Power Station FX Loop creating noise when increasing volume/gain

Stage & Studio Power Station PS-2
1

I just got my Power Station PS-2A in. When connecting it directly to my amp, it seems to be working perfectly. However, when I connect my pedalboard to the FX loop on the Power Station, it’s causing issues when turning the volume or gain up. At a certain level, a whistle will start coming out of the cab, and it gets louder as you turn up the knob. When playing, the amp actually gets quieter as you turn up the knob. It seems like it’s causing some interference or clipping. My pedalboard is built around a Fractal VP4, along with some drive pedals in front. I need some assistance to figure out what might be going on. I’ve already tried changing the ground lift setting and changing the FX loop mode from high to low. Neither solved the issue. I do have everything plugged into a single power strip, but all that’s connected to it is the amp, the power station, the pedalboard power, and the VP4 power chord.

Here’s a link to a video showing the issue: IMG_4090.mp4 - Google Drive

2

I also tested using the FX Loop of my amp and everything worked just fine. Still need to figure out how to make the FX loop work on the Power Station though as my ultimate goal is to pair it with a ZMACS and have one place for my guitar input and pedals and be able to switch to any of my amps directly from there.

3

This is probably a ground loop issue; it can produce odd effects like this. Sometimes the oscillation can be ultrasonic.

The first thing to do is simplify the setup.

  • Start with a guitar, amp, and speaker; verify that they are working.
  • Now add the Power station: Guitar, amp, power station, speaker.
  • Now add a single FX pedal (anything) into the FX loop of the power station.
  • Take care with how you connect power to these pedals.
  • Run an extension cable from a single socket and connect everything to that.
  • Now add a drive pedal in front of the amp.
  • Now introduce the VP4.

Often rebuilding like this solves the issue or lets you discover the issue.

4

Thanks for the reply Dan. I’ve verified that everything works fine as long as the pedalboard isn’t connected to the fx loop of the power station. What device would you recommend to solve the ground loop issue?

5

How is the pedal board powered? Can you post a photo it might help too rather than me asking endless questions.

There are isolation devices that can break loops.