Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

[Edward203]

Hi, I just got a Jet City Custom 22 barely used from a reputable seller in Reverb. The amp looks brand new, the footswitch looks like it was never even out of the little box it came in.
The problem is that I hear a loud pop when switching channels, especially when switching from dirty to a clean channel. It happens even with the volumes are set at zero in the amp, the popping sound still comes out of the speaker. Any I idea of what the problem could be? I hope is something I could fix myself, I contacted the seller, but this was sold as is
I rather try to fix it myself if it's something simple if not any Amp shops recommendations in the South Jersey/Philadelphia/Delaware area are appreciated.
Thanks!!!

[FuseG4]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

Your channel switching is done with mechanical relays I believe, and what I hear is, apparently charges build up, from static electricity or leaking caps, and can discharge across the relay contacts. In some other amps, people suggest cycling through the channels, some say while on standby.
In amps like this, the manufacturer will tell you the noise might be "normal"... some pop really might be normal, and it's why some high end amp makers designed mute circuits to silence the relay noise.

Have you tried to contact Jet City?

[Edward203]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

Yes, I sent them an email and a FB message, no answer yet :-/ I have also heard from the members of a Jet City group in FB that it is normal and more noticable when having different volumes between channels which makes sense since I had the gain pretty high but the volume low compared to the clean channel since I don't have a noise gate yet. I think the loudness of the popping is the same but I tend to play at low volume so it is kinda annoying. Thanks for the answer!

[Edward203]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

Btw, I did try the static discharging method it worked a little bit the first time but then after some playing it came back to the same popping noise level.

[FuseG4]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

Btw, I did try the static discharging method it worked a little bit the first time but then after some playing it came back to the same popping noise level.

yeah I bet it's just the amp design, I'm not sure about the specifics but I think theres a lot of voltage going through the amp on the dirt channel and the pop is sort of like a tiny electrical arc as it jumps down to the lower voltages associated with the clean channel.

Sometimes my Supersonic 22 pops too and so does my true bypass tubescreamer, it is not so bad when you're playing loud but I agree annoying. I suppose for recording you could track clean and dirty guitars separately or just edit the pops out or live with them. You can hear a pop when Keith Richards hits the fuzz pedal in Satisfaction, that's cool!
I feel like the Marshall DSL I had popped sometimes too come to think of it. And google "mesa boogie channel switch pop" and see the number of people with issues and how little there is in the way of resolution.

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

Get someone to make it switch a tiny bit slower....

[Nightburst]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

Unfortunately this happens on many amps, even my Bogner XTC had this same issue going from clean to crunch or vice versa, and so does my JCA22H.
I found that volume differences between channels seem to exaggerate the problem.
Talked to a few amp techs about these issues and one of them said he could do a workaround by installing a temporarily mute of the signal when the pop is happening, this will stop the amp from amplifying the pop noise but it will create a slight delay of sound when switching channels. This is a Mesa patented circuit IIRC that I remember was the sole reason why I sold my V-twin pedal 2 days after I got it.
So yeah unfortunately it is normal on these amps I'm afraid.

[Edward203]

Re: Jet City Custom 22- Popping noise when switching channels with the footswitch :-)

They checked it out for me (Jet City) their customer service is the best. It is normal, I was probably playing it with the volume too low and with the other channel (clean) high which made it too noticeable. I can live with it, I can keep the volumes more even now that I ran a noise gate through the effect loop. Thank you!!