brand new crackling tube amp

Hello Folks

I just bought a Traynor YCV80 for which I have a 2X12 ext. cab. I took this thing out of the box. It sounded fine until I noticed that it sounds like light crackling when playing. Seems to be like static. It does not do this at first, but builds (to a point) as the amp gets warmer. It is particularly noticeable on the clean channel and less on the drive channel.

Thanks in advance for advice!

Take it back. I played that Traynor, or a new one like it (Custom Valve 90) in the Music Store yesterday and heard a potential problem. Years ago, I already talked to a Canadian Traynor employee in person about the potential for flaws in new amps, and the number of returns, and breakdowns for service. I also read the Magazine interviews with the new guru they hired to copy Fender's designs, reverse-engineer and do knock-offs. I spoke to Pete Traynor in Toronto himself, many times and for decades, before he passed, and he was broken-hearted with what became of his company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkville_Sound

However, I think it is just a quality control issue in your case, the whole thing needs to be retubed. The one thing you can try without risk or trouble, is to tighten all tubes in their sockets, or pull 'em one at a time, with a cloth or glove on your hands, and plug them back into to their sockets.

Here's another suggestion, sorry to jump the gun, and be hard on the 'thang. But, it's a 'fix' IMO. Sometimes, you just gotta tell the plain story. :|

http://thetubestore.com/traynor-ycv80.html

Hey Blue

Thanks for the tip. I just reseated the tubes and it's working fine. Played for about an hour and sound was crystal clear.

Traynors are fine cheap amps. They sound and look nice and they are made locally. I like the sound much better than any SS amps I have heard.

However, I do see some really cheap cost cutting. I replaced the Sovteks in my YCV50 for some EHs and the sound improved a lot. I will be ordering a set for the new amp -any suggestions? Also, I really dislike the plastic 1/4 inputs on the back and the footswitch. My amps are set up and taken down a lot and the threads become unstable over time.

Do you know of any good tube dealers in Toronto? I was going to order some from the Tubestore

Hey Blue

Thanks for the tip. I just reseated the tubes and it's working fine. Played for about an hour and sound was crystal clear.

Traynors are fine cheap amps. They sound and look nice and they are made locally. I like the sound much better than any SS amps I have heard.

However, I do see some really cheap cost cutting. I replaced the Sovteks in my YCV50 for some EHs and the sound improved a lot. I will be ordering a set for the new amp -any suggestions? Also, I really dislike the plastic 1/4 inputs on the back and the footswitch. My amps are set up and taken down a lot and the threads become unstable over time.

Do you know of any good tube dealers in Toronto? I was going to order some from the Tubestore

http://www.12fret.com/welcome/index.html

I don't know of any specific Tube Dealers, but would absolutely trust the Twelth Fret to steer you right, and possibly Songbird Music may know some people or suppliers. However, the guys at the Twelth, have lived, breathed and specialized in guitar related gear for a lifetime; especially because: "Since 1990, the Twelfth Fret has been owned by Grant MacNeill and David Wren. Over the last thirty years our retail business has grown, in part due to our internet presence. With Grant providing his product expertise as well as his legendary customer service and David developing & maintaining the website, the store is now shipping worldwide on a daily basis!" Legendary is right - celebrities abound, and I've looked over Grant's shoulder on his Strat setups. I think they actually farm the amps out to someone who knows the most of them all?

That should do, but I might also add that there is absolutely nothing that Ed McDonald at Tundra Vintage Guitars doesn't know about the business, and I give a nod and seal of approval (and seal the deal! 8) ) to Cosmo's Music Warehouse in Richmond Hill as well, depending on where you are situated.

Whoa, here's a bonus. Read what Stephen Cohrs at Trinity Amps in Toronto has to say about just tubes alone! There's a whole lifetime's work or lesson, and a picture of a hot woman? :D

http://www.trinityamps.com/tube_amp_heroes.html

If the crackling's only when playing, it may be microphonic tubes, or it may be something simply loose and vibrating. It can be maddening trying to find something like that. Crackling and hissing all the time points to leaky electrolytic caps. I've bought "brand new" electrolytics out of an electronics store, installed them and heard scary "thunderstorming" noise until they had a few minutes for the oxide film to re-form under applied voltage. They deteriorate in storage or when the equipment's off.

To check for a microphonic tube or tubes, turn on the amp and let it warm up. Take something like a pencil and gently tap on each of the tubes in turn. You'll probably hear a little noise out of the speaker when you tap on any of them, but if one tube makes more noise than the others, with some continuing vibration noise after the tap, that tube has some loose parts inside it. They can vibrate in response to sounds the amp's putting out, and produce electrical signals due to the vibrations, rather like a microphone. It's a pretty lo-fi microphone, though.

Those were exactly the sounds I had coming out of my amp.

There is a reason that tubes plug in.