crackling sound in tube amp?

[jackson111]

hey guys i have had my Peavey Vypyr 120watt 212 combo amp for 4 months now. i play about 2 hours a day, and have band practice every saturdaywe usually play about 6 hours. at home i keep it on between 0-1 but at band practice i have to open the volume to around 7 to keep up with our drummer. I was wondering if the tubes could be used up by now. oh yeah since this is my first tube amp i have a problem with turning the amp on standby, then going up stairs to get something to drink with all intentions of going back to cut it off after a few minutes but i forget and it will stay in standby all night. the amp still sounds great just when i go to a clean channel you can hear a small crackling sound every now and then, its not bad you actually will not notice if you aren't listening for it, but it never used ot do this.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

I have no experience owning a tube amp.

however, I know these general signs of tube wear:

-degraded sound
-tubes change color

check to see how they glow. you could try removing the tubes and inspecting them. (carefully.)

 

[joelap]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

Try a new cable. I have a cable that does that and it has a bad ground connection. Otherwise, either replace the preamp tubes or get a spare and try replacing them one at a time with the new one, until you isolate which was the problem tube. If its a loud crackle-POP sound, its a bad ground connection somewhere. I'm willing to be its your cable. Unsure of the damage you'd really be doing to the amp by leaving it on. So long as it is on standby, the high voltage is not applied to the circuit and the only current should be on the heaters of the tubes, which will shorten their "life".

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

Clean all the jacks with a q-tip and electronic cleaner. Pull and re insert the tubes. Check cables, and maybe you will have to clean the pots, they may be sealed.... Work the knobs sometimes that clears it up... If it continues, swap pre tubes and see where that puts you.

 

[jackson111]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

great guys thanks. like i said this is my first tube amp so i really didn't know where to start. do you know what the an approx tubes life is?
i will try a new cable, but the vypyr doesn't have preamp tubes just 4 6l6gc ruby tube power tubes. i have checked and to get a matched set of 4 is only 49.00. i doubt it is a solder joint because it is very faint and only noticable when i am not playing.

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

great guys thanks. like i said this is my first tube amp so i really didn't know where to start. do you know what the an approx tubes life is?
i will try a new cable, but the vypyr doesn't have preamp tubes just 4 6l6gc ruby tube power tubes. i have checked and to get a matched set of 4 is only 49.00. i doubt it is a solder joint because it is very faint and only noticable when i am not playing.

my Peavey Vypyr 120watt 212 combo amp ?

Vypyr® Tube 120......
One 12AX7 and four 6L6GC tubes deliver 120 watts RMS

At the heart of the all-tube Peavey ValveKing 212 Combo Amp is a patent-pending, Class A/B Texture control that allows variable selection and combination of Class A and Class AB power structures. This gives you the ability to coax a wide range of tones out of the ValveKing 212. This Peavey amp features 12AX7 preamp and 6L6GC power amp tubes; specially voiced 12" ValveKing speakers; 2 footswitchable channels with independent 3-band EQ and volume; footswitchable boost on the lead channel; global resonance, presence, and reverb controls; a buffered effects loop; and dual speaker jacks in parallel.

Peavey ValveKing 212 Combo Amp Features:

* 100W all-tube power
* Texture variable Class A/B simulation control
* 2 footswitchable channels
* EQ and volume for each channel
* Footswitchable gain/volume boost on lead channel
* 2 - 12" ValveKing speakers
* Reverb with level control
* Buffered effects loop
* Resonance and presence controls
* Dual speaker jacks in parallel
* 4 - 6L6GC power amp tubes
* 3 - 12AX7 preamp tubes
* 4, 8, or 16 ohms

Maybe try cleaning your valve pins............

 

[ACH91332]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

I use my amp like 5-6 hours every day. I have to change tubes like every year and a half. Your amp should be fine as far as tubes go. Tube amps make noise its sort of a trade off for having generally more natural tone.

Leaving your amp on standby is fine btw. Lots of studios end up leaving amps on standby if they are busy recording frequently through out the week or month and etc. It is more strain on the tubes turning the amp on and off then leaving it on standby. Sometimes I leave my amp at home on standby for like a week if I'm using it a lot. If I'm in a writing phase I'll keep it on so I'm not constantly turning my amp on and off because I can jump on and off from using my amps like 30 times a day when I'm writing and god knows it won't be good turning it on and off that many times.

 

[Koreth]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

He said a Peavy Vypyr. Vypyr != ValveKiing. The Vypyr is a digital modling preamp with a tube output section.

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

He said a Peavy Vypyr. Vypyr != ValveKiing. The Vypyr is a digital modling preamp with a tube output section.

Vypyr® Tube 120......
One 12AX7 and four 6L6GC tubes deliver 120 watts RMS

jackson111 hey guys i have had my Peavey Vypyr 120watt 212 combo amp

The Peavey ValveKing(R) Series is a new, all-tube guitar amp line combining boutique features and hot-rodded tones with legendary Peavey reliability ...
At the heart of the all-tube Peavey ValveKing 212 Combo Amp is a patent-pending, Class A/B Texture control that allows variable selection and combination of Class A and Class AB power structures. This gives you the ability to coax a wide range of tones out of the ValveKing 212. This Peavey amp features 12AX7 preamp and 6L6GC power amp tubes

......

 

[crguti]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

He said a Peavy Vypyr. Vypyr != ValveKiing. The Vypyr is a digital modling preamp with a tube output section.

He is right. it has digital modeling preamp and some 'real tubes' power section.
"Vypyr amplifiers are based on powerful 32-bit, floating-point SHARC processors that enable highly detailed, accurate modeling as well as vastly enhanced flexibility and features. The Vypyr amps also give you authentic tube tone, thanks to a real tube power section driven by 6L6 tubes."

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

Vypyr® Tube 120......
One 12AX7 and four 6L6GC tubes deliver 120 watts RMS

12AX7 =P.I.

OP "crackling sound in tube amp?" jackson111 hey guys i have had my Peavey Vypyr 120watt 212 combo amp.

:welcome:

He said a Peavy Vypyr. Vypyr != ValveKiing. NO he didn't he mashed it up with 212
The Vypyr is a digital modling preamp with a tube output section.

It's either a Vypyr or it's a Valveking 212 , it isn't both.

He is right. it has digital modeling preamp and some 'real tubes' power section.
"Vypyr amplifiers are based on powerful 32-bit, floating-point SHARC processors that enable highly detailed, accurate modeling as well as vastly enhanced flexibility and features. The Vypyr amps also give you authentic tube tone, thanks to a real tube power section driven by 6L6 tubes."

So! IT still has valves; what about crackles?

 

[jackson111]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

from what i have read the 12ax7 is a tube used in the transtube circuit to get more tube like distortion, but it does have a digital preamp. i have switched cables and everything even guitars still have the crackle, but like i said it is'nt bad. if i turn my guitar volume pot to 0 and crank up the volume on the tube amp to 12 o'clock you can hear the hissing crackle sound but when i play it still sounds fine. just must be tube noise. like i said this is my first tube amp so still learning. i do love the tone though, even with a digital preamp i would put up against a true tube amp anyday, my friend is looking at getting a vypyr and keeping his rivera and pedal board as backups.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

I think this might answer the tubes question.

I can see four power tubes and one covered preamp-sized tube. I would assume the OP is right on all counts about his own amp.

 

[Koreth]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

I've had a similar noise in my Mesa/Boogie Nomad 100 for a while. When I recently took all the tubes to be tested, the guy doing the testing asked if I had problems with an intermittent crackling noise. When I said I did, he pointed out that one of the triodes in the tube he was testing was a little bit unstable, pointing to the tester's needle and how it would randomly start twitching slightly with the current tube.

From what I've read a decent set of power tubes should hold up to a year or more of use at the levels you're talking about. Furthermore, power output tubes aren't supposed to go noisy when they fail, they just stop putting out as much power and start to sound dull. When Preamp tubes wear out and fail, they tend to go noisy and microphonic.

See if you can consistently cause the crackling sound, by (lightly!) tapping on the tubes, jiggling them in their sockets, wiggling your guitar cord, wiggling the speaker wires (carefully, don't shock yourself!) This should help track down if it is a bad tube and which one, or a shorting wire somewhere.

 

[jackson111]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

ok i'll try to reproduce the crackling sound, but as for know it seems completely random, but it does seem to tend to crackle more when i first fire up the tubes, for say the first 5 minutes or so of playing then it seems to get less noticable and less frequent. i have found the same tubes that the amp came with and i ordered a matched set of four. i thought tubes were more expensive then this but i got the set for around 49.00. they are ruby tubes and are 6l6gc. i wanted to try groove tubes but they did not make a that same tube. i did find were they made 6l6 tube but none with the suffix of gc. since i like the sound i figured i had better stick with the originals.

 

[ACH91332]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

Buy a 12AX7 with short plates. I think the JJ 12AX7 is the most rugged out today. It will help cuz tubes in a combo get rattled around a lot to say the least.

 

[jackson111]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

i have ordered a new 12ax7, do not what you mean by with short plates. the only one i could find that matched the one in my amp is also made by ruby tube. although the amp originally cam with the jj 12ax7. i noticed when i pulled it out that al the prongs looked bent and twisted. have no idea why, could this casue the noise?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: crackling sound in tube amp?

possibly.
You need to gently massage tubes out.