Noise from new DSL5C: normal?

C

cato

New member
hi guys. while i work on my studio 15 i got a DSL5C. so with my Strat plugged into the amp directly - no pedals - with all amp/guitar knobs down, there is a baseline level of noise/hiss i'm not used to hearing from my studio 15. it's a normal sound, in the sense that it is the sound i'm familiar with from the studio 15 when i have pedals introducing noise to the signal, but it is abnormal from my experience because my 15 is not noisy absent pedals. even with gain and volume up a bit, the 15 makes no noise when i'm plugged directly in; but this amp does. i only have experience with the 15 so i have no yardstick by which to judge the normal level of noise from any other amp, particularly the DSL5C. does anyone have this amp and can they tell me if it's normal to have a baseline hiss when plugged directly in with all knobs down? i want to know if i need to return the amp/if it's defective. fyi, even with a properly used BOSS NS2 using the effects loop, the noise is still there-which i imagine is to be expected cause the noise is not due to the pedal chain.
thanks!
 
Re: Noise from new DSL5C: normal?

Pretty normal with very high gain amps, such as the DSLs on gain channels with the gain knobs up. It should not do that on the green channel.

On a DSL15H that I modded there was a background hiss like a water fall all the time. It had bad electrolytic cap on the V1 cathode.

Which reminds me, has your Studio 15 ever been re-capped? If not it is overdue.
 
Re: Noise from new DSL5C: normal?

crap! yeah on the green channel with volume/gain down its got a hiss. not loud but not faint either. so you'd say there's an issue? this blows. i drove 2.5 hours to get that thing. couldn't hear it when i played it there cause the volume/gain was up so there was that noise masking it. only noticed when i got home and it was quiet and i plugged it in with the knobs down.
and BTW no, i bought that studio 15 new in '86 and it's never been serviced. i just gave it to a marshall service guy to do tubes and pots and a once over. you think i should tell him to re cap the tubes? all 4? anything else you'd do?
 
Re: Noise from new DSL5C: normal?

Just have the tech check the filter caps and other electrolytics on the 15. He will know what that is if he is at all qualified.

I don't know what the normal noise floor is on the DSL5. Maybe that is normal? Most High gain amps are noisy. It's the nature of the beast. If it doesn't cause a problem when playing, then it might not be something to worry about. One thing you can do is take one of the preamp tubes, probably v1, from the 15 and plug it into each preamp slot one at a time on the DSL and see if it changes the noise. Don't plug it into the power tube slot though. If it does it with all the volumes turned down, it might be the power tube though, assuming it is abnormal.
 
Re: Noise from new DSL5C: normal?

will do on all that. i read on marshall forum someone saying their 5c had a hiss with the v/g down, and some were saying that's not abnormal, but who knows. so far that makes only two of us so we're more likely the two guys who got 5c's with issues. thanks again for all the ideas/tips/help.
 
Re: Noise from new DSL5C: normal?

A bit late to the show. But I also have a fairly noise DSL5c. Over on the marshall forums a tech was given one to troubleshoot and they found a problem with the FX loop cable being too close to a bundle of wires that include AC, in some instances even zip tied together.

When I checked mine out, sure enough my FX loop was indeed zip tied to a some other wires. I cut the zip tie, and rebundled the wires minus leaving the FX loop wire unbound. Pushed the bound wires as far away from the FX loop board as possible and my amp is about half as loud and no sign of AC buzz when you turn up the volume at 12 o'clock and gain around 9.

Can't find the original thread but found the videos.


After



Thought it worth sharing. Mine was actually worse because the FX loop was actually ziptied to some of the other wires. He has a before video in the same youtube channel. Just there is a one video per post limit, so I put the after one up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top