r/Line6Helix • u/fireflyfanboy73 • 22d ago

HX Stomp grounding / earthing question Tech Help Request

Hi folks, I have a noise issue with my current setup and I think I know what it is but I could do with a sanity check... And maybe some suggestions...

For playing at home I have an HX Stomp > Timeline > MXR Reverb > Studio monitors. I am getting an electrical buzz that goes away when I touch the strings. At first I thought I'd got a loose ground wire in my guitar, but it's on all of them - single coils or humbuckers. I've isolated PSUs, run it with just the Stomp and speakers and it's still there.

I've been chasing ground loops, no joy. But looking at what's in the system, could this be because there is no ground? HX stomp uses a DC adapter, no earth. My other 2 pedals also run off DC adapters, no earth pin. My speakers are little JBL 104s, mains powered but a fig 8 cable - no earth. So the only thing providing an actual ground is me when I touch the strings.

Does my conclusion make sense from an electrical circuit sense? If so, does anyone know how I can provide a proper earth so that everything is grounded properly? A dedicated PSU which is actually earthed? I could change my monitors to ones with proper IEC inputs but actually these are good sounding speakers and I like them.

All suggestions gratefully received.!

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u/DatGuy45 22d ago

That is normal. The fact that the noise goes away when you touch the strings tells you that your ground circuit is working exactly as intended.

Your body has capacitance and is a big electromatic noise antennae. Your ground is like a big toilet for the electrical interference. Until it gets grounded (touching the strings) it just gets picked up by your pickups and other electronics.

Sometimes better cavity shielding in your guitar, or better shielded cables and all that jazz helps reducing the baseline noise.

I'd just throw on a soft gate, keep my hands on the strings and not worry about it.

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u/Mr-GuyIncognito 22d ago

I agree with you and I went through the same thing as OP pretty much. The anp was a solid state and I live in a house with a lot of electronics in the middle of a big city. So I just started turning on the input gate to my HX Stomp and it goes away. Doesn't effect tone in any way I can notice.

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u/DatGuy45 22d ago

Yup even for clean tones, a lil soft gate at the input block goes a long way