotates around its axis more than say 60 or 70 degrees, it starts to work faulty, turning itself on and off unreliably. It is not really easy to tighten either, so if this happens while I'm playing live, I'm in quite a pickle as this nut is not really easy to tighten while avoiding axial rotation of the switch, and frankly, going back to my point, I don't want to be doing this on a pedal of such a high price point. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of it, it is really versatile and a great addition to my sound, but that makes these problems quite the bummer.

Cheers,

LEo

 

[Darkglass]

Thanks @Darkglass and @sunbeast for your quick replies!



It is clearly the cab sim. As soon as I turn it off, the hiss disappears. It happens exactly as you describe it. The level of the bass signal goes up, the hiss remains. The thing is that the hiss is still quite perceptible when I'm not playing. Of course it disappears while playing, but when there should be silence, you can still hear it through the PA, so I ended up turning it off, which kinda defeats the purpose of the cab sim.



Yes, I've tighten the nut and it is fixed now. My point was rather, that this is a NEW, 360 EUR+ pedal. That nut shouldn't be getting lose after 4 or 5 rehearsal sessions. I notice that if it gets lose and the switch rotates around its axis more than say 60 or 70 degrees, it starts to work faulty, turning itself on and off unreliably. It is not really easy to tighten either, so if this happens while I'm playing live, I'm in quite a pickle as this nut is not really easy to tighten while avoiding axial rotation of the switch, and frankly, going back to my point, I don't want to be doing this on a pedal of such a high price point. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of it, it is really versatile and a great addition to my sound, but that makes these problems quite the bummer.

Cheers,

LEo

Perfetly reasonable! I past this feedback to our production team so they can investigate what might have happened.

If you email us your serial number to support we can do a study of what happened and make sure the procedures are corrected to minimize the likelyhood of future issues.

Similarly, with the cab sim we can see if there are other things we can try to make sure you're getting the best noise-performance possible.

Kind regards,
D.

 

[rmrz]

If you email us your serial number to support we can do a study of what happened and make sure the procedures are corrected to minimize the likelyhood of future issues.

Thanks. I'll send you an email with the info.

 

[rmrz]

Just in case you have problems with the switch as I did, here is the (really prompt) reply I got from the nice guys at @Darkglass

Our switches have two parts, one is the actuator (the part that you press with the foot) and the internal tact switch.

The actuator has a spring that transfer the force from your foot into the internal tact switch, so it has enough force to activate it, but not too much to damage it. This spring has to have the right amount of force into the Tact switch.. If it's too high, it will not have enough force to activate it, if it is too low, it will keep the tact switch pressed and it will not work.
This is the actuator:
View attachment 3431577

When you turn it, the spring force may vary and cause unexpected behavior
Cheers!

So indeed, once you tighten it, it works really reliably. I'm happy again!

 

[soong]

Thanks @Darkglass and @sunbeast for your quick replies!



It is clearly the cab sim. As soon as I turn it off, the hiss disappears. It happens exactly as you describe it. The level of the bass signal goes up, the hiss remains. The thing is that the hiss is still quite perceptible when I'm not playing. Of course it disappears while playing, but when there should be silence, you can still hear it through the PA, so I ended up turning it off, which kinda defeats the purpose of the cab sim.



Yes, I've tighten the nut and it is fixed now. My point was rather, that this is a NEW, 360 EUR+ pedal. That nut shouldn't be getting lose after 4 or 5 rehearsal sessions. I notice that if it gets lose and the switch rotates around its axis more than say 60 or 70 degrees, it starts to work faulty, turning itself on and off unreliably. It is not really easy to tighten either, so if this happens while I'm playing live, I'm in quite a pickle as this nut is not really easy to tighten while avoiding axial rotation of the switch, and frankly, going back to my point, I don't want to be doing this on a pedal of such a high price point. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of it, it is really versatile and a great addition to my sound, but that makes these problems quite the bummer.

Cheers,

LEo

Is the cab sim noise sorted?

 

[rmrz]

It is reduced to a reasonable level, yes.

 

[soong]

It is reduced to a reasonable level, yes.

How did you end up solving it? You mentioned in your previous post that Doug's solution didn't work?

 

[rmrz]

I used the solution proposed by Doug. I reduced the hiss as much as possible and just live with what's left of it.