Quietest amp

[saqib09]

Hey everyone,

I want the amp to not make any noise. No noise/hiss in clean, and the least noise/hiss in overdriven dirty channel. (by the way, is there any such thing as a noiseless distortion?)

So, I don't care how bad/impure/undesirable the "tone" is. I'm not bothered if it's tube or solid state. It just needs to be quiet, as quiet as technologically possible.

Additional question: the equation for noise has to start from pickups, doesn't it? So, what is the quietest pickup? Are all active pickups equally quiet or some are quieter than others?

Many thanks

 

[Old Guy]

Re: Quietest amp

There are a lot of reasons for "noise".

It can be your pick ups. It can be poor shielding on your guitar. It could be the input in your guitar is loose. It can be your cables. It can be the length of your cables. It can be the patch cables you're using between effects pedals. It can be the amp. It can be ground hum from your house/walls.

There are just too may factors to just say, "I need a quiet amp". Your amp may already be quiet.

That being said, yes, if you are using old school single coil pick ups, you are likely getting at least some "noise" from them.

Just as an example, I had an Axe Fx II, through an FRFR speaker system. Using noiseless single coils. Perfectly quiet, until one of my guitar cables went bad and I was picking up signal noise from the RADIO. Changed the cable, noise went away. Had nothing to do with anything but a bad cable.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Quietest amp

Solution:

 

[Mincer]

Re: Quietest amp

Active pickups are quiet, and so are most humbuckers and stack pickups. Various solutions have fixed the hum problem with single coils, too (dummy coils, etc). I think everything is super important, but lets face it- guitar isn't about extreme dead quiet between notes. There is always some noise going on, somewhere. You have to determine what is acceptable to you.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Quietest amp

Randall RG amplifiers from the 1980s. (Maybe newer ones as well, I haven't tried any since the 1990s.)
No hiss or hum clean, almost none when distorted.
Wilde (Lawrence) L-500 pickups are the most noise-free passive pickups I have ever played.
That's it. I hate hiss, I hate hum. I have been happy with my RG100 since I bought it 30 years ago. No noise gate needed.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Quietest amp

I'll add Line 6. No hiss when you mute.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Quietest amp

There are so many variables that could play a part. For example, my parent's house has old wiring with the two prong outlets...every amp (and processor for that matter) is noisy when plugged in there. Pickups can be noisy, grounding wires can be disconnected/not connected properly, poor wiring can make the signal noisy, certain lighting can affect older pickups, poor quality cables/chords, etc.

I had a Hot Rod Deluxe that was modded by Acorn Amps–they resoldered the whole thing, glued down the capaciters, cleaned the amp in addition to some other mods...made it run super quiet.

I've had good luck with a lot of amps being more or less quiet...but I try to make sure I fix as many issues all over the signal chain as best I can.

 

[Swampy]

Re: Quietest amp

I’m trying to understand the want for no noise/undesirable tone over a good sound with a little noise. Is this for recording purposes?

 

[saqib09]

Re: Quietest amp

I’m trying to understand the want for no noise/undesirable tone over a good sound with a little noise. Is this for recording purposes?

The want come from the fact that I don't care about tone. If it makes sound, and there is no technical issue, it's good tone. That's where I start. To be more specific, this is for practice purposes. And while my aforementioned conviction about tone still holds for other purposes (conditions apply), it is especially relevant for use of amp in practice.

 

[dave74]

Re: Quietest amp

Mesa amps are great in terms of saturation-to-noise ratio.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Quietest amp

The want come from the fact that I don't care about tone.

:reporter:

 

[justFred]

Re: Quietest amp

QSC RMXa Series...Pat Metheny's choice...QSC anyway...