Noise picked up by guitar and bass pickups has long been a problem for musicians, recording/PA engineers, and electrical engineers. In recent years, it is said that the amount of noise picked up by pickups has increased due to the spread of personal computers, LED light bulbs, cellular phones, and wireless devices. The type of noise varies from a low booming buzz to a very high shrill noise, depending on the location. In a severe situation, it may interfere with your guitar or bass playing. To make the noise less noticeable, the volume can be turned down quickly or muted with a volume pedal or switching system, but a limit is soon reached with such methods because there are often many different phrases and tunes to be played making it difficult to also deal with noise problems. We have received many inquiries about how to reduce noise, especially that picked up by pickups on stage and how to create an environment in which the player can concentrate on the performance.

There are several ways to reduce the noise picked up by pickups, such as employing noise-canceling pickups or improving the shielding effect of the guitar or bass itself, but all of them change the sound quality of the output from the instrument. In addition, the amount and bandwidth of the required noise reduction can vary, and its effect is often limited. Alternatively, a high-cut filter can be used to make the noise less noticeable, but that will change the important sound quality. We have considered various solutions to reduce noise, and have found that automatically reducing the level of the signal output from the instrument is the best way to preserve both the sound quality and the naturalness of the decay of the instrument’s sound. Turning down the volume with the volume knob on the guitar or a volume pedal – an operation that used to be done manually to make the noise less noticeable, is now performed electronically, automatically, and at high speed.