Why do my boutique pedals + tele = radio?

[dnauhei]

It only happens with my Lovepedal Les Lius and my Hermida Reverb when used with my Tele. If I turn the volume pedal on the tele all the way down--now radio. Ok, that was obvious, I know. However, when I turn the volume pedal all the way up, the radio also goes alway (although only partially).

Other clues: some days are worse than others.

This does not occur with my LP with hummies.

Nor does it happen with my non-boutique pedals, ie, Ibanez tubescreamer, or Line6 Verbzilla.

What is going on? I sent the Lovepedal back to see if they could fix it, but they could not reproduce the problem.

Is the problem in the tele?

Thank you for you input!

dn

[Stratm69]

Replace the metal knobs on your Tele with Fender Blackface knobs, the plastic ones.

These knobs are prone to creating static hum and acting like an antenna. They could be the culprit that's picking up the radiowaves.

[dnauhei]

So why is this only a problem on the boutique pedals?

[dnauhei]

Anyone . . . . ?

[smurphy8]

Many boutique builders simply don't understand RF at all. They don't know where their products are susceptible to it. They don't know what measures must be produced to counter it. Boutique builders are often experts in tone, that is making the pedal sound the crispest and clearest it can possibly sound. But they usually don't know anything about EMC, or RF. If you look at a Boss or Ibanez schematic you will see parts all over the place designed just to block RF problems. Some builders address these concerns but most don't (aren't even engineers).

Some things you can do to solve RF problems:
1. try a different power supply
2. ask about rf bypass caps on the circuit and if they can be beefed a little
3. perhaps use a boss pedal as a buffer between your tele and your boutique pedals.

Good luck!