Radio station sound into tube amps?

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

Back around 1972 I had just bought a SS Gibson Medalist 410 amp after my Fender Band Master had been stolen. I was playing a Gretsch Country Club that I had borrowed from a friend and using one of the old coil cords popular in that day. (I took the amp back a few days later and exchanged it for something else; but man, I wish I'd bought THAT guitar!)

I was working on learning "I'm A Man", the great Spencer Davis Group hit that Chicago covered. I'm working out of a Chicago songbook, trying to learn the words, just playing the chords, when all of a sudden, along this PERFECT screaming Terry Kath guitar lick, in perfect time--in the perfect place for where I was in the song!!!!! I stopped, looked at my guitar--had I done that? And then it came again, and I realized that if I moved the guitar in a certain position with the coil cord stretched out--it was picking up the local top 40 station playing that song. It was a freaky, eerie experience--the timing of that signal could not have been more perfect.

And probably the only time in my life that I have perfectly nailed a Terry Kath lick! LOL!

Bill

 

[J E C]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

That's awesome Bill, I on ocasion get some odd radio noise but nothin like that! Thanks for a great laugh to start the day!

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

I have had this happen with my three channel Triple recto a lot. Funny thing was I could get it to stop if I turned my phase 90 on. That's the only pedal that worked. Of course when you're playing you can't hear it so it's whatever.

 

[autologic]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

Side note: Isn't there a Rage Against The Machine song with Tom's amp picking up a Mexican radio station right at the very beginning? I'm almost positive there is, I just can't remember which one.

EDIT: Its actually at the end of Sleep Now in the Fire.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

Used to have fun with the old Russian stations back in the day...
Could change stations with my volume and changing postion in the room....
Anyways we just played away....just how it was!

 

[ErikH]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

I had this happen before. It happened more when I used my Crybaby than without. Used to get a local AM station real clear. Turned out where we jammed had a radio tower just a few miles away. Since I've had my tube amp reworked it hasn't been a problem. New power transformer, filter caps, bias components. I think some of the failing components were allowing the radio frequencies to leak in too.

 

[Duffy1949]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

Radio interference (RF) can come from a condition inside the amp or outside the amp. It can come from the house wiring working like a large antenna - this is where a good Furman power conditioner can often help and it helps with other valuable things as well.

I had my new Marshall tube combo start picking up radio stations. When it finally lost amost all volume I sent it in for repair. They only replaced the tubes and biased it. I have not had radio reception since.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

I used to rehearse in a weird old building and my bass rig would pickup a radio station out of Chicago. I was on Long Island.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

^^ that must have been such a "Gravity" moment.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Radio station sound into tube amps?

Now I got myself a Lava kit, just for the sake of experimenting with those tiny connectors and save some space. The SS-20 and the Decimator Gstring ii have 4 jacks ¡ I am throwing away those cheap patch cables I was using before, maybe that will help too.