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Post subject: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 6:37 am
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Hi all

First of all, excuse me as I've never owned a tube amp before, so I don't know anything about tube amps -- or much about amps in general!

I purchased the "Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth'" from a company in the UK, and they very quickly shipped it over to me in Ireland.

I unboxed the amp on Wednesday evening, and I have to say, it sounds great! Though having played around with it for a little while, I was hearing this ringing/buzzing/hissing sound. My first thought was, "oh it must be fret buzz that I've not heard through my old Roland Cube 15XL".

So Thursday evening I spent some time ensuring that the fret buzz was fixed. Alas I am still getting this dreaded ringing sound. Experimenting last night, I seem to be getting it when I play a C on the highest 4 strings, particularly on the B string.

I have turned the reverb down, and I feel it is most prominent when having the volume up high, or using my overdrive pedal. You can even hear this hissing sound when the master volume is turned all the way down, so that the amp isn't making any noise.

I have made a recording of the problem (first half with the master volume down, and second with the master volume up): http://youtu.be/qPnBNCC5LjY

Notice when I play up and down the scale that most of the scale is fine, until I get to around C.

I am guessing that this isn't normal and I will probably need to return the amplifier for a new one?

Thanks!

Tom


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 8:07 am
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My guess is it a tube vibrating at that freq.


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 8:33 am
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Excuse my ignorance, again. What would cause a tube to resonate at that frequency, if no sound is being produced by the speaker?


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:09 am
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It most likely is a faulty tube. Very common and no reason to replace the entire amp. Unplug your guitar and try tapping on the tubes lightly with a pencil. Bad tube should give you noises, ringing, etc. The store should replace that tube under warranty. You might want to buy some locally though. That way you avoid shipping them which can damage them and you have some spares which is always a good idea.

If the amp is on the tube can still be vibrating and that could cause noise. Also, make sure the tubes are firmly seated.

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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:22 am
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take it back to the store and ask them to have a tech. explain all the in's and out's of tube amps to you. it seems that you should've done a bit of research before you bought something you didn't know about. most of us would have been glad to advise you on the blues jr. it's a gereat amp, period. the store might have saw you comming a mile away and sold it to you to move a product because it's what they do. tube amps buzz and hiss and do some wierd stuff from time to time. if you have never owned one i strongly suggest you go to the store and take the amp and have them explain every aspect to you. this may sound a bit far fetched but tell them your going to return it if they don't help and you will get results. tube amps pickup electrical annomilies of all kinds, it could be your refridgerator or lights causing the buzz or maybe the pickups in your guitar. just don't be taken advantage of. don't just go swapping tubes. do all the checks first.


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 9:35 am
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tombee wrote:
Experimenting last night, I seem to be getting it when I play a C on the highest 4 strings, particularly on the B string.


My money's on a microphonic tube.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 10:00 am
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Thanks guys -- this is really helpful advice. I have tapped the two power tubes with a pencil: http://youtu.be/ub7CFI41bWU

The right-hand power tube seems to give off a high pitched sound when tapping the glass with a pencil, whereas the left-hand tube sounds "dull" when tapping it.

lenrabinowitz: Unfortunately, I don't think that there are any shops locally that sell EL84 tubes. I couldn't even find anywhere locally that sold a Fender Blues Junior! I'm not sure whether the company that sold me the amplifier stock power tubes -- which could be a problem. It's a shame really as it must be reasonably costly to ship around an amplifier.

shinkicker: I know what you mean, and I would have been right back in the shop if I could doing exactly what you suggest. The problem is that I had ordered it from England and I'm living in Ireland (there are no good local music shops in the area -- only places that specialise in instruments for trad music). I had actually spent three weeks or so looking at tube amps before settling on the Blues Junior (including browsing posts on this forum). I didn't really dive down to the technicalities of 6L6 vs EL84s though! I simply had a budget, and went through the tube amps in that price range and decided that the Blues Junior had the sound I was looking for -- along with room for potential growth with BillM's mods. I didn't actually ask any advice from the company I purchased it from, I simply looked for the company that offered a good price and delivery to Ireland. I don't think they purposely sent me a faulty amplifier either, the amp is in the original packaging and has no signs of being opened. It says in their T&Cs that they will arrange for the collection and replacement of any faulty products within the first 28 days. I haven't had chance to speak to them about it yet though, as they're not open until Monday.

Arjay: It appears you might be right, I had a quick search on YouTube to see if there are any examples of what a microphonic tube sounds like, and I came across this one: http://youtu.be/nm-fvWUr0Bs


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 10:15 am
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I have just noticed that when I tap the "V1" pre-amp tube when the amp is on, and volume is turned up it rings out through the speaker: http://youtu.be/x0fPtqTddKc

This isn't normal is it? Is this the "microphonic tube"?


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:18 pm
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yes, a tube can be microphonic from the start and slip through quality control because they don't bump it around and shake it like it gets done in shipping and they don't play it like you do either. order you a preamp tube for V1 of your choosing and replace the bad one also order some to keep for the future it never hurts to have extras. a simple fix is to swap V3 tube with the V1 and try it. sometimes this helps because likely not all 3 are microphonic.


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:28 pm
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I had just swapped V1 and V2, and the tube in V1 still does the same sound when I tap it.

Does this mean it's not the pre-amp tube?


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:37 pm
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There are plenty of good places on the Internet to get tubes from. I use Eurotubes and Doug's tubes. They can make good recommendations for you. You might just want to replace all of them with better quality tubes and have some good spares.

Having said that, if you have a good local tech, have them look it over.

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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:47 pm
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I'd seen Eurotubes mentioned -- the problem is that the shipping would cost almost the same as the tubes do.

It looks as though "hotroxuk" sell a set of JJ power and EH pre-amp tubes for around €75 shipped.

A little hesitant now as I'm not sure it is the tubes that are causing the problem now that I've swapped V1 and V2 and still getting the same result. I don't know of any local techs either that would be able to take a look at it, I might just have to wait until Monday to see what the store says.


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 2:53 pm
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Talk to the store before you do anything as it may not be the tubes anyway- but putting in better tubes and having some spares in generally a good idea anyway. Good luck!

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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 3:07 pm
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it's a very low possiblity but yes all of them could be bad. also, what are you tapping the tubes with because you normally just need to tap them with the eraser on the end of a pencil. this problem just sounds a bit crazy. don't tap them with anything metal. remember V1 is the most sensitive tube in the amp any vibration you can sometimes hear it ring. you can also try some rubber o-rings from the hardware store, just be sure it fits tightly around the preamp tube and can tolerate heat. also try to just VERY slightly bend the pins outward, sometimes they don't fit tight in the sockets. another quality control thing.


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Post subject: Re: Brand new Fender Blues Junior III FSR 'Stealth' hissing!
Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2013 3:22 pm
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I've swapped V1 and V3 around to check the third pre-amp tube in that socket. It does exactly the same too. I have been tapping it with a pencil, just with the wood, no eraser on it.

Is it normal to hear the tapping and ringing amplified through the speaker when I tap the V1 pre-amp tube?

When I turn both volumes up to 6.5 or so, the amp starts to hum and if I tap the backplate above the V1/V2 pre-amps, I get a rattling sound -- but only when the valves are being driven: http://youtu.be/qnR5E5y9ssE


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