algal bloom technical question

[tchen]

the AB is pretty much the first fuzz i've bought/gotten into and im still getting use to it. i've noticed some weird quirks and was just wondering if these things are normal with the AB or just the nature of fuzz pedals:

there seems to be a little bit of noise when i turn the knobs; with the bloom knob in particular when it is hard left, there is no signal, but im picking up radio?
also, i've noticed that when the AB is bypassed i can still hear some noises when i turn the knobs and they seem to still have an affect on the guitar tone and pedals after it... especially, the level.... the level control still seems to have some function even when the pedal is not engaged.

[FuzzHugger]

The Starve knob should make noise while being adjusted (the circuit's adjusting to the new voltage). The other knobs should be more or less quiet.

RF interference is somewhat normal for fuzz pedals, though I've never experienced it with the Algal Bloom...geographical location is one of the biggest factors in RF interference (where you live, and sometimes even what room you play in). It could be increased by unshielded cables.

i've noticed that when the AB is bypassed i can still hear some noises when i turn the knobs and they seem to still have an affect on the guitar tone and pedals after it... especially, the level.... the level control still seems to have some function even when the pedal is not engaged.

Twisting the knobs when the pedal's bypassed might change the noise level in your signal chain, but not change the tone...the pedal is true bypass, but what you're noticing might not be placebo effect.
Without getting technical, here's what's up.

The Algal Bloom is true-bypass (hard wired), which is as truly bypassed as possible.

You'll see some people claim that "true bypass" means your audio signal 100% unaffected when bypassed...this is 99% true.

Oscillating pedals (oscillating Devi Ever, pre-FH Wolf Computers, early FF) all have/had noises bleed through when off. The AB-Synth would as well, but it's been modded to avoid that. Anyway, they're all "true bypass" that don't bypass 100%.

Even when a pedal is bypassed, there is still power being supplied to the circuit. The higher the gain (whether being created by oscillation or by cranking the output), the more likely you are to notice some noise. The pedal's bypassed, but the circuit is powered up and set for high gain. As you adjust the knobs and output/gain changes, you may notice some effects...which may be increased depending on whether your cables are shielded, whether your power supply has an isolated ground, how many pedals you have daisy chained, etc.

Hope that helps!

[tchen]

good to know. thanks for the info!