Strange "ticking" in my pedal board

[Bcoz84]

Ok, this is an odd issue and I have no idea where to start to fix it.
At the moment I have the most complicated setup I have ever used, which really isn't saying much, I've always been a "guitar, wah, tuner, amp" guy but my latest band has forced me to expand as well as go to using a single channel amp and pedals for my overdrive. Starting a week or so ago my set up which hasn't given me any trouble started "ticking" lightly in the background when I'm not playing and the tuner is off. Everything will be at bypass and you'll still hear it, kick on my MXR Wylde overdrive and it gets a ton louder, I'm guessing that's the pedal, how do I fix this... My signal goes:
Guitar>crybaby>modtone space flange>MXR Wylde OD> Mad Professor Golden Cello>Boss Chorus> TC Electronic Flashback>TC electronic polytune>amp
I know it's not overly complicated but the whole "tick" is becoming an issue. I power it all with a 1spot, please let me know if you have any ideas on getting rid of the tick I already put in all new cables so that can't be the issue and it seems to center around the MXR, suggestions?

 

[misa]

My guess is one of the rate dependent pedals (flange, chorus, flashback) is the source of the tick and the MXR OD is simply amplifying it. Having them all running off of a 1spot may also be part of the problem.

I would go through and unplug the 1spot from a pedal, one at a time, to see if that helps identify the culprit. More thorough would be to disconnect a pedal from both power and signal one at a time.

You may end up having to power the culprit on its own power source, use an isolated power supply, or find a substitute that won't cause the ticking. If you weren't having any problems before, maybe one of the pedals has just gotten wonky and requires repair.

 

[Vishnu]

one of your pedals obviously has Tourette's

 

[dwolfggc]

It's the 1spot. The overdrive is just making the sound louder (that's what overdrives do) not causing it. I've had that same sound when I plug two digital pedals into a one spot, so I'm guessing it has something to do with the flashback. Put that on its own power supply and see if the noise goes away.

Edit:
Misa beat me to it

 

[Carpalstunna]

sounds like a bomb.

 

[Vishnu]

sounds like a bomb.

....by BARBER

 

[roknfnrol]

I have the same tick and I use an Echo Park with a One Spot. Try it without the Flashback.

 

[ldizzle]

My guess is one of the rate dependent pedals (flange, chorus, flashback) is the source of the tick and the MXR OD is simply amplifying it. Having them all running off of a 1spot may also be part of the problem.

I would go through and unplug the 1spot from a pedal, one at a time, to see if that helps identify the culprit. More thorough would be to disconnect a pedal from both power and signal one at a time.

You may end up having to power the culprit on its own power source, use an isolated power supply, or find a substitute that won't cause the ticking. If you weren't having any problems before, maybe one of the pedals has just gotten wonky and requires repair.

my delays used to do this before getting clean power. it's quite obnoxous no doubt! iso 5? ppII+? yessir.

 

[TheoDog]

I had some clock bleed from a TC Nova delay when using a Morning Glory with a Pedal Power 2. my point being It MIGHT NOT be the 1 spot. Some pedals just don't play nice.
Try a battery in the drive and see what changes. Then maybe add batteries to each other pedal until it stops, then you know the real culprit... Maybe.

 

[Trad]

If it's clock noise, as others have already suspected, the OD -> louder symptom points to the space flange. Isolated power may help, at least it did so with my Ekko 616, which didn't like even any two-pedal daisy chain I tried. But it didn't help with my Small Stone Nano, which needs to be instead either after a buffer or touched (i.e. the casing grounded a bit better somehow) for the ticking to go away. No idea how it's with your pedal.

 

[Bcoz84]

I'm going to go get an independent power supply and try it with the delay and the flanger and see if it fixes the problem with either of those. Just put the delay back in the chain after having it out for a while so that may have thrown a wrench into it since I changed the order of my pedals

 

[tonyhay]

I'd suspect the Flashback, particularly if the clicking is in time with the delay repeats. If that's it, the problem can be caused by power, i.e. inadequate ma's and lack of isolation. A higher quality power supply would cure it.

 

[frankie5fingers]

Have you disconnected all the pedals, putting them back one by one, to see where the ticking is introduced?

 

[Bcoz84]

Not yet, but I do know it wasn't ticking when the Flashback wasn't there and now it is, the only other thing that changed was I went from a cheaper Flange to the Modtone, so it has to be one of the two, it also wasn't ticking before the modtone was introduced, so that narrows it down to two in my book. But tomorrow I am planning on going through them one by one just to make sure I didn't miss something

 

[jb4674]

Typically, delays and digital effects don't like to share power together. You also should revise your chain and set it up this way:

Guitar>crybaby>MXR Wylde OD> Mad Professor Golden Cello>modtone space flange>Boss Chorus> TC Electronic Flashback>TC electronic polytune>amp

If your amp has an effects loop, put your modulations and delay in there.

Lastly, invest in a good PSU to power all your pedals (Cioks DC-10)

 

[frankie5fingers]

Well there you have it. Disconnect them all, one by one put them back using whatever you use to power them. It'll be clear in short order where the ticking is coming from. That said, like the others, I'm also sure that you'll find the delay is the source, but it ain't necessarily so. You mention new cables. They should be checked as well. Cables aren't always a red/green situation. They can be faulty but still pass signal. Back to the delay. In all liklihood the delay isn't mating well with your power supply. This is often overlooked but as your board grows, so do your power needs. One fuzz box or a TS or a Rangemaster, there's really no need for a sophisticated power supply, but when you have a chain of pedals, all asking for different amounts of power, all using the same "lifeline" of current, you're asking for trouble. Isolated outputs - it's hard to find a reason not to want them, especially when you're talking noise. Regulated supply, again, tough to come up with a reason not to. That is the most likely cause of your troubles, based on what you've posted. Oh, and put the flanger after the dirt.

 

[Glitch Magnet]

As already stated, any good multi-output power supply WITH ISOLATED OUTPUTS should resolve this. The noise is likely coming from any of those pedals that have a clock in them, but it's not necessarily the pedal's fault (although one could argue the manufacturer should do a better job of isolating the internal clock).

Anyway, the noise typically occurs one of two ways. Either it's going over the power line and finding it's way into the other pedals, or more likely it's being induced into the ground loop that's caused by having all the pedals tied together via two separate paths: 1) the signal cables and 2) the power cable. This loop creates a very low impedance pickup feeding your amp, which can pick up all kinds of noises.

Once you isolate the power for each pedal, the loop will be gone. You may find that not only is the clicking gone, but other noise like hum and buzz may also be reduced.

If that don't fix it, then one of your pedals is just noisy and should be eliminated. ModTone's not a particularly high-end brand, so that could be the one.

Good luck!

 

[hollowhero]

I had a similar problem (ticking/whooshing sound) and it turned out to be my malekko vibrato. My guess would be the flanger since it's before the od that amplifies the noise

 

[Bcoz84]

Oh I want isolated power outputs, just right now can't afford them. Saw one in my price range from Joyo but experience has shown me that Joyo is not to be trusted or used. Saving my pennies for the BBE Supacharger or a Voodoo Lab, but I have a gig tomorrow night so I'm hoping I can have a short term fix with an independent charger or two.

 

[rollo greb]

Definitely sounds like the flanger to me. Placing it after a buffer can often help, maybe try it after the Boss Chorus.