Keeley Bassist causing bg noise *SOLVED*

Gear
#1

I bought a Keeley Bassist compressor pedal. On Ebay, because I’m an incredibly smart saver. No, probably more of an idiot.

The Keeley looks brand new and the compression works very well.
But the device has … let’s say … an anomaly.

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PROBLEM SOLVED - SEE BELOW
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With active compression and muted strings, there is an occasional scratchy, humming background noise.
Not very loud, just loud enough to annoy me. The position of the dials do not matter. No noise or malfunction as long as I play or when the compressor is on bypass. The noise comes and goes apparently randomly.

It’s definitely not related to the dials or the selected compression rate. Bass, cables and all other hardware is in perfect condition.
Anyone with the same problem?

What ya think? File a complaint and return it or keep it. Suggestions are welcome!

1 Like
I am SO frustrated right now
#2

This would be a great question for @T_dub but I don’t know how long he’ll be out of commission.

He has owned quite a few compressors including a Keeley.

From what I’ve read the Keeley is supposed to be very quiet.

I just remembered. @JoshFossgreen has a Keeley Bassist. Maybe he can comment.

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#3

Sounds to me like it’s amplifying noise that was already there. If you plug your bass into the amp and then turn the amp way up, can you hear similar noise?

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#4

No! No noise with the Keeley disconnected or in bypass mode

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#5

Interesting, yeah, sounds like something with the compressor then.

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#6

How do you power it?

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#7

good point, ground loop or ground leakage could do this.

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#8

Tried both, power supply and battery. Same thing.

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#9

Right! That was my first thought too. But a faulty circuit would cause a steady malfunction or repeat the problem with identical conditions.
The noise comes just once in a while, stays for five, ten, fifteen seconds, than disappears for minutes or hours.

Power - Checked with battery and known good pwr supply
Cables - Checked (replaced for t/s)
Ground - Checked, no resistance
Amp - Checked (same behaviour with different amps)
Bass - Checked (same behaviour with different basses)
Heat failure - time of use has no effect (the Keeley needs just 15 mA and is not getting hot anyway)
electromagnetic radiation: switched off all electric devices within 15 ft, except the amp of course

I am running out of ideas… Been hoping someone might have had the same problem with a Keeley or another compressor…

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#10

This might indicate an internal issue, like a wire losing contact, a bad/faulty solder spot, or any other connection slowly coming loose (perhaps dependent on operating temperature as components expand). As this all might be beyond what you can expect to fix easily, I would return the item (if at all possible).

Good luck!

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#11

My compressors have always been pretty quiet unless I really turned up the makeup gain or output level. At some point it is going to compress the very light signals a lot louder, but that should be strongly affected by the settings on the compressor.

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#12

I’ve got the same experience. Some compressors are a bit more noisy but not at the point that it is annoying.

If the noise is random I think something is wrong with the device too as @joergkutter pointed out.

You could try a different spot in your house and connect to a different outlet to find out if that makes any difference. For example one of my amps is silent in the kitchen but in the living room (where my electricity has no grounding) has a lot more static noise.

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#13

Did that include your phone? I discovered, much to my chagrin, that placing my phone near the amp cable caused a crackle/pulse.

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#14

One other thing: are you ONLY using the compressor or is it in a chain with other pedals? Depending on what they are and especially how you power them, one of those (or their power supplies) could be the culprit also.

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#15

NO!!! :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:
You hit it, mate! It’s been the d*** mobile.
Switched it to flight mode when the noise occurred and the noise was gone.
Till now the mobile never was a problem, it’s always in the front pocket of my jeans. But somehow it bothers the Keeley…
I am sooo stupid!
Thank y’all for your help!

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#16

:man_facepalming:
:grin: :joy:

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#17

The Keely is as quiet as a compressor can be, plus it is so easy to dial in a sweet spot. All compressors introduce a tiny bit of noise, but I completely eliminate it with a noise gate.

I am not at home, And Have not played they it in a little bit, but when I get hole later this week or next, Zi would be happy to testify.

It is one of my favorite minimal knob compressors with 3. I tend to like 4-8 of them, but the keely works in every way with that it has

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#18

No idea what’s going on there! I’ve used my Bassist at gigs a lot and never had any issue, noise or otherwise. Sounds like a faulty unit, I’d try to get some support from the seller.

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#19

I love threads like this. It’s a mystery and we have to find out “who done it”!

The phone! The phone did it again!

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#20

image

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