plate reverb noise

[dmp]

Those of you with plate reverbs...
Do you have to use noise reduction regularly?
How quiet can you expect the output to be? Mine has a noticeable noise / buzz - worse on some pickups than others. (It's fine for rock but not acoustic / folk)
Mine has 4 piezo pickups with cables running to the end (5'-6'), plugged into a active DI. I think the unbalanced lines of the pickups are picking up noise/buzz. I'd expect the plate to have some amount of self noise as well?
I was thinking of putting DIs much closer to the pickups OR running the pickup cables through conduit.

 

[emrr]

Jim Cunningham made the observation that one shouldn't have any sort of connector inline between the preamp connection and the pickup, in response to the fact that people tended to do upgrades and cut the original cables and insert a connector rather than totally rewire.  That's one possible Hi-Z noise source, bad connection.  I have had intermittent distortion clear up by cleaning and exercising the connection to the preamp. 

I'd troubleshoot preamps individually, and move them between DI channels to find/eliminate any variables there. 

Closer is good, though I think the runs in my Ecoplate I are longer. 

I can definitely use mine with acoustic music.  My III has the original pickups with higher self noise, it's all hiss.  The I has the upgrade pickups and hiss is much lower.  No buzz in either. 

 

[dmp]

Thanks for the info. I'll do some troubleshooting. I guess I was thinking it is like a guitar cable noise / buzz since it is unbalanced and high impedance. I suppose it could be very dependent on the environment.
I think mine is an Ecoplate I with the quieter pickups.
Wondering on yours how are the cables to the pickups wired? Are the shields connected to the frame and is the frame grounded somehow?

 

[emrr]

I am remembering spade connectors to a terminal strip on the preamp, with a ground wire between preamp case and frame.  It's been awhile, so I may be wrong. 

 

[mikeyB]

I'm not yet the proud owner of a diy plate reverb but one day soon would like to be!

One question i have is - should the plate be bonded electrically to earth/0volts? If it isn,t, could hum be induced by a nearby power tx if the pickup/preamp have nowhere to sink the noise/hum?

 

[dmp]

Mine has the DI bolted to the frame, which then connects to the preamp case through Pin1. So it seems to have a good ground connection. I think it makes sense for the plate to be grounded.