My amp's got a crackle in it, darnit.

  • Thread starter Thread starter capnkid
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capnkid

capnkid

Optimus Prime
It happens only when I play a certain fret, and to be sure I played the same note on different strings. It's like a frequency/pitch thing. More so on the clean channel, but does happen on the lead channel

Isn't that weird? I don't know if I can track something like that down.
 
Is it a tube amp? Possibly some microphonics going on? Could also be just the right frequency causing something to shake loose. Does it do it with different guitars also?
 
birthday boy said:
Is it a tube amp? Possibly some microphonics going on? Could also be just the right frequency causing something to shake loose. Does it do it with different guitars also?
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I only have the one guitar. Maybe I will probe it to see if anythings loose. I will use some chopsticks. I don't like playing an amp with the chassis out of the cab, but I will be careful. Maybe I can see it or hear what part of the amp the crackle is coming form.

It's Tube.
 
Does it happen at all volumes or just at loud volumes? Have you tried isolating the head from the cabinet to see if maybe it's from the speaker vibration? If it's a combo amp, then that might make things trickier to track down, since they make all kinds of rattles and noises as it is!
 
capnkid said:
It happens only when I play a certain fret, and to be sure I played the same note on different strings. It's like a frequency/pitch thing. More so on the clean channel, but does happen on the lead channel

Isn't that weird? I don't know if I can track something like that down.
Click to expand...

Sounds like some sort of resonance thing, for sure. Like someone else suggested, try it with another guitar; that will narrow the source of the noise down to the guitar or amp. If it's a tube amp and it does this with different guitars but on the same note, then with the amp powered up, gently tap on each tube with a pencil and see if one tube in particular gives you the same noise. If it's a preamp tube, then simply replace it. If it's a power tube, then you may want to consult an amp tech; there's tube matching and bias to consider.

If it's the amp, but not a tube, then you'll have to get into the amp to take a look, but if you're not experienced at dealing with the inner workings of amps, then take it to a tech. There are voltages in there that can kill you even with the amp powered down and disconnected.

Buit you've been around here a while and read all that before, eh?
 
birthday boy said:
Does it happen at all volumes or just at loud volumes? Have you tried isolating the head from the cabinet to see if maybe it's from the speaker vibration? If it's a combo amp, then that might make things trickier to track down, since they make all kinds of rattles and noises as it is!
Click to expand...

It's a 100watt combo, an old carvin xv112. (Now that I have it, I see that there should never be a 100 watt amp in a combo.)

Someone on here had the same amp and turned it into a head by cuttin the bottom off of it. I think I make try that this summer.

It happens at low to mid volume on the clean and at loud volumes on the lead.
 
Haha weird i'm having the same problem, se emy 'valves' thread. What kinda amp?
 
ggunn said:
Sounds like some sort of resonance thing, for sure. Like someone else suggested, try it with another guitar; that will narrow the source of the noise down to the guitar or amp. If it's a tube amp and it does this with different guitars but on the same note, then with the amp powered up, gently tap on each tube with a pencil and see if one tube in particular gives you the same noise. If it's a preamp tube, then simply replace it. If it's a power tube, then you may want to consult an amp tech; there's tube matching and bias to consider.

If it's the amp, but not a tube, then you'll have to get into the amp to take a look, but if you're not experienced at dealing with the inner workings of amps, then take it to a tech. There are voltages in there that can kill you even with the amp powered down and disconnected.

Buit you've been around here a while and read all that before, eh?
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Good tips here. Another possibility might be the speakers. If you isolate the head from the cab and still get the noise on that note, then it's possible that there might be a speaker connection inside the cab coming loose or something like that. Hitting that one note could make the connection jiggle just right and cause some noise. If that were the case, it wouldn't be too volume dependent, because even at low volumes, just hearing that frequency could make it shake enough to cause the noise.
 
capnkid said:
It's a 100watt combo, an old carvin xv112. (Now that I have it, I see that there should never be a 100 watt amp in a combo.)

Someone on here had the same amp and turned it into a head by cuttin the bottom off of it. I think I make try that this summer.

It happens at low to mid volume on the clean and at lout volumes on the lead.
Click to expand...

It also could be the speaker. Try the amp though a different speaker.
 
capnkid said:
It's a 100watt combo, an old carvin xv112. (Now that I have it, I see that there should never be a 100 watt amp in a combo.)

Someone on here had the same amp and turned it into a head by cuttin the bottom off of it. I think I make try that this summer.

It happens at low to mid volume on the clean and at loud volumes on the lead.
Click to expand...


The fact that it's a combo could make the diagnosis a bit trickier; I feel your pain! Another question, is the crackle significantly louder than the guitar tone itself, or does it more or less blend in? Does the crackle volume/strength increase with amp volume, or does it seem to stay more constant when compared to the amp volume?
 
birthday boy said:
The fact that it's a combo could make the diagnosis a bit trickier; I feel your pain! Another question, is the crackle significantly louder than the guitar tone itself, or does it more or less blend in? Does the crackle volume/strength increase with amp volume, or does it seem to stay more constant when compared to the amp volume?
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It is slightly louder than the tone. It isn't a Jack, or the guitar for sure. It may be one of the tubes as suggested. My gut tells me that its a connection on the board, or one of the connections going to the pots, or tube sockets.
 
Turn the amp upside-down and see if it still makes the noise! :D
 
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