Electro-Harmonix HumDebugger

Real easy to use. Plug your guitar into you effects chain then the effects chain into this right before you go into your amp. Step on it then select strong or normal on the toggle switch for your preference. It comes with its own 7.5V DC adapter.

I don't know how it does it, but it is amazing. As far as the chorus sound, I think I hear it, but I run a delay and my reverb. Besides, this is like a faint chorus. Have you ever wished you could roll back the speed and rate on your chorus. Well this does it very slightly. No noise. I leave it on all the time.

You can always depend on Electro-Harmonix. It is built like a tank.

They are great about getting back to emails.

I like blues, but I play most anything when with friends. I have really gotten into guitar seriously for 2 years. I was a pretty good bass player before that and thought that if I want a guitar that plays like I want them to, then i should become one. This pedal would have to be replaced if lost/stolen. I like this noise gadget b/c I don't have to fine tune it, just plug and play.

Super easy to use

Although it does a good job at eliminating the hum associated with single coil pickups, it colors the sound in a way that I don't care for. For a bluesy overdrive sound it doesnt work well at all because of this coloration. It adds a light chorusing that might be some time based effect.

Very solid.

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This is a follow-up to my review below. After owning the unit for 6 months, I have used it less and less. However, if you have a gig or rehearsal in a place with noisy house current or you play a strat but use a heavy sound, this box will be usefull. Also, if you use a lot of effects and boost your signal or compress it heavily, this can be usefull. Typical blues and classic rock players will be disappointed. Maybe the good folks at EH will come out with a 2.0 version that is more transparent.

You know what? This pedal works very well for what it does, primarily in a live situation. Plug it in (before your effects) and turn it on and it kills the hum from your single coil guitars. That's great for me becaue I have a yen for Telecasters with stock pickups.

Lets fact it: this isn't a true effects pedal. I would liken it more to an A/B switch because the purpose of the pedal isn't to add a dimension to your sound but simply to remove a small problem that annoys the player probably a lot more than the listeners. I don't use it all the time, but some places still use neon lights and the hum is multiplied. Of course, those lights will cause hum in your PA and amps no matter how quiet they are in 'normal' circumstances, so its a loosing battle in some cases. Still, the pedal DOES kill the hum in the guitar. Tone loss? Yeah, but not drastic; very petty in a live situation.

Very reliable pedal. This box is built to last.

This is a great pedal regardless of your genre, or genres. However, I've gone back to my old solution: I use my volume pedal to kill all the sound between songs. Let's face it, hum doesn't create much of a problem, if any, when the band is actually playing. Its when you stop that it gets in your face. As good as this thing is, I'll sell it at some point because my volume pedal, which I use before my pedal chain, pretty much accomplishes the same end and also doubles as an expression pedal. Its not a double for the Debugger, but I only have so much real-estate on my pedal board and something has to go. There's always that breaking point where you have to say: OK, so my sound isn't perfect, but its all I can do for all practical purposes. Nevertheless, the pedal works fine and I have no complaints.

I didn't read the manual, I just plugged it in at the music store to try it out.

Well,,,the pedal I tried at the store killed the hum, but it almost had a microphonic caracter to the sound, in other words it changed the sound of the guitar rather drasticly, it almost sounded like there was a tiny bit of a reverberated sound, & when I tapped on the pedal, it was a loud noise when I tapped on it with my finger.
I definately think there was something up with this pedal because, if all those pedals sounded like this one it would've been trashed from the get go, I don't know how anyone would let this tone shaping pass, totally unacceptable.
But like I said, this one I tried, there must be something wrong with it & I'll try another one at my first oportunity, too bad the store only had one.
I'll post another review when I try another one.

Not this one!

Didn't try, I didn't buy it.

I am not going to give up on it just yet, I will try a different new one & I'll post my findings again.

couldnt be easier

usefull for live rehearsal / performance. some minor artifacts in the mid freqs.

seems tough. metal box.

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One reviewer said it "kills his tone." That's odd. The effect on your tone is more subtle than that! It also varies as a function of pickups/other effects. The unit should always be first in the chain. I dont care for it when I play humbuckers thru it. It can be turned off for most clean tones / patches.

The good news is that for medium to heavily boosted/processed tones/patches, this gizmo is quite usefull -- especially for Live performance.

The sweet spot is for a strat or tele player who does overdriven or saturated leads in a live setting. The more distortion you use, the more this pedal helps because the coloration gets lost. Also, if you are playing with other people you arent going to hear the coloration hardly at all within the overall mix. I mean, isnt hum/buzz bad "coloration" too ?

It has 2 modes, strong and normal. Only use the normal mode. I wish it had 3 modes -- lite, normal, strong.

Believe me folks, I was way skeptical. If you are a tone purist recording at home, then I dont think this is for you. Or let's say it's not the magical transparent cure all we all dream about. But if you rehearse/play out and are sick of all that single-coil noise and you are willing to part with a wee bit of tone, then yep, the hum *really* goes away. I compensate the tone loss with a sonic maximizer. So, some folks might want to EQ right after the hum debugger. I wouldnt do a hendrix lead live without it. Also, if you're playing out you need at least 2 guitars. One issue with noiseless pickups is that buying 3-4 sets is expensive. So, there's all kinds of trade-offs to look at.

Overall, I like the thing. It's a usefull tool, and that's all I expect from hundred dollar stomp boxes.

Check out the Kinman noiseless pups as an alternative. Google Backplate Silent Single Coil System (as an alternative).

I've been fighting 60/120/180 Hz hum for 25 yrs ! I play everything from muddy to kurt. good luck.

Plug it in, turn it on..

I got home, plugget it in and it worked well... and then i realized, that it actually is a very subtle phaser. In the strong mode you can hear it if you bend the string a little, it has a tiny delay to it.

Don't know. Had it for 1 hour..

It take away some hum, but gives you a very very subtle phasing too. Some may like it - i just don't know at this moment.

This pedal is very easy to use. Just put in anywhere in the signal chain between your guitar and amp.
2 modes to choose with a toggle switch: NORMAL or STRONG
On/off-switch, input and output jacks, that's it!
Has to be used with its own power supply, use with a battery not possible :-(

Well it really kills any hum in the signal...no more problems with singlecoils!
BUT THIS PEDAL KILLS YOUR SOUND, TOO!!! If you activate it, it thins out your tone drastically!!! In the strong-mode more than in normal mode.
For me it's just not acceptable, I don't like pedals that change my sound this way!

The box is made solid and for sure is durable for a long time of use. Only the small toggle swich for mode select may brake if you stomp on it unlucky...

OK, it kills the hum as promised...10 points. But it kills the sound of your guitar, too!!!
This is why I sell the pedal after using it one time! AND IT'S QUITE EXPENSIVE!!! For this money you can buy a noisegate for sure!
Not acceptable for me, pure trash!

plug it in,hook up the power converter,and it just works.oh yeah,hit the foot switch.this is a noise reduction pedal,it does not color your sound,or cut off notes in decay.i put it both at the head of my signal chain,and at the end of it,and it worked.

i kills the hum you sometimes get when using single coil pickups.i love it.i am using it with vox and orange amps.

don't know if its going to hold up.but i lived without it till now.i just don't want to any more.

i have not dealt with them,but my dealer has always treated me right

if you play electric guitar and sometimes get unwanted hum,this is the only thing that will kill it and not mess with your sound.it has a special power supply that would be a drag to try to replace.take good care of it.