Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

[paddok]

Well, I finnaly got the money and the willingness to allow myself to upgrade to a 5150 212 combo amp. And well so far its awsome sounding. Though my experience with tube amps is limited is it normal to have a bit of a crackling sound ? Is that just the tubes warming up ?

Pictures to come in the future !

[raymo]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Sounds like thats in your pots, does it do it when you turn em?


Pete or some of hte other big technical know-how guys of amps should beable to answer better what it might be.

[paddok]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Anybody have any ideas ?

[Chuckracer]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Can you be more specific on the "crackling" sound?

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Exactly when does it happen, or what are you doing when it happens?

Does it do it on both channels...

[777SteveVai777]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Originally posted by Marshall tone:
Sounds like thats in your pots, does it do it when you turn em?


Pete or some of hte other big technical know-how guys of amps should beable to answer better what it might be.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">He's not talking about the pots, if the pots were crackling it would just be oxidation or dust. He's talking about the tubes.

[paddok]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Well all, im not exactly sure how to describe it. it sounds almost like the amp is trying to clear its throat. But it does seem to go away mostly after a few minutes. So this is probably just the tubes warming up ?

[Twisteramps]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Some cheaper tubes actually make noise as they heat up - a friend of mine had a set of JJs in his TSL that would do that. As the tube got hot, it would crackling noises. I'd say get a set of new power tubes (which you'll need anyways eventually) and change em, see if the problem goes away. If it does, great! If not, then you have a spare set of tubes, which you'll need anyways. Could also be a cold solder joint on the PCB, or a bad preamp tube also.

Pete

[paddok]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Just a quick update: i finnaly moved the amp arround today (took it out to jam) and it sounds like there is something twanging about inside, sorta like when a lightbulb blows out you can hear the wires inside hitting the glass. so im going to assume its the tubes. Im going to open it up tonight when I have some free time

[paddok]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Another update: I took the back cover off the combo and the tubes sorta look like a burnt out lightbulb. I dont know if thats how they are made to look but i doubt it. Also for reference, the clean channel still kicks ass and is loud, but I cant get the distortion chanell to get very loud at all.

[paddok]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Just need to know im right. heh. Sorry to pester all, but I have no other place to turn too.

[taxistationary]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

If i were you, i would just replace the tubes. That sounds like what the problem is, just old tubes. Hope that helps...

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Well, some tubes will have a burnt look about them. But, if your distorted channel is lower than your clean channel, it ain't right.

Cheaply, you can replace the preamp tubes in it and see if they are the trouble. Although power tubes tend to go out faster than preamp tubes, the diff between channels points to th epreamp tubes.

Also, if you tap on the preamp tubes with your finger and hear noise through the speaker, they are microphonic and need to get changed.

Try them first as they are cheap and easily changed by you.

If the power tubes need to be replaced, take it to a tech, as the amp will need to be biased for the new tubes.

As a novice BE VERY CAREFUL prodding around inside. Tube amps have exreme voltage running around in them, even for days (or months I believe) after they've been unplugged.

I literally advise you to keep one hand behind your back while prodding around. Because if you are touching a ground with one hand, and touch high voltage with the other. It could easily be lethal. It doesn't take much voltage to kill you under the right circumstances.

If you are at all unsure of your capabilities, take it to a technician.

[paddok]

Re: Purchased a new tube amp but have a question..

Originally posted by Cleveland Metal:

I literally advise you to keep one hand behind your back while prodding around. Because if you are touching a ground with one hand, and touch high voltage with the other. It could easily be lethal. It doesn't take much voltage to kill you under the right circumstances.

If you are at all unsure of your capabilities, take it to a technician.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">[img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Holy crap. Thanks for that advice. Is it safe to change the preamp tubes as a novice ?

ps. [img]graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] to you for possibly saving my life. Knowing me, I would get shocked to hell.