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Post subject: Hot Rod Deluxe crackling
Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:41 am
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I just bought a used hot rod deluxe yesterday. I played it for about twenty minutes before i bought it and it was fine. I played for a few hours after that and now that is a bad crackling when I play G#. I've never owned a tube amp before and I'm not sure what the deal is with this. I was hoping that someone would be able to help me out. Thanks guys.


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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:18 am
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HRDx are famous for this, unfortunately. These are typical problems:
1. bad tube- tap the smaller tubes(12AX7) and see if the crackling sound changes- gets better or worse. One of the larger tubes(6L6) could also cause this.
2. bad solder joint- the tubes sockets are soldered directly to the circuit board and after time the solder joints could fail causing the crackling sound. You'll have to take it in to have it repaired.
3. The cement resistors in the power supply have burned the circuit board. Another trip to you local repair service.

If you know someone who has a few spare tubes to try, I'd try replacing them first. Otherwise, I'd call the seller up and try to get your money back.


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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:26 am
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yea, try the tap test with a pencil eraser.

My v1 preamp tube, the one closest to the cabinet side, keeps going microphonic.
About to put in the 3rd one this year, and I am using the more expensive JJ's and Jan Philips tubes.

I think them in the know are blaming the close proximity of the preamp tubes to the speaker.in these amps, for rattling the tubes brains out and causing premature failures.

We'll see if it stops happening when we make some external speaker cabs this summer and stop using the internal speakers for a while.
If it does stop might consider turning the amp into a separate head&cabs but that kills the point of being a portable combo amp :(

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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:46 am
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Check the speaker too. If you can, try another cabinet. I own a HRDlx and have had all the above problems and then some. I would never consider a used one at all.


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Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:50 am
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OK, all the worst case scenarios have been offered. Also the guy who hates HR DLX. It can be a bad preamp tube. The manufacturers buy in bulk whatever they can get the best deal on and rebrand them. If you don't want to take the amp back to where you got it then Pick up some 12ax7's and try them in different sockets. Make sure all tubes are fully inserted too. Check speaker screws and all panel screws for looseness. Some of mine were loose when I got it. Those weak Mexicans couldn't get them tight I guess.
Also when I completely changed all my tubes I noticed a vast difference in my amp. No more funny buzzing. Cleaner sound. I got rid of the Groove Tubes power and preamp. V1 is now 12au7, V2 is Penta Labs 9th Gen and V3 is Sovtek 12ax7 LPS. I even have EH power tubes that I abhor instead of the GT. I am surprised by that because those power tubes sound great in this amp. Normally I would not use EH or GT tubes. Hope this helps.

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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:44 am
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hey lambchaps - did you ever fix your problem with the crackling at G#? I have the same problem, only my crackling occurs at B, especially fretted on the A string at the 14th fret or the D string, fretted at the 9th. It is subtle, but annoying, especially when recording.

I do notice a "static" type crackle noise coming from 1 of the 12AX7 small tubes so i am going to replace that to see if it corrects this problem.

Thanks for any feedback.


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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:39 am
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If you want to check the solder joints on the tube sockets, take off the back look and see where the tube socket connects to the PCB. Wiggle the tubes one at a time and look to see if the solder joints separate from the PCB. If it does, welcome to the club. Even just replacing the tubes can cause solder joint problems because the tube sockets are mounted to the board and not hard wired from chassis mounted tube sockets. If the board was constructed better and not so thin, it would hold up better.


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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:28 pm
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Thanks for the info. I actually talked to a guy here in Oregon at "Eurotubes" - extremely knowledgeable. He said the problem is that the tubes are so close to the speaker and they cause interference. He said replacing the tubes might help, but might not and the only sure way to fix it is to separate the tubes from the speaker, so that's what i did and it worked, the annoying buzz is gone. Of course, now i have my h/w laying on the floor a foot or so away from the speaker cabinet, but i can record and get the clean sound i wanted. I also had to drop the volume to level three (re-boosted it with my pre-amp) and am using the input 2 (which is a bit cleaner sounding). So, long story short, this amp will ALWAYS have a bit of crackling which is fine for gigs, but not for recording. And until i decide to buy something else, i dont mind having the guts on the floor for a couple studio days. Thanks,
Mike


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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:12 am
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mikemunter wrote:
Thanks for the info. I actually talked to a guy here in Oregon at "Eurotubes" - extremely knowledgeable. He said the problem is that the tubes are so close to the speaker and they cause interference. He said replacing the tubes might help, but might not and the only sure way to fix it is to separate the tubes from the speaker, so that's what i did and it worked, the annoying buzz is gone. Of course, now i have my h/w laying on the floor a foot or so away from the speaker cabinet, but i can record and get the clean sound i wanted. I also had to drop the volume to level three (re-boosted it with my pre-amp) and am using the input 2 (which is a bit cleaner sounding). So, long story short, this amp will ALWAYS have a bit of crackling which is fine for gigs, but not for recording. And until i decide to buy something else, i dont mind having the guts on the floor for a couple studio days. Thanks,
Mike

You must have some other problem if you still have a little crackle. My amp is clear as a bell. I haven't isolated anything. May have cracks in solder somewhere. Have you tried with different cables? What tubes did they recommend for you in each position in the preamp? Should not all be the same. I hope they didn't go all JJ's. Did you replace the power tubes? Sometimes a power tube can also do this if it is arcing. The stock tubes are not always the best.

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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:30 am
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I'm thinking the same thing. Using an external cabinet cuts down on the vibration lessening the symptoms.


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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:46 am
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63supro wrote:
I'm thinking the same thing. Using an external cabinet cuts down on the vibration lessening the symptoms.

That is like telling the doctor that your coughing is bothering the wife and kids and he tells you to go in another room. Not taking care of the root source is not acceptable. He may even have electrical issues working against him EMF, wireless network, etc.. Arcing in his receptacal from burned or oxidized wires.

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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:16 am
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Thanks, guys. I bought the amp used 3 years ago and haven't replaced any tubes, so who knows how old they are. When i tap one of the smaller ones, it does sound like I'm tapping a broken light bulb. The guy at Eurotubes suggested replacing all the tubes every 12-18 months. I guess I ought to replace all 5 of them, huh? They sell kits for about $60.
Thanks
Mike


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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:41 am
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mikemunter wrote:
Thanks, guys. I bought the amp used 3 years ago and haven't replaced any tubes, so who knows how old they are. When i tap one of the smaller ones, it does sound like I'm tapping a broken light bulb. The guy at Eurotubes suggested replacing all the tubes every 12-18 months. I guess I ought to replace all 5 of them, huh? They sell kits for about $60.
Thanks
Mike

I would try your own testing to get the tone out of it. I have a 12au7 in V1, Penta Labs 9th gen ax7 in V2 and a Sovtek 12ax7 LPS in V3 low noise tube. Power tubes to your style music. Do some research suggest http://www.thetubestore.com for reviews on power tubes and suggestions or http://www.dougstubes.com

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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:37 pm
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mikemunter wrote:
Thanks, guys. I bought the amp used 3 years ago and haven't replaced any tubes, so who knows how old they are. When i tap one of the smaller ones, it does sound like I'm tapping a broken light bulb. The guy at Eurotubes suggested replacing all the tubes every 12-18 months. I guess I ought to replace all 5 of them, huh? They sell kits for about $60.
Thanks
Mike


As much as I like Bob at Eurotubes, you need to remember, HE SELLS TUBES! I have tubes in some of my amps that are 15 years old and some are even older. They're not Groove Tubes though. I had to replace them in 2 months, I run JJ's in my newer stuff and they're great. I would only replace them if you're having problems which you are.


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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:47 pm
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63supro wrote:
mikemunter wrote:
Thanks, guys. I bought the amp used 3 years ago and haven't replaced any tubes, so who knows how old they are. When i tap one of the smaller ones, it does sound like I'm tapping a broken light bulb. The guy at Eurotubes suggested replacing all the tubes every 12-18 months. I guess I ought to replace all 5 of them, huh? They sell kits for about $60.
Thanks
Mike


As much as I like Bob at Eurotubes, you need to remember, HE SELLS TUBES! I have tubes in some of my amps that are 15 years old and some are even older. They're not Groove Tubes though. I had to replace them in 2 months, I run JJ's in my newer stuff and they're great. I would only replace them if you're having problems which you are.

I wouldn't use all JJ's in your preamp different tubes give you more tone variations. You could go all JJ and think it was great until you finally experiment and find that you can do even better. All of any one brand is the lazy way out and you can do better.

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