Dual Recto Hiss

[G.I.G.]

I've had my triple channel dual rectifier for a few years now and it makes a hissing/humming sound out of both channels two and three. The sound get's louder the higher I have the volume even when volume knob on my guitar is turned down all of the way. I do not have the gain cranked on either channel and all of my settings are pretty conservitive (nothing past 3 o'clock). I thought that maybe it would be a preamp tube problem but it does it on both channels. I bought a Rect-O-Verb several months ago and it does the same thing on channel two.

I was wondering if any of you would know what might be causing this problem. I love the sound I get out of my amp and don't want to come back too much on the settings I have it at now. I relize that the amp is going to make a little noise when the volume is cracked on a high gain channel but it seams to be a bit excessive to me. I've contacted the Hollywood Mesa store and they didn't really have any advice to help me out. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[screamingdaisy]

Use quality guitar leads and make sure your guitar is well sheilded....that's what I do and mine is near dead silent (unless I'm using single coils).

 

[G.I.G.]

Thanks for the input screamingdaisy.

I've actually tried switching about everything in my set up with no luck. I use Monster cables and I've tried using different outlets in my house and friend's houses and still no luck. I've also tryed different guitars, circuit breakers, guitar cables etc. I can duplicate the problem even with nothing even plugged into the input of the amp or the fx loop. Like I mentioned, I have the same problem with both my dual rec and my rect-o-verb. When I talked to the guy at the Hollywood Mesa store he said the same thing you did and that they should run whisper quiet.

When I play in a band setting just loud enough to keep up with my drummer I need to switch to my clean channel between songs to avoid hearing the hiss coming from my amp. I've tried coming down on the gain a bit but if I do that too much it starts to take away from my sound. Any other suggestions???

 

[screamingdaisy]

Any other suggestions???

Not if you can duplicate the effect with nothing plugged in.....

.....the only other thing I can suggest is that you try swapping the preamp tubes out. Maybe both amps just happen to have noisy tubes in the V1 position, and that's being amplified by the gain channels.

That suggestion's just a shot in the dark, but it's all I can think of.

 

[G.I.G.]

[/quote].....the only other thing I can suggest is that you try swapping the preamp tubes out. Maybe both amps just happen to have noisy tubes in the V1 position, and that's being amplified by the gain channels.[/quote]

Thanks again screamingdaisy. Yeah, I thought that might be the problem but I thought that it was odd that my brand new rect-o-verb had the same problem as my dual rec. I have my gain set between 1 and 2 o'clock depending on the amp and the channel with the main set at about 10 o'clock. Do you think those settings could be too much? That's where I like my sound but I'll certainly look into the preamp tube problem as well.

 

[screamingdaisy]

I have my gain set between 1 and 2 o'clock depending on the amp and the channel with the main set at about 10 o'clock. Do you think those settings could be too much?

I set my gain at about 1:00-1:15, and the masters are at 12:00 (channel) and 1:00 (main), but it's still pretty quiet as far as hiss goes.

Maybe have an amp tech take a look and see if he can diagnose the source of the noise?

 

[vulture2600]

even a brand new amp may have tubes that are already a year old.
the tubes could have sat in a warehouse for 4 months, then the factory
for another few, then the amp could have sat at what ever store
you bought it from for six months. swapping out should be the
first thing you do when you buy an amp,unless you had it built to order,
and even then its a good idea within 4 months. power tubes should be
replaced on a minimum of every 2 years and preamp tubes every 2 -3 years.

 

[G.I.G.]

even a brand new amp may have tubes that are already a year old.
the tubes could have sat in a warehouse for 4 months, then the factory
for another few, then the amp could have sat at what ever store
you bought it from for six months. swapping out should be the
first thing you do when you buy an amp,unless you had it built to order,
and even then its a good idea within 4 months. power tubes should be
replaced on a minimum of every 2 years and preamp tubes every 2 -3 years.

That's not a bad idea. I know that Mesa tests their tubes before they put them in their amps. I just wanted to eliminate any possible quick fixes before I re-tubed the whole amp (i.e. settings, etc.) because that is expensive. I'll certainly look into the pre amp tubes though, especially in the V1 position.

 

[jbird]

Just try swapping out the pre-amp tubes until you find the culprit. You don't necessarily have to replace em all.

 

[vulture2600]

yes, mesa VIGOROUSLY tests their amplifiers multiple times before
they leave the factory. but its anyones guess how long its been
since the amp left the factory to the time you bought it.
good luck

 

[no soul]

even a brand new amp may have tubes that are already a year old.
the tubes could have sat in a warehouse for 4 months, then the factory
for another few, then the amp could have sat at what ever store
you bought it from for six months. swapping out should be the
first thing you do when you buy an amp,unless you had it built to order,
and even then its a good idea within 4 months. power tubes should be
replaced on a minimum of every 2 years and preamp tubes every 2 -3 years.

how does the amp sitting arround being unused effect the tube life?
Caps I can understand..