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quieting amp hum

exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
edited January 2005 in Musicians and Gearheads
the pro junior is a hummer. literally. noisier than my deluxe. and it ain't the guitars because they're dead silent.

any way of quieting these things down or is it basically a function of cheaper components and a cheap PCB?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    A friend of mine's son just bought one, and he says it hums like hell. I don't know,,,, I told him I'd take a look at it, but it could be cheaper stuff? I'm not great a fixing them, but I'm taking a look at it this weekend for him.

    Bad ground, maybe? Or reversed polarity in the cord. I've seen that before, where it's backwards in the amp.
    Is it new?
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    it's new. it's just rented so i'm not screwed or anything. it's not horribly loud it's just louder than my deluxe. my deluxe hisses a bit but this one's got a bit of a buzz to it too. every pro jr i've tried does to some extent.

    i checked the grounds and everything looks cool as far as that goes.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    part of it could be the tube and the components on the PCB... and the power source.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    it's running off the same source as the deluxe.

    this thing needs to be made into a head. i just can't do the 1x10" thing. it does that old champ sound decently but that's not what i'm looking for.

    i need to find a cheap, beat to shit one and make a head enclosure for it.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    exhausted wrote:
    it's running off the same source as the deluxe.

    this thing needs to be made into a head. i just can't do the 1x10" thing. it does that old champ sound decently but that's not what i'm looking for.

    i need to find a cheap, beat to shit one and make a head enclosure for it.

    I'm sure you could find some ideas on silencing it. check out the links at http://www.projectguitar.com it might help.

    The Bastage cab like in the Fargen would be a perfect template. You could try using some sheilding tape but it's likely in the circuit I think, you could try a lower gain El 84 that might help.

    these guys would be good to contact. http://torresengineering.com/


    http://www.mojotone.com
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    exhausted wrote:
    it's running off the same source as the deluxe.


    If I remember right, you have a Furman?

    If you do, try running it off the Furman once, to see if power conditioning helps. Some amps will show dirty power more than others...

    If power conditioning won't help, then it's some component that's more prone to noise.

    Is the buzz like a 60-Hz ground cycle (hum)? Or static fuzz? Or is it just general noise? Any "pop's"? Does it change between gain stages (like with boost/drive/distortion/compression)?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    Non-magnetic Aluminum chassis
    Quality starts from the ground up. The Plexi 45 has been built on a thick folded Aluminum chassis. Each corner of the Plexi 45's chassis has been welded for added strength and support. Building a guitar amplifier on an Aluminum chassis has several key benefits. The first of these benefits is that Aluminum exhibits a non-magnetic behavior. Power transformers create magnetic fields, and because of its inherent properties the Aluminum chassis will not interact with these fields, thereby reducing 60Hz hum. In addition, Aluminum cannot rust like steel and is many times lighter than steel.

    from mojave amp works (Plexi Palace)

    it occurs to me this may be the source of the problem. you could change the amp chassis to reduce the noise.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    if i go through with it, it would be an extensive reconstruction. but at that point i might as well buy a carmen ghia.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    exhausted wrote:
    if i go through with it, it would be an extensive reconstruction. but at that point i might as well buy a carmen ghia.


    Or a THD Bi-Valve.

    Did you try it with a Furman?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Did you try it with a Furman?

    both amps run off the same supply. it's an ART PB. it's just a noisier amp i guess. which makes sense since it's a cheap little bastard.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    exhausted wrote:
    both amps run off the same supply. it's an ART PB. it's just a noisier amp i guess. which makes sense since it's a cheap little bastard.


    Well, if power conditioning doesn't help, yeah...

    Could be the chassis, could be the input, could be the tube sockets... could be a lot of things, or everything at once.

    That's what happens when you cut corners.

    Maybe it's time to look for a good deal on a Peavey Classic 20...???
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Well, if power conditioning doesn't help, yeah...

    Could be the chassis, could be the input, could be the tube sockets... could be a lot of things, or everything at once.

    That's what happens when you cut corners.

    Maybe it's time to look for a good deal on a Peavey Classic 20...???

    naw. it's probably just time for me to cut up my credit cards.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    exhausted wrote:
    naw. it's probably just time for me to cut up my credit cards.


    Amen.

    6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    who's_pearljam? wrote:
    A friend of mine's son just bought one, and he says it hums like hell. I don't know,,,, I told him I'd take a look at it, but it could be cheaper stuff? I'm not great a fixing them, but I'm taking a look at it this weekend for him.

    Bad ground, maybe? Or reversed polarity in the cord. I've seen that before, where it's backwards in the amp.
    Is it new?

    I fixed it for the most part.
    I took it apart the other day, and played around with it.
    I'm no amp tech, but I don't know WHO put that thing together! The worst noise was the preamp tube. I replaced one and it was way quieter. I put the bad one in the Boogie, and sure enough, bad tube in a brand new amp!
    The other noise was a screw in the frame that was too long. It went right through the frame and was just barely touching a wiring connection. That was causing a buzz, too.

    Now it's quieter, but still some noise. It's a pretty decent amp, but I don't know. I don't picture it being the exhausted dream amp! The build is pretty shaky on it if you ask me. I picture little wafts of smoke coming from it after having it on after a while.

    I played a bunch of Martone amps. A guy in Philly who hand builds them, and he did a version of this. I don't know where to find him now on the net,, but if you're interested, I'll go in and track him down. He essentially cloned the vintage ones and made them WAY better and sold them for the same, if not less than new ones. He's a well kept secret.

    http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Martone
    I bought a 1 watt tube amp from him last year,,, even has master volume on it. It rocks!
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
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