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amp noise any solutions ?

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(@padtheman2)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 2
Topic starter  

morning all, my first post so be gentle ,
ive alawys had trouble with noise levels from amps , pedals etc , as in with an over drive pedal or just the second channel theres always a lot of hum. im presently playing on a epiphone triggerman 100 head and cabinet , would i have the same trouble if i changed to an all valve head? any other suggestions

any help or advice would be much appreciated


   
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(@yashicamat)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 271
 

If the guitar or cables aren't plugged into the amp do you get the same hum? I.e., with nothing in the input jack on the amp? If you don't get any hum then you know your amp isn't to blame and can work it out:

I would have thought the primary candidate would be poor quality cables. If there's no hum with nothing plugged in, then slowly work back plugging things in bit by bit until you get an increase in hum, then you have your culprit. Good quality cables do make a difference, especially where I live because I have flourescent lights in the ceiling below my floor and they generate a lot of interference.
If there's no hum up until you plug your guitar in, it's possibly poor shielding in the guitar, but single coil pickups (other than noiseless ones) will always pick up a bit of hum.
I don't think having the sound completely noise free if you have any kind of gain piled into the amp is that easily achievable though, at least at higher volumes, but it shouldn't be too loud.
I suggest you work through those steps above and see what results. I doubt the amp is at fault if it is unmodified and an all-valve head isn't going to be any quieter as far as I know.

Hope this helps. :)

Rob

If something's not worth doing it's worth forgetting about.
Epiphone Les Paul Std - Yamaha Pacifica 112XJ - Takamine EG340SC - Taylor Baby - Grainger Hammerhead 50 - Grainger Valve Five
http://www.youtube.com/yashicamatonline


   
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(@scrybe)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 2241
 

could also be a grounding problem on/in the guitar, especially if it has been modified by anyone. but yashicamat is right, check it in stages and identify the culprit that way, less stress and less potential cost spent fixing things that aren't actually problems. could also be a combination of things (e.g. cheap distortion pedal + cheap leads + bad connections = lots of hum), so if you can borrow and amp/guitar/cables and swap them in and out of your rig, it should help give you some idea of where the hum is being generated and how much you can eliminate it.

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@padtheman2)
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Joined: 16 years ago
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Topic starter  

thnaks guys , spent money on leads recently , same problem , clean tone is fine , its just when overdrive pedal is on , or the second channel , would an all valve head have the same probs ?


   
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(@scrybe)
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valves will (generally) add some noise to the equation, but this noise is usually considered part of the appeal, or considered almost fondly, at least. I've never been terribly impressed with solid state amps and their overdrive channels, I find there's often a lot of hiss generated by them and the tone of the overdrive/distortion isn't that great, imho.

with a valve amp, the thing is, you'll basically be able to use one channel to produce clean and distorted/driven tones by using the volume pot on your guitar more precisely (crank the amp but keep guitar vol low and you'll get a clean sound, roll the guitar vol up and the sound will distort more). you can also use two channels on valve amps, with one set to crank the amp, and the other not cranking the amp, and switching between the using a pedal.

personally, I find the 'extra' noise of valve amps more palatable than the 'extra' noise of state amps, but thats partly personal preference, I'm sure.

what overdrive pedals do you use, btw? you might wanna try a tube overdrive or distortion pedal, like the Blackstar HT range (although I've yet to try them myself, so this is far from a recommendation, just a suggestion).

hth

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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(@scrybe)
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oh, I meant to add......

if you're having this problem across a range of pedals and amps, there's a good chance its your leads or guitar thats causing the hum. since you've ruled out leads, there's a good chance its a shielding problem with your guitar, a grounding problem on the electrics (does the hum go away or reduce when you touch the strings?), or 60 cycle hum that single coils are particularly prone to.

Ra Er Ga.

Ninjazz have SuperChops.

http://www.blipfoto.com/Scrybe


   
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