New Rectoverb 25 head static noise

[BillK01]

Well I got my new Mesa Boogie Rectoverb 25 and matching 1x12 slant cab from Sweetwater - hooked up and it seems to have a strange sizzling sound when when I'm not playing the guitar. While it's just sitting there (not on standby) it sounds like bacon frying/static occasionally. Any ideas or is this just normal tube amp behavior? (This is my first tube amp) It's faily constant but does go silent for a few seconds then the sizzling/static starts again.

It sounds great when playing - just weird when nothing is happening.

I troubleshot all the cables and outlets in my house and determined it's not that (still makes static even when nothing is plugged in and still does regardless of what outlets I use). So I watched Mesa's YouTube troubleshooting video and it seems it's the V1 preamp tube. The static is in all 4 channels and on both 10 & 25 watt settings which according to them is indicative of V1.

I really don't want to pull the chassis out to get to V1 (it's too tight to reach in there and remove the protective cover from v1 to even tap it with a pencil - but if I have to so be it.

So my questions are:

Could it really just be "its new and needs time to settle in"

Could the v1 tube have been bumped slightly out of its seating in shipment and just needs reseated?

Could v1 just be bad out of the gate (which seems unlikely since Mesa QCs them before shipments)

If I remove the chassis to further troubleshoot the preamp tube there are 2 small plugs that appear to go to the reverb tank. One is like a black RCA and pulls out easily while the closest appears to be some sort of metal plug and it doesn't want to move. I can't pull the chassis without unplugging them both but wow that one with the white wire and metal plug seems awfully tight and I'm afraid of breaking it while trying to remove it. Ideas?

Thanks guys.

 

[noghiri]

I sometimes have something similar on my Rectoverb 50 combo.

Try dialing your guitar's volume down to zero when this happens. Is there a change?

 

[BillK01]

I sometimes have something similar on my Rectoverb 50 combo.

Try dialing your guitar's volume down to zero when this happens. Is there a change?

Nope no change - this happens regardless of whether the guitar is even plugged in or not.

 

[noghiri]

Then what you're getting is different than what I'm getting.

Do you use any effects pedals?

 

[th0rr]

I've got something very similar happening to my Mini Rec. It happens on both channels and turning down the guitar volume does nothing. Whats weird is that mine will happen for about 10mins or so then just go away. I've replaced the V1 and it did nothing, reseated all the preamp tubes, same thing no effect. I did reseat one of the power tubes and that seemed to fix it for about 2 days and now its back. I'm now looking at replacing both power tubes so we'll see how it goes.

 

[noghiri]

Th0rr, do you warm up your amp before playing? Tube amps need a warmup period... I'm not sure of the exact time, but I usually give it 10-15 minutes. The fact that it goes away after about 10 minutes makes me wonder if it's warmup related.

 

[BillK01]

Then what you're getting is different than what I'm getting.

Do you use any effects pedals?

Nope nothing. The amp just arrived on Thursday. I only just turned it on this morning for the first time and let it sit in standby for about 10 minutes before using it.

 

[th0rr]

Th0rr, do you warm up your amp before playing? Tube amps need a warmup period... I'm not sure of the exact time, but I usually give it 10-15 minutes. The fact that it goes away after about 10 minutes makes me wonder if it's warmup related.

I do but not for that long. Only for a couple of minutes at most. Never had an issue with my other tube amps. Just this little guy.

 

[th0rr]

Then what you're getting is different than what I'm getting.

Do you use any effects pedals?

Nope nothing. The amp just arrived on Thursday. I only just turned it on this morning for the first time and let it sit in standby for about 10 minutes before using it.

Reseated both power tubes last night. So far so good. Last time I only reseated one, which seemed to have helped some, so hopefully this fixes it. Maybe give it a try on yours and see if that has any effect.

 

[BillK01]

Thanks for the update man. I just tried that since they don't require pulling the chassis and it didn't help mine.

At this point I'm thinking I'll just see if Sweetwater will replace the unit tomorrow. I don't really feel like I should have to troubleshoot a brand new amp - even with Mesa's help.

Here is a soundclip I recorded earlier today. Not sure if it helps explain my noise or not.

https://soundcloud.com/billk01/rectoverb-noise-all-channels

 

[th0rr]

Thanks for the update man. I just tried that since they don't require pulling the chassis and it didn't help mine.

At this point I'm thinking I'll just see if Sweetwater will replace the unit tomorrow. I don't really feel like I should have to troubleshoot a brand new amp - even with Mesa's help.

Here is a soundclip I recorded earlier today. Not sure if it helps explain my noise or not.

https://soundcloud.com/billk01/rectoverb-noise-all-channels

Yep that is the same noise mine was making. If I turned it to standby it would stop then start again as soon as I flipped it back on. Also affected both 10 and 25 watt modes. Does yours stop after a bit of time? Either way I'm sure Sweetwater will make good on it.

 

[BillK01]

Just a quick update. I'm called Mesa today and the guy there immediately said I had a bad power tube not a bad preamp tube as soon a I told him his happens with the master all the way down.

He recommended I pull one at a time to see which was causing the static - and it would appear one was bad. Pulled the first tube and turned on and all I heard was a loud humming - but not static. So I turned it off and replaced that tube and pulled the other and sure enough a loud hum AND static.

He offered to send me a new set but suggested Sweetwater may be faster so I called them and they said no problem. Hopefully I'll have the new set soon and will report back if that solves my issues.

I guess it was stupid of me to just assume it was a bad preamp tube and not verify if it was a power tube. I won't make that mistake again that's for sure.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be sure to update once I get the new EL84s.

 

[th0rr]

Glad to hear it. I wish I had called them. Mine started making noise again. I've always heard that tubes didn't fall under warranty so I went out and grabbed some at the local shop. It was only $30 for the set from Mesa but still. I replaced both mine today and so far so good. Hope this fixes yours as well. I really dig this little amp. I've got a Mark V but now I'm checking out the Mark V 25.

 

[BillK01]

I almost went with the Mark V 25 myself - that's a sweet looking head. Someday....maybe.

As far as I know the tubes are 6 months. The rest is 5 years.

Sweetwater screwed up and didn't ship em out yesterday so they sent them overnight to me today. Should have them tomorrow and I'll see if that fixes it. Will post a follow up once I swap them out.

 

[BillK01]

Just a quick update.

Sweetwater sent me a new pair of EL84s and they arrived today. Swapped em out and NO STATIC! This thing is a beast and an angel at the same time.

Off to play for now. I'll post more thoughts in a day or so after some time with it. But so far so good. Loving it.