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bordonbert
lespaulx79
6 posters

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    lespaulx79
    lespaulx79


    Posts : 4
    Join date : 2016-04-09

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by lespaulx79 Sat Apr 09, 2016 11:00 am

    Hey guys,

    There is a buzzing noise in the crunch, lead and ultra channel but perfectly quiet in clean channel. its not real loud but its there. Taking the volume up or down or using the noise gate has no effect. It is just a steady buzzing. It still does it without the guitar plugged in. Does anyone else have the same issue? I just want to make sure its a normal accurance or is there something wrong?

    It did it with the stock tubes and with new JJ tubes.
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
    Join date : 2015-01-28
    Age : 72
    Location : Southern England

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by bordonbert Sat Apr 09, 2016 1:34 pm

    What level have you got your Gain, Volume, Master Volume, Boost and Power Soak set at LP? I have known people to complain it hums with all of those controls set at max! Does it hum the same when you take it to a different location like a rehearsal room? Some rooms are just plain more noisy. Fluorescent lighting, TVs, computers are all very bad at chucking out EM gunk that your amp can pick up, and even your mains supply can be a problem if you are on the same line as say nearby commercial workshops. It used to be a big issue for hifi which is much more demanding than guitar work in this respect. Sometimes it was necessary to get the supply people to switch your house onto a different phase of the local supply to get away from nasty spiky interference brought in on the mains itself. That spawned a fad for expensive "mains regenerators" which converted the mains to a DC supply and used that to generate an ultra clean 240V 50Hz signal at high currents to feed to the hifi equipment as mains. No, no, no, no! It isn't a necessary thing for guitar!!!!!

    Valve amps will always have highish levels of hum in them, it's the nature of their power supplies which are ultra primitive. SS amps have regulated supplies at key points which dramatically cleans them up. Because of the very high voltages involved that is much more difficult and costly for valve stages. And even if you made the amp quieter with regulated supplies you would have taken away another tonal "good thing", power line sag. The regulation means that the supply is "stiffer", i.e. it stays at its correct voltage even when higher currents are demanded.

    Unless you are hearing it intrusively when you play I would say it's probably normal. With a band around you, is it audible when they play but you are in a silent phase building up to that crashing solo? The GM36 should not be significantly noisier than most other valve amps and it's quieter than many.


    _________________
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    lespaulx79
    lespaulx79


    Posts : 4
    Join date : 2016-04-09

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by lespaulx79 Sat Apr 09, 2016 9:10 pm

    Im not using the power soak and without boost. It still does it at our practice spot and it is a commercial recording studio so it has very clean power there. You can't hear it when I'm playing and it's not that loud but it's there. Like I said before, it doesn't do it in clean mode and it has the same hiss in crunch, lead and ultra channel. I turned the master volume, channel volume and gain all the way down and all the way up it's still there. The noise gate has no effect either. I just want to make sure that it's normal. Can anyone else confirm the light hiss in crunch, lead, and ultra channel?
    Kelly47
    Kelly47


    Posts : 12
    Join date : 2016-02-09
    Age : 55
    Location : Germany

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by Kelly47 Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:44 am

    It is most likely a network humming and I taped the plug from the amplifier. I had the hum also. Grounding I get from the pedal board.
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


    Posts : 1772
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    Location : Southern England

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by bordonbert Sun Apr 10, 2016 8:31 am

    What do you mean by a "network humming" Kelly? I've never heard of that and it sounds interesting. And which plug do you mean with what tape?


    _________________
    Newcastle Brown, can sure smack you down
    You take a greasy wh*re, and a rollin' dance floor
    You know you're jailhouse bound!

    Rock On Humble Pie
    Kelly47
    Kelly47


    Posts : 12
    Join date : 2016-02-09
    Age : 55
    Location : Germany

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by Kelly47 Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:41 am

    The plug of the mains cable I glue with duct tape, so that is humming away.
    The important grounding i earn from the pedalboard. (Tuner, Wah, etc. and apologize my bad english)
    VoodooJeff
    VoodooJeff


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    Join date : 2015-07-17
    Age : 50
    Location : dfw, tx

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by VoodooJeff Sun Apr 10, 2016 11:46 am

    I bet it`s the 60 cycle hum from the actual service supply he`s referring to. Not sure if the 240 you guys have does that, but for us it`s an inevitable constant. And yeah, the 60 cycle hum coming through the amp is normal, and you really can`t make it go away entirely (not with a tube amp, anyway).
    lespaulx79
    lespaulx79


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    Join date : 2016-04-09

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by lespaulx79 Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:19 pm

    I'm not sure if it's a ground issue because my power is clean and running through a monster power conditioner. It can't be from using phantom power to the pedal because it still does it with my pedal disconnected. Only thing plugged into the amp is the power cord and the speaker cable. Master at 0 channel volume at 0 gain at 0 and the amp switch on play not standby! Clean channel is quiet. Crunch, lead and ultra has the light hiss. If I turn the master volume all the way up to 10 it has no effect also the noise gate on or off has no effect either. The hiss stays at the same level. I put new tubes in it and it didn't change.

    At this point I want to make sure that this is normal or if i'm going to have to send it back for an exchange. Can someone who has the Grandmeister 36 head check the noise difference between clean and the other channels within the same scenario above?  You will clearly be able to tell if yours is doing the same as this. It goes from completely quiet to the hiss with the flick of the switch. My local guitar store does not stock these amps so I have no way of testing another amp. Anything you guys can do to help me know if it's a common thing or if mine has a problem would be greatly appreciated! I just don't want to go through all the trouble of sending it back only to have the new on do the same.

    Thanks guys!!!
    VoodooJeff
    VoodooJeff


    Posts : 173
    Join date : 2015-07-17
    Age : 50
    Location : dfw, tx

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by VoodooJeff Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:31 pm

    lespaulx79@gmail.com wrote:I'm not sure if it's a ground issue because my power is clean and running through a monster power conditioner. It can't be from using phantom power to the pedal because it still does it with my pedal disconnected. Only thing plugged into the amp is the power cord and the speaker cable. Master at 0 channel volume at 0 gain at 0 and the amp switch on play not standby! Clean channel is quiet. Crunch, lead and ultra has the light hiss. If I turn the master volume all the way up to 10 it has no effect also the noise gate on or off has no effect either. The hiss stays at the same level. I put new tubes in it and it didn't change.

    At this point I want to make sure that this is normal or if i'm going to have to send it back for an exchange. Can someone who has the Grandmeister 36 head check the noise difference between clean and the other channels within the same scenario above?  You will clearly be able to tell if yours is doing the same as this. It goes from completely quiet to the hiss with the flick of the switch. My local guitar store does not stock these amps so I have no way of testing another amp. Anything you guys can do to help me know if it's a common thing or if mine has a problem would be greatly appreciated! I just don't want to go through all the trouble of sending it back only to have the new on do the same.

    Thanks guys!!!

    Yep, a bit of hum is normal on the gain channels. Not something you should be able to hear from 20 yards away, but if you`re hearing it from 10 feet in front of your amp it`s perfectly normal. AC electricity generates noise. You can hear it coming from the power lines outside of your house. You can mitigate the hum with a noise suppressor in the FX loop if it really bothers you. For reference, I record at home and one of the mic`s I use on my amp is a condensor (they`re famously sensitive). I pick up the hum with it, but some very minor tweaks to the mic gain and tiny bit of compression on the recorded track clears it right up.
    HwyStar
    HwyStar
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    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by HwyStar Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:08 pm

    Random thoughts:
    Guitar used?
    Pickups?
    Fresh battery in the guitar (if it has one)?
    What kind of wire? And length?
    Tube screamer up front?

    Sometimes it's the overlooked things that bite...


    _________________
    Hughes and Kettner GrandMeister 36, Suhr®️ PT-100 Signature Edition, Marshall 1960a 4x12 cabinet (G30s & Greenbacks - open back)
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    lespaulx79
    lespaulx79


    Posts : 4
    Join date : 2016-04-09

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by lespaulx79 Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:02 pm

    HwyStar wrote:Random thoughts:
    Guitar used?
    Pickups?
    Fresh battery in the guitar (if it has one)?
    What kind of wire?  And length?
    Tube screamer up front?

    Sometimes it's the overlooked things that bite...


    No guitar. No cable plugged in. Just the amp and speaker cab.
    Edster1
    Edster1


    Posts : 3
    Join date : 2018-06-14

    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

    Post by Edster1 Wed Jun 20, 2018 11:49 am

    lespaulx79, Have you found a fix for the hum problems on your amp?
    I have a similar problem on my H&K Tm36. It has a hum on the crunch and lead channels.
    Clean channel is fine. I've changed the tubes and tried all kinds of trouble shooting with no luck.
    Just wondering if you had luck with yours.

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    Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels Empty Re: Buzzing in crunch, lead and ultra channels

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