Road King II metallic jangling noise... reverb tank?

[Henweigh]

Hey all, first post here. I've had my Road King II head for almost a year, got it custom ordered brand new last May. Ever since day one, it's been making a strange sound. Everything about the tone and quality and reliability has been great, no issues. However, right off the bat I noticed that it was making a strange noise when I moved it. Whether it be placing the head on top of the cab, rolling it across uneven pavement, or most noticeably when hitting any bump in the road while transporting it, it has been making a very distinct metallic sound as if something were loose. Not like something loose rolling around, but a sound almost like if I had loosened a bunch of screws (though I'm not positing that's what's making the sound in the least). All of those events I mentioned made the sound, to varying degrees of loudness. I've checked all the tubes, and everything is snug and working just fine. I'd previously chalked it up to possibly being maybe a spring or something in one of the 12 AX7 tubes holders rattling around when jostled, or possibly all of them. To be honest though, I have no clue.

Tonight I was playing at louder than normal volume and I noticed something a bit different. I usually have my master volume set around 11 o'clock while gigging, but tonight I was playing with it at home a tad louder. At certain frequencies I could hear a metallic buzzing coming somewhere from the back of the amp when I would palm mute the high E and B strings. I investigated the source, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere near the side where the fuse is. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be right in the direct vicinity of the fuse and spongy bold switch, but seems like it's coming from possibly beneath the metal enclosure. Even if I just rapped my knuckles on the top of the head, I could faintly hear the metallic vibration.

So, my question is, anyone have any ideas? I've never owned an amp with a spring reverb before, so I don't know if maybe that's it? I don't even know where the reverb is located on the amp. Also, what is the black metal cube behind the tubes on the same side as the fuse, behind the tubes. The sound could POSSIBLY be coming from there, but I'm moderately sure it's coming from an inch or two closer to the back of the amp.

Thanks for your input!

 

[piggyboy]

does it still happen if you turn the reverb off or disconnect it totally?
is the sound coming through the speakers?

 

[domct203]

Hey all, first post here. I've had my Road King II head for almost a year, got it custom ordered brand new last May. Ever since day one, it's been making a strange sound. Everything about the tone and quality and reliability has been great, no issues. However, right off the bat I noticed that it was making a strange noise when I moved it. Whether it be placing the head on top of the cab, rolling it across uneven pavement, or most noticeably when hitting any bump in the road while transporting it, it has been making a very distinct metallic sound as if something were loose. Not like something loose rolling around, but a sound almost like if I had loosened a bunch of screws (though I'm not positing that's what's making the sound in the least). All of those events I mentioned made the sound, to varying degrees of loudness. I've checked all the tubes, and everything is snug and working just fine. I'd previously chalked it up to possibly being maybe a spring or something in one of the 12 AX7 tubes holders rattling around when jostled, or possibly all of them. To be honest though, I have no clue.

Tonight I was playing at louder than normal volume and I noticed something a bit different. I usually have my master volume set around 11 o'clock while gigging, but tonight I was playing with it at home a tad louder. At certain frequencies I could hear a metallic buzzing coming somewhere from the back of the amp when I would palm mute the high E and B strings. I investigated the source, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere near the side where the fuse is. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be right in the direct vicinity of the fuse and spongy bold switch, but seems like it's coming from possibly beneath the metal enclosure. Even if I just rapped my knuckles on the top of the head, I could faintly hear the metallic vibration.

So, my question is, anyone have any ideas? I've never owned an amp with a spring reverb before, so I don't know if maybe that's it? I don't even know where the reverb is located on the amp. Also, what is the black metal cube behind the tubes on the same side as the fuse, behind the tubes. The sound could POSSIBLY be coming from there, but I'm moderately sure it's coming from an inch or two closer to the back of the amp.

Thanks for your input!

Hello, and Welcome to The Board!

It sounds like you are hearing the Reverb Tank springs rattling around inside the tank. As long as the reverb is working fine and there are no strange reverb artifacts coming through the speaker I would think all is normal. My Roadster makes the same nosies when I move it, especially when I'm rolling it on my 4X12 for load in/out. Your reverb tank is the metal "box" that is attached to the inside of the headshell top. There are springs inside that are loosely stretched lengthwise from one end of the tank to the other. Bumping and Jarring the amp, especially during transport, will cause the springs to bounce around, hitting the inside of the tank.

The "Black Metal Cube" that you have referred to is your power transformer, which takes the incoming line voltage and converts it to the voltages needed for the amp (from 6V to over 460V).

I hope this helps,
Dom

 

[Henweigh]

Thanks Dom, you put my fears to rest. All along I suspected it was the reverb tank, but never having owned an amp with one I could never be sure. Piggy, I have no problems with any tone coming through the speakers, it's purely a hardware thing. Now that I know it has *multiple* springs in there, the sound makes even more sense.

I just looked at the back of the amp. What do you mean by the reverb tank being connected to the "headshell top"? You mean the metal plate that the tubes are set into? I believe maybe we're both describing the same thing. What I referred to as the black metal cube was on the same side as the fuse. I think it's black, hard to tell if it's that or just metallic. There is also a blackER cube which is on the side of the speaker outputs. Am I right in that the reverb tank is a cube on the side of the effects loop/fuse and the transformer is a black cube right above the speaker outputs?

Thanks for the prompt reply before, and looking forward to discussing some Road King/Roadster tones and applications soon

 

[piggyboy]

the reverb tank is connected to the amp via RCA jacks (on all my mesas anyway).
glad you dont have a problem.
rock on man.

 

[domct203]

Thanks Dom, you put my fears to rest. All along I suspected it was the reverb tank, but never having owned an amp with one I could never be sure. Piggy, I have no problems with any tone coming through the speakers, it's purely a hardware thing. Now that I know it has *multiple* springs in there, the sound makes even more sense.

I just looked at the back of the amp. What do you mean by the reverb tank being connected to the "headshell top"? You mean the metal plate that the tubes are set into? I believe maybe we're both describing the same thing. What I referred to as the black metal cube was on the same side as the fuse. I think it's black, hard to tell if it's that or just metallic. There is also a blackER cube which is on the side of the speaker outputs. Am I right in that the reverb tank is a cube on the side of the effects loop/fuse and the transformer is a black cube right above the speaker outputs?

Thanks for the prompt reply before, and looking forward to discussing some Road King/Roadster tones and applications soon

I hope this helps clear up your confusion:

Dom

 

[Henweigh]

Hey Dom, sorry for the late reply, hadn't been back on the board since y'all put my concerns to rest. Thanks so much for that diagram, I definitely didn't know which transformers were which, nor where the reverb tank sat. Appreciate the help