Mark V Static Sound on Every note

[MarkV]

On my Mark V Combo I get a faint (albiet noticeable) static/scratch sound with every note I play. I just retubed (with the exception of the rectifier tube) and there is no difference.

Why could this be happening?

 

[2 Boogie]

Hello MarkV!

When this sound occurs, which settings do you have on the amp?
Is the guitar cable ok? The wiring in the guitar ok?
If you try another guitar, do you get this problem then?

The issue could be that one or more of the tubes has become microphonic or a bad ground connection in the amp.

If I could get more info, then I can get more ideas to solve your problem.

Dr B

 

[MarkV]

Dr. B,

Thanks for the reply! This happens on every setting, with every cable and every guitar. That's why I swapped out all of the preamp and powertubes and am having the same issue. I played through my buddy's Mark V and another at the guitar store and those did not have any of the scratching sounds I am getting.

The strange thing about it, is that the scratching sound happens upon the attack of the note and goes away as a chord rings out. It is most noticeable when the signal is less distorted.

How can I determine if there is a bad ground connection in the amp?

Thanks!

 

[2 Boogie]

Hello MarkV!

This sounds strange. So the cable and guitar ok. You have change all the tubes, so they should be ok.
This with if a bad ground connection in the amp is a theory. I have built a lot of stompboxes and sometimes if the circuit is not grounded in the right way, similar thing happen.

Have you connected a external speaker cabinet to the amp? If then the sound is gone when you do that, then is a problem with the speaker.

 

[MarkV]

Dr. B,

I have not tried connecting an external speaker cab. I will borrow one and post the results.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[2 Boogie]

Hello MarkV!

Is this similar to your problem?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h7-Eo9LWQw0

 

[primal]

Sounds like you are describing fret buzz to me.

 

[Authorized Boogie]

Definitely try an external speaker cabinet...

 

[primal]

I know the fret buzz thing sounds dumb, but I'm not joking.

Years ago I had a Carvin that I could hear the EXACT issue you described.

With all my guitars.

The reason in the end was I had set my action too low on ALL my guitars. I am generally a heavy hitter on the strings and love picking dynamics.

If you can hear fret buzz without the amp, you will also hear it in the amp.

Don't dismiss it till you rule it out!

 

[MarkV]

Thanks all. I borrowed my neighbor's old Peavey Backstage 50 and played it through my speaker. No issues with the speaker, the notes rang clear. This and the other Mark V's I have played through confirm it is not fret buzz eithrr. The noise is not like the video Dr. B posted as the amp overall is very quiet.

When playing it again tonight, I continued to notice the distortion at the peak of every note and chord (which is not entirely unmusical.

 

[primal]

Well ****, and here I was thinking I had it all figured out.

Definitely keep us posted if you figure out what it is and good luck!

 

[MarkV]

Thanks! I keep the action low and get a little rattle but this is different. I might just have to send my amp in (I hate parting with it).

 

[2 Boogie]

Hello MarkV!

One thing I was thinking about.
I you plug in your guitar and turn up the volume on the amp and the volume on the guitar and don't touch any metal parts on the guitar, do you have the noise then?
If you then put your hand on the strings, do the noise then dissapear?

If this is the case, then your guitar is bad grounded.

 

[MarkV]

2 Boogie,

Thanks for the thought. This is definitely not a 60 cycle hum issue as the distortion/scratch sounds occur at the loudest part of the note and a little bit after. The sound is not continuous like I have experienced with hum in the past. I am baffled.

 

[fr0sty]

Can you record it and post a link to the sample?

 

[2 Boogie]

Ok. It's hard to say when I can't hear how it sounds. Is the noise a high pitch sound?

 

[MarkV]

Here is the link to the recording. It may help to use headphones. The unwanted distortion of the signal didn't jump out at me.

https://soundcloud.com/markv-8/markvscratchdistortion

 

[2 Boogie]

Hello MarkV!

I have listen to the sound clip now. I can hear background noise and it sounds like when you do a recording without noise reduction, is this what you mean?

If this is the issue, try first to connect a noise suppressor between the guitar and the input of the amp, if it have no effect, try to connect the noise suppressor in the fx loop of the amp and see if it dissapears. This way you can determine if the preamp or the power amp that is causing this noise.

I also heard some fret buzz on some of the note you played.
The timbre in the amp sounds ok to me.

2B

 

[MarkV]

2 Boogie,

I think you described the sound really well. The recording is actually clear and the notes coming out of the amp sound like there is some recording distortion.

 

[2 Boogie]

I learned this trick from a friend of mine, his amp was giving almost the same background noise.
He put a noise suppressor in the fx loop and the noise was gone.