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Post subject: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 10:57 am
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As I crank up either the volume or the bass, I get a "crackling" sound. It IS NOT the speaker because I hear it thru the phone jack also. I've read numerous posts that indicate it is a common problem with this amp.

I've seen several solutions involving replacing various capacitors. I replaced c38 and c21 and also the 2 filter caps. No change.

Does anyone have a proven fix for this problem?

Thanks,
Jimirb


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 5:36 pm
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And just to clarify, I'm not talking about noisy pots AS I turn them up......I'm talking about the crackling noise AT high volume or heavy bass settings.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:28 pm
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For what it's worth, I bought a Rumble 60 from Guitar Center. It was a floor model, so I should have known better. (bad experience in the past) It crackled, too. They replaced it for me with a new one. (after much bickering) If it is under warrenty, Fender may help you out.
The new one I got works great, by the way.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:07 pm
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Thanks, Jazz. I actually have 2 Rumble 25s and a Runble 60. I bought them all used, so there's no warranty.

I bought the second R25 since I made my original post. It does exactly the same thing. I've read so many posts around the internet about the same problem in virtually evey model of the Rumble series that I believe it is the rule rather than the exception.

I know the moderators of this forum are Fender employees and had hoped someone from Fender would be kind enough to post a fix, but I guess that won't happen.

I use LR Baggs pickups in all my acoustic guitars and read their forum, moderated by one of their engineers. They are EXTREMELY responsive with technical help on the forum. I really expected Fender to do the same since this seems to be either a design flaw or a known, widespread issue

Thanks for your advice.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 7:41 am
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That's really too bad. I have heard bad things about the Rumbles, too (after I bought one, of course). I'm just glad that mine is OK. Other Fender models are more reliable, I think. I'd love to get a hold of an old BassMan tube amp.
I'm more pissed off at Guitar Center for the way they tried to weasle out of their agreement. I won't even buy strings from them now. It's a good place to go to try out instruments since they have so many in stock, then go somewhere else to purchase. But that's just me, perhaps I'm being a bit nasty.
Live and learn.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:41 pm
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77Jazz wrote:
....I'd love to get a hold of an old BassMan tube amp...


Pretty soon you'll be able to get hold of a NEW Bassman all tube amp. Stay tuned!


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:25 am
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i have the same problem too. Crackling sound. Anyone can explain it please


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:48 am
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I had the time to do a little basic troubleshooting yesterday. Here are my observations:
I have 2 Rumble 25's. They BOTH exhibit EXACTLY the same symptoms. The breakup point is EXACTLY the same on both (volume, bass, etc.)

With volume set at 12 o'clock, any bass setting above 9 o'clock produces the "crackling" sound.

The problem is still there using the CD inputs (of course volume, bass, etc have no effect on the CD inputs.)

The red LEDs brighten at the bottom of the cabinet brighten along with the crackling.

It is definitely NOT the speaker.

Looking at the schematic, all this leads me to suspect the power amp and/or limiter circuits.

I don't have the test equipment or the expertise to isolate the problem down to the component level, but I do have the time and expertise to make a project out of this and simply replace components until I find the problem. The parts cost next to nothing.

As I've said in other posts, the sheer number of owners reporting the same problems across ALL the Rumble models and the fact that I have 2 that exhibit the EXACT failure points, lead me to believe there is a design flaw in the Rumbles. But, I still have hope that there may have been a batch of bad components back in the day when these amps were built.

I'm also still hoping that Fender administrators read these forums and will have their engineers post a fix.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 7:18 am
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My rumble 60 had this problem too, after using contact cleaner in all the pots and turning each pot many times the crackling sound is gone (but not the hiss :cry: ).
If you have the time to replace components take a chance with the volume and bass pots.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:31 pm
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Cleaning or replacing the pots is definitely a good idea, but in my case, I know the problem is positively not the pots.

I now have all the necessary ICs, caps and the schematics. Just haven't had the determination to dig into the amps.

I actually use the pair of Rumble 25s as powered house speakers for small venue gigs. I feed vocals, acoustic guitar, and drum machine thru the mixer into input 2 on the Rumbles. They do an amazingly good job in this application and require lots of mid and treble but very little bass (about 9 o'clock). In this configuration, I never need more than about 12 o'clock on volume and have no problem with the "crackle." It only appears on heavy drum beats when I crank the bass up beyond about 2 o'clock (or when I actually use it as a bass amp.)

All this being said, I'm having a hard time convincing myself to take them out of service long enough to rip into them. In a sense, they ain't broken for the way I use them and I don't want to fix them till I have to. But, it's also driving me nuts wanting to find the solution to this widespread Rumble issue.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 4:37 am
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The answer may possibly be found in another thread here at the forum. Hopefully, the solder issues may be what your problem is being caused by as well and can be dealt with easily.


CLICK >>> http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?t=562


"P-L"


===============


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:30 am
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Thanks, PL. I'll add a check of the solder joints to the list wne I take the amps down.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:44 am
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77Jazz wrote:
For what it's worth, I bought a Rumble 60 from Guitar Chords Center. It was a floor model, so I should have known better. (bad experience in the past) It crackled, too. They replaced it for me with a new one. (after much bickering) If it is under warrenty, Fender may help you out.
The new one I got works great, by the way.

So if it's not under warranty, somehow you're screwed then. And there are just models that have crackling sound yeah? Well I am thinking of buying a new amp and I am thinking of grabbing a new Rumble 60.


Last edited by pauldrake on Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 1:55 pm
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From what I've read on the internet, the crackling issue has been reported in Rumble 15, 30, 60, 100. Seems to be totally random. I have a 60 that's absolute FANTASTIC, but I've read posts from people who have crackling ones.

It seems to kinda be the luck of the draw. I've spoken with techs to Fender and they deny being aware of any known issue.


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Post subject: Re: Rumble 25 Crackling Sound
Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:18 pm
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Problem turned out to be U6, LM3876. I replaced it and c38 (a 2.2 mfd 50 v) with 10 mfd 50 V and replaced c21 (which IS 10 mfd 50 V.) Problem solved . I can now run the amp at full gain with absolutely no crackling or distortion.


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