Funny sounds coming from my HRD

I would look for something loose. I once had a speaker grill that vibrated funny when I punching out some hard driving full G chord on the third fret. Another thought could be a bad spot in the speakers voice coil, perhaps at a certain frequency it distorts (vibrates funny).
Send me a PM to mke arrangments of e-amil.

joe

I agree with Joe, sounds like something has worked itself loose and vibrates at certain frequencies. I had a Marshall amp that did this once, turned out all the screws that held the speaker (1 X 12) had all worked themselves loose. Once I tightened them the problem was gone.

Try taking off the back cover and looking inside. Perhaps you can identify the source of the vibration.

But be careful! You can get shocked reaching into an amp, even when it's turned off or even unplugged. :shock:

If you are unfamiliar with electronics, it might be better to take it to the music store where you purchased it. These amps come with a 5 year warranty, so take your original receipt.

This may be one of your tubes going bad, which is referred to as "microphonic".
A microphonic tube will ring, howl or produce general feedback problems.

One test is to tap the tubes. The microphonic tube will ring.
A better test is to find a repair shop that has a tube tester, and get them all checked.

If it's a power tube (6L6 usually), you have to get the amp biased after replacing the tubes.

The next issue to check on a tube amp is the power supply capacitors.
They tend to go bad after about 10-15 years.
Bad caps may allow 120V AC frequencies into the amp, which may be at Bb.
When mine went bad, it started with popping and boiling noises along with the amp not sounding good.

A good tube amp repairman would be able to check both issues quickly,
and steer you toward high quality replacement tubes.

Joe listened to the file and said that it sounded like it went microphonic, and that the other sound sounded like it may be a short somewhere...

It seems like maybe I should bring this thing to an amp repair man. However, it's only about a year and a half- 2 years old (it's seen a lot of playing, I play everyday for at least 3 hours...and have been recently taking less care of the amp, leaving it on for....um...ever.. ehem. :oops: )

Any idea of what it will cost me to get it fixed? And where should I bring it? Guitar center? And any idea how long repairs might take? Will the warranty cover it? (I don't have the receipt anymore!!!???)

Thanks guys.

Taso

Your amp came with a 5 year warranty. Contact the store where you purchased it and find out what is covered and what is not.

Funny, but my HRD gave me a problem for the first time ever at a gig this last Saturday. It sounds similar to what your amp is doing. It suddenly made a loud buzzing. I would turn the amp off and switch it back on again. It did this maybe 3 times during the evening, thankfully when we weren't actually playing. I don't know if it's a bad tube or what. The Unofficial Hot Rod Deluxe Owners site has an article on this under Troubleshooting I believe. It might be a bad resistor that has been a problem with these amps.

My amp has always been flawless. I am going to try tapping the tubes to see if one is microphonic. I also have a spare set of tubes I am going to try to see if this eliminates this buzzing.

I too need to find my receipts, my amp should still have about a year of warranty left. But I haven't seen the receipt in a long time. I may have to take it to a shop.

Joe suggested changing the output and pre-amp tubes... What does this cost? I'm pretty low on cash right now ( gonna have to win poker tomorrow night, haha)

Thanks guys.

leaving it on for....um...ever.. ehem.

Is that a bad thing when it comes to tube amps? I had a computer that was on for 7 years until I bought a new one. Maybe you need to put a little fan inside your amp... :lol: :lol:

Taso

You can pick up a full retube frome Eurotubes for an HRD from $50-$60 plus about $7 shipping. The reason I didn't give a definite price is that several options for the HRD are offered.

Eurotubes HRD Retube Kits

I recommend Eurotubes only because I have bought tubes there several times. They are good quality tubes at very good prices. Bob at Eurotubes is great, he has always taken the time to answer my personal questions and is very helpful. He is also quick, I have always gotten my tubes within 3 days of ordering. So I recommend Eurotubes because of the outstanding service I have received.

Thanks Wes.
Fender HRD full retube kit
PRICE: 55.50
DESC: A matched pair of the JJ 6L6GC's for a big warm tone along with three JJ ECC83S's with one balanced for the phase inverter in V3. These will reduce the harsh mids, the brittle highs and make the drive channel much more usable.

Now I think I like the sound of that one, but I feel like I'm gambling a little bit. I can't really be too sure how that will sound... Anything I can do about it? Or should I shut up, spit out the 60 bucks and check it out for my self. Do you have any experience with that set up? I have a Les Paul by the way, and I like Blues Rock.

Edit: I've been assuming that those aren't the stock tubes, by the description above...

I would probably go with the kit. Mainly because their matched sets and extra care was taken to assure they work without any problems. Tubes really make a difference. Just going out and buying some because their less expensive may very well have you purchasing more sooner, either becuase they sound bad or fail sooner than they should.

Joe

Go with the kit I did. Just ordered it. I wasn't sure if I wanted the first one or the second, they both sounded quite inviting. I went with the first, just because the 2nd said 'natural blues tone" and I thought: Well, I like the tone of my amp, I'm not sure what a natural blues tone is. Although the FAT AND WARM description caught my eye/ear.

I'll let you know how I like it when it comes.

Thanks for the help guys.

Got the tubes today, very quick!

Edit:

Fixed my little problem. Moonrider talked me through the whole thing, helped me keep my sanity, thanks!

Sounds great, I'm thinking I need to bias it now.

Taso

It's great you corrected the problem. :D What exactly was wrong with the amp?

Yeah, Bob at Eurotubes doesn't fool around. He sends those tubes out the day you order them. That's why I recommend him, because of superior service. And the tubes are great too.

I also got the regular retube 6L6GCs and ECC83Ss. I need my amp to stay clean as loud as possible.

I really like the difference the JJ tubes made in my amp. Tightened up the bass a lot and took a little bit off the high end too. The HRD can be piercing. So I like the improvement these tubes made.

I also biased my amp using Justin's instructions on the Unofficial Hot Rod Deluxe site. Even got pics so you can't mess up at all. Took maybe 10 minutes top. I found the bias to be set very cold, around 55 mV if I remember. Fender probably does this to make the tubes last longer. I set the bias at 68 mV as Justing suggests. It really does make the amp sound warmer. But it also makes the clean channel breakup sooner. But my amp still stays clean to very loud volume which I need.

So, it's super easy, just make sure to take careful safety precautions.

Oh, my amp has worked perfectly since the problem I had at the last gig. So I am convinced it was some electrical problem at the venue. I am going to buy one of those outlet testers. :D

Always good to here when things turn great. Probably not a bad Idea to atleast have it checked. Maybe ask if you can watch to learn how its done.

joe