HT-Metal pedal & feedback noise

[charlie.olsen]

Hi there! I just purchased the HT-Metal distortion pedal some weeks ago. I have some simple questions and I would love if some guitar expert could help me to solve.

First of all, my specs... I have a Peavey Classic 30 tube amp (all JJ tubes, Eurotubes hard rock kit), a Gibson SG Standard and a Gibson Explorer and the HT-Metal pedal. I did one gig with the pedal and I'm very concerned about the noise feedback I'm having... I'm using the pedal on the clean channel of the amp.

Question 1) What's the best way do connect the pedal to the amp? Should I plug it in the input socket in front of the amp or should I plug it behind the amp, on the effects loop (send/return)? I am pluging it on the front input socket at the moment. But as I said, lots of noise feedback, it's almost impossible to handle it.

Question 2) What would be a good pedal setup for a live gig, with the amp at the volume 9, for example? It goes from 1 to 12. All the settings you suggest on your site have the pedal levels set to at least 12 o'clock and if I set my pedal like these I would get so much feedback I coudn't play.

My amp settings are: vol at 9, reverb at 2 and all the treble/middle/bass set to middle range (flat).

My pedal settings: the gain knobs to the max, the levels at 9 o'clock (how come?) and all the other knobs to the middle.

I wonder what I'm doing wrong, because I like the pedal sound, but didn't figure it out a way to cut the feedback. It's too noise the way I'm playing... almost impossible to play.

Thanks.

Charlie.

[PTF]

With huge gain comes huge potential for feedback! However, there are a few things you can do to reduce it.

First, levels. Set your amp up exactly as you would if you were playing with no pedals. Then, plug the pedal in (yes, to the front of the amp, where you'd usually plug your guitar). With the pedal off, turn the level knob to zero. Estimate the amount of gain you might want - realistically, it probably won't need to be more than about 9 o'clock. Now, turn on the pedal (everything will go silent) and turn up the level until you get as loud as you need to be. Ignore the suggested settings when it comes to level - they can't predict your amp's output so may be useless in your set up.

Now, if you're as loud as you need to be and you're getting feedback, try these steps.

1) move away from your amp. Feedback occurs when the output of your amplifier causes your strings to vibrate, causing a loop. The further you are from the amp, the less this happens.

2) angle away from your amp. Distance is one factor, but the angle of your guitar to your amp also plays a part. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you're getting feedback try turning your body 45 degrees left or right (or changing the position of your amp if you need to face your audience).

3) cut your mid control. Your guitar's signal operates mainly in the midrange. A 'bump' here can accentuate feedback, whilst cutting it slightly can decrease it.

4) cut your gain. There's a LOT of gain on that pedal! You can still sound pretty damned heavy even with the gain down a bit - especially with high output pickups.


One or more of those steps should fix your problem.

Let us know

PTF

[charlie.olsen]

Thank you very much for your fast and educational reply hehehe. I'll give it a shot!

I'll come back to share the results...

Best regards,

Charlie.

[charlie.olsen]

Hi there! Let me update this topic...

Let me tell you I've followed some tips from Jamie and from this forum... and on our last rehearsal I can say channel 1 is under control hehehe. I balanced the clean channel with the pedal off and got good results with the amp at vol 9 and the pedal gain at 1 o'clock and level at 11 o'clock! Great sound!

But channel 2 is like an out of control beast! hahahaha

I'm waiting for my noise gate pedal I just ordered (following Jamie's advice) and maybe that will help.

But what about the channel 2, which is filthier and dirtier? If I use the same settings than channel 1 it's almost impossible to handle it. But sure I'll mess a little more with its settings on the next rehearsal, tomorrow.

Any more tips, guys?

Charlie.

[IIN3RDYII]

Hey man..this might be a bit late but I recently have been experimenting a lot with it on my pedal board,midi and DI. Well dude channel 1 is nice and crunchy but the 2nd one you better put a noise gate and turn down the gay as much as you can. Its a very powerful tube driven pedal. I use it for practice through my kustom HFX100 (solid state cheap head) and it sounds phenomenal. It makes the amp sound like a nice ENGL or Artisan's series. Now when I hook it up through my Series 1 clean channel a lot of the gain from it needs to be turned down a lot. Its a very powerful pedal.

[IzzyJenz]

Hi guys, hope someone can help me sorting out my problem with the blackstar ht metal please!
I have a problem matching the volume level of the pedal with the amp clean signal. I plugged the pedal thru the amp's input. When the pedal is turned on, its distortion signal is much lower than the amp (clean) signal, let's say on the channel 1, I will have to turn the level knob of the pedal to 3 o'clock (75%) to match the amp signal level (the gain knob at around noon to 1 o'clock)! This might not be a problem at a bedroom level when practice alone but in the band situation, gig or rehearsal that needs to be loud, it makes feedback, I supposed as the pedal's volume level is too high, 3 o'clock isn't supposed to be, is it? So this has become a problem when playing a song that needs switching between the clean and distort signal causes by the difference of their level! On the channel 2, since it's more powerful.. I might not need to adjust the level that high to match the amp signal level but is still pretty high and as it's nature as the high gain channel, it's noisy.. Anyhow I always set the knob of channel 1 and 2 at the same setting as I use the channel for my solo (more gain and level)

So how much (o'clock) of the pedal's level setting is normal that's matched the signal of the amp that's engaged with? I guess my pedal has a faulty.. Also I asked your technician before, and without having a look at it, he suggest me trying to swap another tube in so I did but the problem hasn't gone.

[fontenotsean]

when you set your volume on your amp, then turn on the pedal and set your gain and eq the way you want it, and then set the volume for that channel. what you'll have to do is switch it while playing on and off to test the volume of the pedal in relation to the volume on your amp. the louder your amp is turned, the higher you have to go on the volume level on the pedal for it to be even or a little louder than the clean on the amp. don't know what to say about channel 2 or the red channel with noise, I have the same problem and tried getting answers from blackstar. the guy I was talking to was fired or is no longer there, and they never would answer me back. NOT A GOOD SIGN FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THAT DEPARTMENT!!!!

Yeah, squealing feedback even with the gain turned down lower than 12 o'clock. I tried changing the tube in it, and many scenarios such as getting far from the amp, etc.

I'd love an answer to that question myself and I've been playing semi-pro for years across the country using lots of different pro amps and other gear. If it's not resolved by them, I may discontinue use and let the world know about this kind of flaw without proper assistance from them. If anyone pays 250 just for a pedal, it shouldn't make unwanted untameable noises.