Studio pre - a lot of noise!

[Vilddyr72]

Hello,

Been reading a lot on this forum, but this is my first here, so be gentle

I just acquired a Mesa Studio preamp. I had a chance to test it out last night in out studio and one thing I noticed was that it was extremely noisy. It was only when the lead mode was activated though. I know it is normal that an amplifier is noisy when the distortion is turned up, but this was way over the top.

I hooked up the Studio this way: guitar -> wireless -> G-Major -> Studio -> Engl Blackmore (return) -> cab

The G-Major was bypassed, ie. no effects turned on. I'm pretty sure this noise comes from the preamp itself, I'm just curious if this behavior is normal, or if something is wrong?

On a side note: The Engl Blackmore is a formidable amp. I'd say it beat the Studio (chunky heavy rhythm guitar sound-wise that is). I know it takes some teaking to make it sound good, but maybe the Studio is better for clean/lead?

 

[Tubes Rock!]

I don't have any unwanted noise that I can notice my my Studio Pre. There is your typical hum, from the amp, but that's even without the preamp. Perhaps you have played through one with the tubes on their way out the door?

Edit: I've never played that Engl amp, so I cannot compare, but the lead channel on my Studio Pre growls with very nice chunk. Again, this might be due to a tube replacement, maybe spend a bit more on tweaking. Check the boards for some settings that I've added in another thread.

I'm still hoping to get that link up for the Studio and Quad preamps settings page..

Good luck with your Boogie!

 

[mainly]

Hello,

Been reading a lot on this forum, but this is my first here, so be gentle

I just acquired a Mesa Studio preamp. I had a chance to test it out last night in out studio and one thing I noticed was that it was extremely noisy. It was only when the lead mode was activated though. I know it is normal that an amplifier is noisy when the distortion is turned up, but this was way over the top.

I hooked up the Studio this way: guitar -> wireless -> G-Major -> Studio -> Engl Blackmore (return) -> cab

The G-Major was bypassed, ie. no effects turned on. I'm pretty sure this noise comes from the preamp itself, I'm just curious if this behavior is normal, or if something is wrong?

On a side note: The Engl Blackmore is a formidable amp. I'd say it beat the Studio (chunky heavy rhythm guitar sound-wise that is). I know it takes some teaking to make it sound good, but maybe the Studio is better for clean/lead?

i have a problem as well with my studio pre. it has a lot of squeal, and loud feedback. as well the lead channel sounds flubby, and muddy in all frequencies. i have the bass dialed way back, 3 or less. going through a 2:100 or the return of my mk4(alot better with the mk4)

i cant get the output past 3 and its just feedback like crazy, i figured it was definatly something broken with the preamp, but mesa said there are really not much that goes wrong as far as parts inside needing to be replaced. right now the studio is the worst tone in my rig, out of my mk4 head, roadster head, voodoo lab pre, and jmp-1 .

??

i dont get it, its supposed to be one of the smoothest sounding preamps mesa put out?

 

[Mr Bungle]

Funny,..I too had a similar problem last night at rehearsal.

Mind you it was my first time with my new rig setup, running with a GSP-1101, using an Axess GRX4 to tie a couple other things together.

I had to play with the Volume and Output knobs like you also had to do "mainly" to try and get it in a more tame spot, it was giving off a hollow sounding feedback too.

Were you using the recording outs or the mains? Mine is set using recording outs, would like to get the extra bite and switch to main outs..but a little leary about possibly even more noise issues :shock:

 

[Vilddyr72]

I don't have any unwanted noise that I can notice my my Studio Pre. There is your typical hum, from the amp, but that's even without the preamp. Perhaps you have played through one with the tubes on their way out the door?

Edit: I've never played that Engl amp, so I cannot compare, but the lead channel on my Studio Pre growls with very nice chunk. Again, this might be due to a tube replacement, maybe spend a bit more on tweaking. Check the boards for some settings that I've added in another thread.

I'm still hoping to get that link up for the Studio and Quad preamps settings page..

Good luck with your Boogie!

One thing is for certain: it makes A LOT og noise on the in the lead mode (not feedback). It's a very loud hissing sound that gets louder when I turn the treble up.

Anyway, maybe it needs a closer examination by a technician. I'm just worried that it will be expensive.

If the tubes need replacing what kind is recommended (full name a model please)?

 

[Mr Bungle]

Hey Vilddyr72,

Here is a email I got from Doug@dougstubes when I asked for what he recommended me for doing a whole tube makeover.

Doug is great to deal with and well respected....


....Go with the high gain JJ ECC83S's in the ADA MP-1

....Lets go with a mix of Tung-Sol reissue, Mullard reissue, Penta Labs and Sovtek LP in the Studio preamp.

....In the Peavey 50/50 classic has 8 x EL84, 2 x 12AX7 and 2 x 12AT7. We're out of JJ EL84's, I recommend the TAD's or the Mullard reissues. For the driver tubes, do 2 x EH 12AX7 and 2 x JAN Philips 12AT7WC.

Results will likely vary depending on what you play etc,...he was very helpful...

 

[Whoopysnorp]

Noise of that kind in the lead mode really does sound like a tube problem to me. My Studio is quiet as a mouse.

 

[Vilddyr72]

Hey Vilddyr72,

Here is a email I got from Doug@dougstubes when I asked for what he recommended me for doing a whole tube makeover.

Doug is great to deal with and well respected....


....Go with the high gain JJ ECC83S's in the ADA MP-1

....Lets go with a mix of Tung-Sol reissue, Mullard reissue, Penta Labs and Sovtek LP in the Studio preamp.

....In the Peavey 50/50 classic has 8 x EL84, 2 x 12AX7 and 2 x 12AT7. We're out of JJ EL84's, I recommend the TAD's or the Mullard reissues. For the driver tubes, do 2 x EH 12AX7 and 2 x JAN Philips 12AT7WC.

Results will likely vary depending on what you play etc,...he was very helpful...

Thanks a lot for the info! I'm playing heavy rock:
http://www.riperocks.dk (there's a player at the top of the page)
So maybe there are tubes well suited for this style?

I guess I should hope that it is merely a tube problem, like Whoopysnorp says. Only way to test this will be by changing the tubes? Is this something I can do myself (I'm used to fixing computers)? What exactly does it entail?

 

[axisman5150]

Yeah it sounds like you need to replace the tubes. Squeals,hum,hissing, volume drops are all signs of a tube or tubes going out.

I know tube slot 3 ( V3 ) is for the lead channel, so you might want to try replacing that one first to see if thats the source of the noise. When looking at the front of the unit it's the 3rd tube from the right.

Doug's tubes is a great source like Bungle mentioned so is Bob at Eurotubes.com for JJ tubes.

Hope that helps!

 

[myqqy]

When i acquire a new mesa unit, the first thing i do is replace the tubes- i want to make sure i'm diving in with everything dialed in for a good sound. If i buy a new guitar, i put on a fresh set of strings- so i have the same mindset with tubes..

 

[Vilddyr72]

Thanks a lot, I'll try replacing V3 and see what happens. IF the noise does not go away, what could be wrong? Do I need to get the amp to a technician?

 

[axisman5150]

Before calling a tech, prepare to replace all the tubes first. Preamp tubes will probably be cheaper than a tech.

V3 is the main tube for the lead channel but it does get gain stages from some of the other tubes(correct me if I'm wrong) so there's a chance that just replacing the V3 will not fix the problem, but if you just have one spare tube V3 would be the place to start.