Mini Rec owners - hum 10w mode all channels?!

[RalfT85]

Hi guys!

Last week I received my 3rd Mini Rectifier (see my topic under Modern Era Amps - Mesa Boogie quality control to read the story).

One thing that I experienced with all 3 Mini Recs is a slight hum in the 10w setting over all channels. It is not noticeable during playing, but it kind of disturbs my bedroom practice. I have talked to Mesa about that, they told my it is normal due to the 10w triode setting.

It is pretty noticeable when you do not play and really annoys me. But playing channel two in the 25w setting is impossible for me at home...

But what are your experiences? Also have the hum? Tried different tubes and fixed it? I mean when it is normal then I am okay with it but maybe some Mini Recs hum louder than others in this settings...

So let me hear your experiences!

 

[Reeko]

Hi guys!

Last week I received my 3rd Mini Rectifier (see my topic under Modern Era Amps - Mesa Boogie quality control to read the story).

One thing that I experienced with all 3 Mini Recs is a slight hum in the 10w setting over all channels. It is not noticeable during playing, but it kind of disturbs my bedroom practice. I have talked to Mesa about that, they told my it is normal due to the 10w triode setting.

It is pretty noticeable when you do not play and really annoys me. But playing channel two in the 25w setting is impossible for me at home...

But what are your experiences? Also have the hum? Tried different tubes and fixed it? I mean when it is normal then I am okay with it but maybe some Mini Recs hum louder than others in this settings...

So let me hear your experiences!

Why is 25W at home not an option?
It is a Master Volume amp, so just turn down. There is not a big volume difference between 10W and 25W in my mind.

 

[elvis]

I hate the 10W tone, so I don't even know if it hums. It may be the amp, but it may also be that the tubes are more sensitive to noise in triode mode.

Try:
Move the amp to another room or outlet
An RF filtering power strip
Turn off nearby lights and other noise sources (computers are big noise sources)

 

[KiwiJoe]

I use 10 watt on both channels almost exclusively and have never had a humming problem. At home I notice a *slight* buzz if I don't have fingers on the strings, but I attribute that to some kind of grounding issue. I've never had any problems with the amp whilst gigging - except keeping the volume in check!

There was a thread here or somewhere about something similar (RF noise, modern, 25 watts is all I can remember). If you have another location like a jam room or a friend's house, try that. Other than that I'm out of ideas.

 

[RalfT85]

I have sent another mail to Mesa because now I am wondering why some Minis do hum and others do not.

I have also recorded an audio file to let you hear what I am talking about:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fj5r05psduo0qa8/WIiRM2DjoA

 

[cyber104]

That sure sounds like 60 cycle hum to me.

The other question I have is are you sitting close in front of the amp and cabinet?

 

[RalfT85]

That sure sounds like 60 cycle hum to me.

The other question I have is are you sitting close in front of the amp and cabinet?

All 3 minis I played did that hum on the 10w setting so I thought it would be normal..But now that some say their Mini does not hum I am curious how to get rid of it

The hum also occurs with the guitar unplugged, nothing connected, fx loop bypassed.

 

[LBCwanabe]

I noticed mine does the same thing. It should be noted that the hum does not come from the speaker, but rather from the head itself. Sounds like normal operating noise. My 72 sf bassman head sounded simillar.

The hum is VERY quiet and cannot be heard when i play my tele not plugged in.

This hum is very quiet when compaired to other channel switching amps

Hope this helps, russ

 

[RalfT85]

I noticed mine does the same thing. It should be noted that the hum does not come from the speaker, but rather from the head itself. Sounds like normal operating noise. My 72 sf bassman head sounded simillar.

The hum is VERY quiet and cannot be heard when i play my tele not plugged in.

This hum is very quiet when compaired to other channel switching amps

Yeah this hum I know and this is not the hum I mean

I have received an answer from a Mesa tech and wanted to let you know....I have sent him the audio file and the posts of this forum...So here we go:

"The hum you have sounds very normal. The discrepancy you are reading on the forum has everything to do with people's perception and is subjective, but all amps are the same. Some folks expect and understand that the amp will produce hum so in their view the amp is quiet. For those who expect no noise from the amp the hum will appear loud. You should be all set to rock out."

Not very helpful but it seems the 10w hum seems to be "normal" so I do not care anymore...But if there would be a way to get rid of it, i will try to fix it...

 

[MBJunkie]

RalfT85,

Honestly, I haven't experienced any significant "Hum" from either channel at any setting (10w or 25w).

In fact, I find the Mini Rec to be "surprisingly quite" for the very aggressive high gain tones it can conjur? Of course, my hearing probably isn't as it once was either.....

Great Amp....Rock On! :mrgreen:

 

[soundchaser59]

RalfT85,

Honestly, I haven't experienced any significant "Hum" from either channel at any setting (10w or 25w).

In fact, I find the Mini Rec to be "surprisingly quite" for the very aggressive high gain tones it can conjur? Of course, my hearing probably isn't as it once was either.....

Great Amp....Rock On! :mrgreen:

This is my experience. I have a slight hiss, but mine is turned up pretty loud, and that hiss is normal and less than other amps I used.

If you get the same hum from all three mini recs, maybe it's because you have all three amps in the same room, same environmental factors, etc. If so, then it's no surprise that all three amps would respond the same way.

Get to a different location......a friends new house with good wiring, try different guitars, leave out the pedals, no flourescent lights, no computer monitors, etc..... and see if the amp still has hum no matter where you go or what you plug into it. Just using a power strip with two rows of outlets on it can cause hum if the two rows of outlets are not all grounded together. If you plug the amp into one row and your pedalboard into the other row, that could be enough to set up a grounding issue. Hum drove me crazy for years until I decided to put Noiseless pups in my Strat. Shoulda done it years ago.....DOH!

 

[rwhitney]

There was no hum in either mode of a Mini Rectifier I took home from GC a week ago, but the one I received from Sweetwater had the 10w mode hum. Changing the power tubes solved it. I had some Mesa el84s from a previous amp, and the hum was gone after the swap.

 

[nicolasrivera]

The sound of 10W and 25W is directly related to the output tubes, if any one do not like the sound of the 10w mode then you need to change one power tube.