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Post subject: HRDx- First Issue after all these years - help needed
Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 11:40 am
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Hi Folks,

Have just registed!!

Yesterday I arrived at my weekly GIG, took the amp from its box (Yes I still have the original box with all the styrofoam corners), set it in a chair in the stage, power it up and waited it warm a little while my band mates were doing the same with their gears.

Then we started the soundcheck, and as soon as I turned the stand by switch on, I heard a strange noise coming from the amp. Something "like" an egg being fried.. shhhhhfrrrshhhhhfrrrrr. I could even play the amp since the noise was not that loud, but as soon as I stopped playing there it was.... Then I plugged the guitar off and started investigating... The noise is there as soon as the stand by switch is flipped. It happens in both normal and drive channel (even in the more drive). Turning the reverb knob down also doesn't help. Rotated all the knobs and nothing helped.

So I took the back cover and pulled all the tubes, reinserting them firmly hoping that a bad contact would be the cause of the problem. Nothing happened it is still there...

Later at home I swapped v1 with v3 and after that v3 with v2 with no results what leads me to think that a bad pre amp tube wouldn't be an issue. The tube sockets seems to be tight enough.

Just ordered a full retube kit from Eurotubes hoping that this will fix the problem.

I would appreciate any inputs that I should look for before sending the amp to a technician. I hope that this could be something easy to fix like for instance dirt in the sockets or something like this.

Thanks in advance, :shock:


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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:19 pm
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If playing with the controls and swapping preamp tubes doesn't affect the noise, its most likely a power tube. How old are they? Generally, they should be replaced yearly, more or less depending on how much you play.

Turn it on and try tapping lightly on the power tubes with a pencil or chopstick (something non-conductive). A tube (pre or power) that has gone microphonic or is otherwise mechanically failing will transmit noise thru the circuitry which you'll hear coming thru the speaker.

Another test to try... run a cable from the pre-out jack into the input of another amp... if you get noise from the other amp, then the problem IS in the preamp section. Insert a patch cable or open plug into the power in jack to disable the power amp section of your deluxe, so you don't hear it in addition to the slave amp.

Just remember that this amp runs off a fixed bias... be sure to get a well- matched set of tubes. My tech suggests Sovteks and I switch between those and JJ/Teslas. I wouldn't bother with Fender/Groove Tubes, as those are just overpriced re-branded versions of other manufacturers... regardless of what their advertising departments tell you.

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93 Blues Deville 212
05 MIM Strat with 96 Am. Std. "Delta Tone" and Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups
98 Carvin Bolt with Dimarzio and Duncan pickups
Muzique.com Mini-Booster and MOSFET Booster
Ibanez TS-9 Reissue (TS-808 and flat-mid mods)


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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:29 pm
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Somebody in another Forum suggested removing v3 and powering the amp on ... If the noise still remains it should be restricted to the power section. Just ordered a full JJ retube kit from Eurotubes. Meanwhile I'll continue to investigate. Gonna try the master slave test you suggested late at night.

Thanks!


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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:39 pm
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V3 is the phase inverter, which is after the reverb and FX loop in the signal path. Pulling that disconnects the preamp and power amp, essentially the same as plugging an open jack or small patch cable into the power-in jack... but more dangerous as you've got an open circuit in the amp. I personally wouldn't recommend it.

Having said that, on an amp without an FX loop (twin, deluxe reverb, etc..) pulling the phase inverter would be the ONLY way to isolate the preamp and power amp sections without major modifications to the amp.

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93 Blues Deville 212
05 MIM Strat with 96 Am. Std. "Delta Tone" and Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups
98 Carvin Bolt with Dimarzio and Duncan pickups
Muzique.com Mini-Booster and MOSFET Booster
Ibanez TS-9 Reissue (TS-808 and flat-mid mods)


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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:02 pm
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Hey this sounds famuliar...... haha


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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 3:55 pm
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Just an update, removed v3 powered the amp up and there it is... the same noise. Nothing changed. so I assume the problem is located in the power section. Mainly tubes but could be something else. I didn´t noticed lack of volume or ugly distortion..just this crackling and popping when the stand by is flipped....


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Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:12 pm
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OK... try 2 last things to rule out the tubes...

1: with all the preamp tubes out, turn on the amp, tap gently on the power tubes...

2: Pull ALL the tubes... turn it on, see if it makes noise. Then start putting tubes back in... starting with the power tubes...

be sure to turn off the amp before you replace each tube!

If I haven't mentioned it before, my 93 blues deville developed over 6 cracked/cold solder joints after a few years of hard service... including a possible drop/shock damage while left in a bar for a week (before I bought it)

If the PCB has damage, be prepared for a big repair bill: you have to remove the chassis from the cabinet, remove the knobs and nuts from the control panel, then pull the PCB... all just to access the solder joints on the back side of the board. This is also a good time to replace any malfunctioning jacks, pots or tube sockets.

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93 Blues Deville 212
05 MIM Strat with 96 Am. Std. "Delta Tone" and Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups
98 Carvin Bolt with Dimarzio and Duncan pickups
Muzique.com Mini-Booster and MOSFET Booster
Ibanez TS-9 Reissue (TS-808 and flat-mid mods)


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:06 pm
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Yup sounds to me like the 2 470ohm wire wound ceramic reisitors off of the power supply. They develop cold solder joints A LOT. Fender has started to put 330 ohm as replacements to help heat.


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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:30 am
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UPDATE:

Fixed. The culprit was a ceramic capacitor in the power supply section....replaced and everything is Ok. now


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:05 am
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Normally the cermic caps don't go bad but can have a cold solder joint. Did you go ahead and check all the joints while you were in there? The main ones to check are the 2 wire wound resistors and the big diodes.


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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:09 am
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The solder joints seemed OK. That capacitor was actually generating noise that could be heard from a stetoscope without the normal tip (just the rubber tube).


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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:10 am
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hmm Well if it isn't broke don't fix it. lol Hopefully your all done and get back to enjoying that nice HRD tone. :-) I like mine. I need to play mine. I haven't even used it in a while. Maybe I'll fire it up tonight.


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