Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

[TENAX]

I just purchased a fender power chorus..made in the 90s, 2 amps in it, 65 watts per channel. before, i was using a 15 watt fender practice amp. this amp is a bit buzzy..not that i was surprised with my strat, but was surprised with my telecaster which was dead quiet with dual fender wide range pickups when it was just sitting there...now, my guitar instructors brand new peavey 212 i think it is, tube amp buzzes all the time just sitting there, so maybe my expectations were incorrect that a bigger amp would be quiet? i also wonder given that the 3 prong plug is missing the ground plug..might that contribute to the buzzing...and if i replace the plug, before i butcher the cable to put on a replacement end, is it going to be a 3 wire and what colour wires would i expect and configuration so i don't miswire and blow something

thanks a bunch

T

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

just thought it might help to note that..the hum is on both channel 1 and 2..and with both my strat and tele, it basically disappears when i touch anything metal on the guitar..but not the wood or plastic...control knobs on the tele, strings, bridge on either..it disappears.that leads me even further to believe i need to fix the grounding plug, right?

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

okay..just want to make sure this makes sense..i cut off the plug and it's green, white, black...i'm assuming..

green is ground?

black..white..does it matter which black i connect these to?

thanks again.

T

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

never mind..got a 3 prong plug and it seems much better..very very low volume buzz on both channels..not enough to impede playing or enjoying the amp..it disappears completely when i touch the strings or other metal so likely house grinding not "perfect'..but it's good enough for me!

[WhoFan]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

never mind..got a 3 prong plug and it seems much better..very very low volume buzz on both channels..not enough to impede playing or enjoying the amp..it disappears completely when i touch the strings or other metal so likely house grinding not "perfect'..but it's good enough for me!

That Power Chorus amp is close in sound to the Ultra/Ultimate Chorus and Princton Chorus amps i used for ages in the 80's-90's... They are quite high gain amps.... all electric guitars have noise when you let go the strings..... You are the ground when you touch the strings. This is safe as long as your amp is wired correctly... but noise when you let go the strings is normal... and it only gets louder when you have a high gain amp.

Did you buy that amp at The Arts?

WhoFan

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

no , i bought it in on ebay..once i changed out the plug it was very much improved..on 3 different guitars there is very minimal hum now..much nicer to play now...i got a copy of the manual from fender...thank god as i have very little experience in setting up for optimal sound any idea where i can get info on what size casters it would take (pin size) as i would like to put casters on it but i'm not going to pay a guitar shop a fortune for casters i can buy at a hardware store (and i can't see myself hauling it into the local hardware store)

[WhoFan]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

Not sure the caster size..... can't be that many different sizes... hope the Hardware store ones fit the amp's cup.....

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

thanks whofan...it should be pretty standard and i could live without them..it's not going to move that much..but i would like it raised off the ground a bit..it's in my basement which shouldn't flood this year..but has to about 1 inch deep (put in a sump pump after the big rains of last summer so i think i have it tackled) but i don't want my amp to touch water at all if i run into a problem.

[Artie]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

Black and white on the plug matter very much. Black is hot, white is nuetral, and green is ground. One of the flat blades on the plug should be smaller than the other. That gets the black wire. The wider blade gets white, and green goes to the "round-ish" one.

Edit: I just noticed that you're in Canada. What I said goes for USA wiring. Not sure if Canada follows the same code or not.

[WhoFan]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

Black and white on the plug matter very much. Black is hot, white is nuetral, and green is ground. One of the flat blades on the plug should be smaller than the other. That gets the black wire. The wider blade gets white, and green goes to the "round-ish" one.

Edit: I just noticed that you're in Canada. What I said goes for USA wiring. Not sure if Canada follows the same code or not.

Ya Canada is the same....

[WhoFan]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

thanks whofan...it should be pretty standard and i could live without them..it's not going to move that much..but i would like it raised off the ground a bit..it's in my basement which shouldn't flood this year..but has to about 1 inch deep (put in a sump pump after the big rains of last summer so i think i have it tackled) but i don't want my amp to touch water at all if i run into a problem.

if you can store the amp off the ground just in case....... i've heard lots of people lose gear from Basement floods... my sister in Toronto lost her basement last August... A guy on another site lost his Marshall 4x12... It does happen.. My 4x12 is in my basement and i'm not too worried about it myself yet... The water would have to be up 6 inches before it would touch it and by that time i'd be more worried about the house then the cab....

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

actually, it's funny given how common it is to have the polarized blades, that the new plug i bought (along with every other one of other manufacturer types) all had same blade size..but it did have instructions on which to go to which so i had no issue..and yeah, the amp must go off the ground to be on the safe side..i had a 1 month old 63 inch panny big screen when it flooded last summer...and it was just up off the ground on casters enough to miss the water..no staining on the front cloth or anything...so better safe then sorry..i was wet vaccing out 800 gallons of water in about 9 hours so the floor was pretty darn wet..fortunately, concrete sub basement in a floor level split..yeah, i'm a guitar lick playin' troll

[TENAX]

Re: Quick Fender Solid State Amp Question

casters mounted and ordered a fender cover...i just bought some cheap casters at the local hardware store and they fit perfect and work great..