hey everyone. this might be a stupid question, but here goes anyway. i'm getting a lot of noise through mesa dual rectifier at band practice. it gets worse as i go up higher in gain. i know it isn't the power tubes, as i just replaced those last night and it was doing the same thing both before and after. i do run a lot of pedals, but i dont' remember ever getting this noise before in my basement at home (we practice at the lead singer's place). in front of the amp, i run a boss tuner, boss acoustic simulator, dunlop wah, boss compressor, and boss noise gate. in the effects loop, i have a boss reverb, boss chorus, and boss tremolo. is this noise being caused by an electrical problem? i mean, we are pushing the electrical system in his house hard, as we run all our stuff on only a few outlets (sometimes only one outlet). is there something else i'm overlooking that could be the cause of the problem? we're playing a gig in 2 weeks, and if there is something wrong with my amp that i'm overlooking, i want to get it figured out now.
thanks and hope this wasn't too stupid of a question.
"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC
What sort of noise?
Any electrical noise coming in the "front end" through the pickups or cable will be more noticeable as you go up in gain, of course.
Though "preamp" tubes usually outlast "power" tubes considerably, they do go bad. That tends to show up with noise, distortion coming on earlier (less gain), and distortion that just doesn't sound so good. Try swapping in some known good preamp tubes. (You do have spares with you at all times, right?)
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
ric - thanks for the advice. the preamp tubes were something i was looking at as well as the electrical noise. they probably need a change anyway, as they are pretty old. i have noticed that my clean channel has been distorting earlier than i think it should. i posted this on a mesa boogie forum that i'm on as well and have gotten the preamp tube suggestion as well. i'll have to check that out. thanks for the advice.
i'm also going to try isolating it as the amp and not my pedals causing the problem. i'm pretty sure it isn't the effects though, because even when i turn my volume pedal down (last in the chain) i'm still getting noise.
"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC
quick update - talked to the owner at my local mesa dealer. he said it was probably a combination of the preamp tubes needing replaced, running all our equipment off one or two outlets, and also the fact that we are running a computer on the same circuit. the computer thing didn't even cross my mind. hopefully all that will help cure the problem. won't know til thursday though.
ended up getting a mesa SPAX7 for V1 and Groove Tubes ECC83's for the other 4 slots.
"Heavy decibels are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise....
Rock and roll ain't noise pollution"
~AC/DC
Good news. Hope it works out. :D
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
There are several things that could be causing hum and hiss. If you turn up a compressor too much, they will make noise. Try coming down a little on either Level or Sustain.
You could also have a ground loop. If your amp is plugged into an outlet, and then the power supply for your pedals is plugged into another outlet on the same circuit, this can cause an antenna effect. You will often get the famous 60Hz hum. I bought a Furman power conditioner to eliminate these kinds of problems. Works great and you don't have to worry about low voltage or power surges that can damage your gear.
Or, you can just buy a power strip and run your amp and effects off this. Now you are only using one outlet and you eliminate a ground loop. This is a very common cause of hum and noise.
Flourescent or neon lights can cause hum too. Look around the basement and see if there are lights like this and unplug them. Many times when playing at clubs I have had to ask the owner if I could unplug one of their neon drink ads on the wall, these things can cause a very loud and annoying hum in your amp. Electric fans can cause hum, as well as refridgerators or air conditioners. You can usually hear the hum start when the motor kicks on. And even TVs and computer fans can cause hum. There are many sources of hum you can find in most basements. :D
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
