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Just recently got a Hummingbird and placed it after a buffer and before the Ghost Echo - unfortunately, getting an unpleasant distorted and noisy sound (amp is clean and no dirt pedal in the chain). If I turn off the Ghost Echo and turn on the amp's reverb, or put the Ghost Echo before the Hummingbird, all is good. Just wondering if it is generally recommended that the Hummingbird come last in the chain, or maybe it's just an issue of the Hummingbird before the Ghost Echo?

Maybe the Hummingbird is driving the Ghost Echo too hard??? I know there are a few peeps here with the Bird so maybe they'll chime in on placement but if it's normal otherwise I'd say it's driving too hard...

Welcome to ILF...

Thanks. Even with some gentle picking, there is still some unwanted distortion (when placed before the Ghost Echo)

Have you tried it without the buffer in the chain?

Without the buffer doesn't seem to make a difference. Correction to my previous post, gentle picking/strumming is not as bad, but if I hit the strings pretty hard, it sounds like the speaker is being ripped apart.

That's weird. Sometimes pedals are incompatible.

Do you absolutely have to run the Hummingbird before the Ghost Echo? Would it totally mess up your sound if you had it after?

I don't have any experience with the Hummingbird, but I have a clone of a Repeat Percussion and it doesn't always play nice with other pedals. It's a noisy circuit. I know EarthQuaker has said they've lessened the noise in it, but there still may be some quirks. That chop is pretty intense. It may somehow be clipping the Ghost Echo.

You should e-mail EarthQuaker. They've got great customer service and can probably help you determine what's going on.

I believe you're correct about the clipping and might be just about how it interacts with the Ghost Echo. Playing around with it tonight, I turned the Level down on the Hummingbird some more (not that I didn't play with it a bit before) - but I can get a good sound with it now before the Ghost Echo. I was just surprised by how bad it sounded at first and was wondering if was a known issue or not. It didn't have to be before the Ghost Echo, that's just how my pedalboard was setup currently. Thanks for the help!

You're welcome, no problem.

Glad to hear things are working out a bit better.

ILF: helping to make and eliminate strange noises since 2006...

my hummingbird is kinda noisy with the level up. I like it though, adds a little sizzle. but i run mine 2nd from last (last is tuner/kill switch) and never with delay at the same time.

err verb.