Blue Angel Sweetness & Questions

[Monsta-Tone]

So, I've been playing with my Blue Angel for about 1/2 an hour now.

I can't seem to get a bad clean tone out of it. It just seems to love my PRS McCarty guitar.

I'm trying to decide which pedals to get rid of. I got a few Carl Martin & Fulltone pedals in a trade for my Soldano Lucky 13.

Here are the pedals so far that I love with the amp:
Fulltone Fulldrive II the one with the 3-way switch. Very full and sweet with lots of sustain when Boost is on.

Fulltone Fat Boost. Can really push the amp into natural overdive. Very nice.

Marshall Jackhammer (I really didn't think I would like this one, but it rocks). It's remarkably tweakable and very smooth. I was able to get a good Metal tone out of a Blue Angel and it doesn't color the clean tone.

Here are the pedals that I didn't like:
Fulltone '69 Fuzz (sounded very thin or too thick, but always fuzzy) Not my tone.

Carl Martin Hot Drive-n-Boost II. I've been trying to like this pedal since I got it. The Drive alone is too thin for my taste, no matter which pickup I'm on. In fact, there is very little difference between the pickups unless the Boost is also on. I ended up with the tone knob all the way down and it was still too thin for me.



Still to try:
Maxon AD808
Maxon Compressor - the little black one
Homebrew Treble Booster with fat switch




I do have a question though:
Does your Blue Angel hiss?????

Here are my settings:
Fat-Bright switch FAT
Volume 9 o-clock
Treble 12:30
Middle 11:30
Bass 1:30
Reverb 9:15
Power amp Simul-link

1x12 combo with Celestion 70th anniversary Heritage 30, 8-ohm speaker.

I just noticed that the speaker was plugged into the 16 ohm jack, so I'll have to play with it some more on the proper impedance setting.


The hiss is not overbearing and cannot be heard when playing, but it is very noticeable when the guitar is turned down. It is a bit surprising since the amp is only on 3 or so, and not extremely loud.

It is present no matter which power tubes I am using.

 

[AdmiralB]

Preamp tubes can hiss. I've had a large number of the new "Tung-Sol" 12AX7s go unusably noisy on me.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I might try swapping them around or some new ones.

I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't something the amp did anyway. I've chased my tail before and don't want to do it again.


The serial # is 29, so the preamp tubes are probably pretty old.

The Power tubes are new JJ's.


I'll give it a whirl in a couple of days if nobody else chimes in.

Thanks.

 

[AdmiralB]

'fraid beyond that I dunno...I don't own a BA (although I'm in the market for a head).

But hiss is usually due to high gain, noisy preamp tube(s), or lack of negative feedback in the design. The BA is not high gain, and it has a LOT of NFB, so that kinda leaves tubes.

 

[SixVeeSix]

Mine hums. Too much hum. I still need to swap out the 6V6 tubes but all others have been tested with known good tubes and it still hums. Hard to say how much it hisses because of the hum. I may need to have it serviced, there is a bank of filter caps for the power supply so maybe one of them is bad? Love the amp though, can plug ANY guitar in and find at least a couple of great tones quickly. Have you tried the second input yet? Another set of voices!!

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Mine is whisper quiet. It is not normal for the amp.

Having said that there is one club that has funky wiring that it has a slight hiss or humm. But the bass player uses the same outlet as me in that club and his solid state Fender bass rig makes all kinds of noise, and he can't let go of the strings without a huge buzz, like it's a ground problem, but it's not a real old building and the outlets (appear) to be grounded.

But his amp only has that problem in that club. It's almost annoying, but for the Blue Angel it's barely noticable.

First guess is it's a tube or wiring.

I wish you the best of luck.

Murph.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Thanks Murph. I was hoping that someone here would say that.

I really like the amp, but it hisses as bad as my Dual Rec used to on the Red Channel with the Gain cranked.


I'll swap some tubes this weekend. I think I have some old English & US tubes laying around.


As for the power, I know what you mean. We used to play a lot on Maui, and most older places aren't grounded. One time I got pissed and ripped the sleeve from my T-shirt and wrapped it around the mic because I kept getting zapped.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

It's Monday and I gigged my Blue Angel Sat night 3 hours from home in a rowdy little club in Ky., (meaning I got home about daylight Sunday!) and just got back online to check your problem. I think sixveesix has a similar problem.

I made it a point to listen when I powered her up. Hell, I can't even hear the fan! She's very quiet for a tube amp in a bar with lights, dimmers, ect.

I can't help but think it's a tube, or a power problem, but I think sixveesix has been trouble shooting his and decided to go further.

Anyhow, keep searching. I think sixveesix mentioned sending his to Randall Smith to fix. Personally!

The Blue Angel is the bomb for a club amp. Dr. Z is selling a ton of amps that are close, but can't do what a Blue Angel will do.

Best of luck.

Murph.

 

[Bluewail]

I've had 4 different Blue Angel's in the past (because I really liked them!) and all could be somewhat noisy/hissy. The key to taming the noise is reducing the gain via pre-amp tube selection. Try a 5751 or 12AY7 in V1 and then a tube like a JJ 803s in V2 as a start. The reverb tube (can't recall the position) benefits from a good 12AT7, a Mullard if you can get your hands on one. Finally there's the V5 phase inverter/driver tube. The amp is quietest with a 12AT7 here also (again a Mullard) but it will lower the overall output volume a smidge. I ran mine with a 12AX7 in that position. Try it and there will still be some hiss, but a lot less

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Man, I can not relate. Mine is the perfect amp. Stock tubes, all of them. I'm scared now to change them!

When this Babe gets in "the zone" my tone wins, every time.

I swear to God, the other guitarist in my band has gone through a Line 6, (duh), a Fender Supersonic, a Lab Series L5, a Hot Rod Deville, a Cyber Twin (duh), a Peavey Valve King that nearly caught fire last New Years, and is now using a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

Best of luck, but when the Blue Angel is right. She wins.

Murph.

 

[jenks10]

The "hiss" is a common concern among new BA owners. It's been a subject of debate for a long time. Do a search to confirm it.

Even though it's not really a problem, most players aren't used to the level of hiss the BA produces. The common "fix' is to put a lower gain preamp tube, like a 5751 or 12au7, in V2. Yes, V2, NOT V1.

That seems to solve most folks perception of a high hiss level. Be sure these are good NOS tubes as well. I use the new Tungsol 12ax7 (not NOS) in V1, and a GE 5751 in V2 and love it.