how to fix loud popping on guitar pedals?

[booker]

I looked through all the DIY posts and didn't find this so here goes and i guess it's not difficult:

how do I solve the loud 'popping' when i push the button on my guitar pedals? BTW: the units are relatively new as well. A Fulltone Supatrem just started in on me and the DOD A/B box has ALWAYS been noisy. Impoossible to use in session but the Fulltone is important.

I've blown out the dust inside with some compressed air but that didn't seem to help.

thanks,

[AstroDan]

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/box_pop.htm

This may explain a little. I imagine one of the many good pedal gurus out there would be able to fix this.

I'm surprised your Fulltone is doing this...

[suppositron]

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/box_pop.htm

This may explain a little. I imagine one of the many good pedal gurus out there would be able to fix this.

I'm surprised your Fulltone is doing this...

Nice, dude. I have this old Square Wave pedal my dad gave me that pops. I figured it was a noisy switch but I'll have to open it back up and check for those pull-down resistors. Or replace the switch.

[lyman]

Can popping be a byproduct of passive true-bypass switching?

[suppositron]

Can popping be a byproduct of passive true-bypass switching?

Yeah, I believe that was reason #3 in that article. Switches can bounce and generate noise all on their own.

[AstroDan]

Can popping be a byproduct of passive true-bypass switching?

I would say no, or at least not exclusively; I have a Memory Man w/ passive true bybass that is silent and a black Russian Big Muff (non TBP) that is unusable live because of the pop.

[suppositron]

Can popping be a byproduct of passive true-bypass switching?

I would say no, or at least not exclusively; I have a Memory Man w/ passive true bybass that is silent and a black Russian Big Muff (non TBP) that is unusable live because of the pop.

True, not exclusively, but it can be as AstroDan asked.

[UnlikeKurt]

Depending on the current draw of your LED, when you step on the switch the instantaneous added draw to the LED can cause the pop.

[anticpunk]

I've built a bunch of pedals, some with pulldowns and some without, all mechanically true bypassed, and i've found that the pop has a lot to do with the switch itself and not so much the topology or implementation of the circuit.

Been along time since I read the geofex articles, but the pop is a build up of static electricity likely caused by the mechanical actuation of the "stomp" switch. The 1m pulldown resistor gives the static a path to discharge rather than entering the pedal circuitry. The input cap blocks DC but if its an older pedal and the cap is electrolytic, replace that too as precaution though it's not likely the cure for the pop by itself, really would depend.

Clean or replace your switch, check for and add the pulldown resistor and you should be fine from there.

If that doesn't do it, you could implement FET switching, switching using a 4066 Quad Bilateral chip, a MosFET controlled rellay, or the bypass system that Geofex outlines.

-Jay

[Andy Peters]

Been along time since I read the geofex articles, but the pop is a build up of static electricity likely caused by the mechanical actuation of the "stomp" switch. The 1m pulldown resistor gives the static a path to discharge rather than entering the pedal circuitry. The input cap blocks DC but if its an older pedal and the cap is electrolytic, replace that too as precaution though it's not likely the cure for the pop by itself, really would depend.

No, the problem is not static electricity. The Geofex article nails it.

The resistor will discharge any static when you plug in your guitar, but that's really not why it's there.

-a