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

[limbop1]

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

Lim

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