Hissing? need new tubes?

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Alright, my amp has been making alot of noise when I'm not playing. Its not feedback, and its not the gain, etc... It does this when I'm not plugged in and only stops when standby is on. Also the level of noise is at a constant level despite any volumes adjustments etc... The sound is almost like bad sheilding but I doubt that because I am in a basement where radio should not be a problem. Sort of sounds like someone blowing into a mic. When I'm playing it drowns it out, but the level is I think above what operational sound should be. The amp is a tsl100 and I'm using the pull two tube trick to step it to 50, I don't think that is the problem since the noise happened long after I made the switch?

Could it be power tubes? Power supply? Bad transformer? Something else? Help
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

Dude im having the same problem, and i think from memory it might mean the tubes need replacing but i cant remember if i got a solid answer last time i brought it up. Let me know if you get an answer.
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

Could be preamp tubes. Probably not output tubes. Might be a cap or two...try swapping out some preamp tubes first. It won't be the preamp tube next to the output tubes: that's a phase invertor tube. Lew
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

I had the same problem with my Soldano recently....and it ended up being the cheap cables I was using (i.e. weren't shielded properly). It was the same situation as you since I was playing in the drummer's basement. I replaced the two cheap cables with some Monsters and that cured the problem.
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

chcjunior said:
I had the same problem with my Soldano recently....and it ended up being the cheap cables I was using (i.e. weren't shielded properly). It was the same situation as you since I was playing in the drummer's basement. I replaced the two cheap cables with some Monsters and that cured the problem.
I'm guessing speaker cable?
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

I had that problem with my DSL, and it was the power tubes.
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

I just picked up a used Deluxe Reverb II (Rivera Fender). It had bad hissing and spitting noises when it was idleing. I replaced the preamp tubes, which were all origianl, and it's now quiet as a mouse. The power tubes had already been replaced with some Mesa 6V6's, so I think they're OK. Sounds great now!
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

chcjunior said:
Nope...from the guitar to the pedal and from the pedal to the amp.
Well it does this when I'm not plugged in too, I'm sure it would help but I don't think its the source.

Well as soon as I can drop prolly 65 bucks on tubes I'll be set. Thanks for the advice everyone. :dance:
 
Re: Hissing? need new tubes?

Pretty much all high gain tube amps have some hiss/hum when they are cranked.

Even my Crown power amps make some noise at idle. Bad source grounding can dramatically increase the issue. Listen to old Hendrix recordings and you can hear the amps humming in the background on some of them.

You may have a problem, or it may just be the nature of the beast.
 
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