Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: the_bleeding on November 15, 2007, 01:20:12 AM

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: the_bleeding on November 15, 2007, 01:20:12 AM

Hey, this may sound really nooby, but do all tube amps give off a strange hum while they're warming up in stanby mode? The reason i ask is i like to do schoolwork while my marshall warms up, and its REALLY annoying. The hum isnt that loud or anything, its just... annoying.

Thanks

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: Will on November 15, 2007, 02:37:55 AM

mine does. nothing big or irritating. then again, I tend not to do homework

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: shaman on November 15, 2007, 02:58:47 AM

fan, by any chance?I have refurbished  the fans in amps before to quiet the beast-my boogie coliseum has a fan much like the turbines  found in a 747 engine  :P

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: the_bleeding on November 15, 2007, 04:39:28 AM

pretty sure this thing doesnt have a fan. Theres no vent in the chassis for it anyway, and i keep the backplate off so i can see right inside, and theres no fan ON the chassis either.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: viking on November 15, 2007, 05:07:25 AM

No hum in standby mode with my MB Nomad... :wink:

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: Henk on November 15, 2007, 08:15:48 AM

Funny, i just love the sound of my warming up marshall when i am waking up with a nice cup of coffee, it has a real nice warm humm, nothing irritating about it IMO. If your studying just turn it off.......

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: Mr Ed on November 15, 2007, 08:19:08 AM

Mine hums... the logical thing to do would be to just turn it off.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: hunter on November 15, 2007, 08:49:40 AM

Hums, normal. It's probably the capacitors or the transformers or sth.

Just make sure you have a drummer and a bass player bangin away on full speed behind you, so you won't hear it anymore.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: indysmith on November 15, 2007, 09:30:34 AM

don't think my marshall hums. if it does i never noticed it.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: gwEm on November 15, 2007, 09:36:20 AM

mine hums quietly and very gently.. its nice, kind of like a spaceship. often i dont notice it.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: maverickf1jockey on November 15, 2007, 04:26:26 PM

My TT hums but only when it's actually on and nothing is plugged in.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: HTH AMPS on November 15, 2007, 06:33:03 PM

can't think of a valve amp I've ever owned that didn't hum to some degree in standby.

 :twisted:

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: the_bleeding on November 15, 2007, 09:30:09 PM

thanks for clearing that up. I didn't care about the hum in my marshall's first year of service, but i've been reading so much amp tech stuff lately i begin to worry about every thing about it hahahah.

Oh, and to those who say turn it off while i work... I turn it on while i work so i can give it enough time to warm up. i like to keep warm up time to a 5-10 minute minimum :)

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: viking on November 15, 2007, 10:24:41 PM

I double-checked mine but there is absolutely no hum at all but complete silence in standby... :?

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: Will on November 15, 2007, 10:35:02 PM

I always thought it was the valve heaters

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: opprobrium_9 on November 16, 2007, 05:16:42 PM

Quote from: the_bleeding

thanks for clearing that up. I didn't care about the hum in my marshall's first year of service, but i've been reading so much amp tech stuff lately i begin to worry about every thing about it hahahah.

Oh, and to those who say turn it off while i work... I turn it on while i work so i can give it enough time to warm up. i like to keep warm up time to a 5-10 minute minimum :)

move to a different room; problem solved.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: Bob Johnson on November 16, 2007, 07:52:07 PM

If it REALLY hums; like 50 Hz (UK) it could be that the transformer armature plates are delaminating. If this is the case you'd get a mechanical vibration at 50 Hz from the tranny core and an enhaced electrical 50Hz hum in the secondary windings from the the armature plates vibrating.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: the_bleeding on November 16, 2007, 07:58:39 PM

Quote from: opprobrium_9

move to a different room; problem solved.

living in a single 18x14 dorm room smartypants

Quote from: Bob Johnson

If it REALLY hums; like 50 Hz (UK) it could be that the transformer armature plates are delaminating. If this is the case you'd get a mechanical vibration at 50 Hz from the tranny core and an enhaced electrical 50Hz hum in the secondary windings from the the armature plates vibrating.

um... thats a possibility because my amp head DEFINATELY vibrates when i turn it on. Its as if it comes alive... but yeah... it has an ever so slight vibration.

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: Will on November 16, 2007, 08:08:51 PM

just been thinking, mine doesn't hum half as much any more after service + revalve.

Can your budget stretch that far?

Title: Tube Amp question (in all seriousness)
Post by: the_bleeding on November 18, 2007, 05:20:52 AM

Quote from: Will

just been thinking, mine doesn't hum half as much any more after service + revalve.

Can your budget stretch that far?

i've already revalved it and it was serviced before i bought it. It has always had this noise.

Back to the question. Is the buzz caused by the whole thing vibratign?