Damn Amp Hum

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Hey guys! I'm loving my new amp, but I notice that when I have the volume off, tuner on, etc. the amp still hum and even a tiny tiny bit of a crackling sound. I am running a noise gate. Is there anything I can do to stop the hum?

[Dmoney]

what is your amp, again?

You might not be able to do too much to get rid of ALL the hum, but the signal from your guitar should swamp it.
which volume do you have off? if the guitar volume is off, and the tuner pedal is on, and your noise gate is in front of the amp (between guitar and amp input) then the head will still be making noise and passing that to the speakers. Crackles can be from valves and unless they are really frequent, loud and noticeable I don't think that tiny crackles are abnormal... maybe someones knows a bit better than me though.

You might have some 50hz hum, and its possible to get 100hz hum (in europe at least). That is 50hz from the mains electricity frequency and 100hz being a harmonic of that. most amps have a little hum. If you think it is really severe take the amp to a tech.

You do mean hum and not hisssss right?
 

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Could be a bit of hiss. I have the guitar volume off, and a VP, which i turn off as well. Still get the noise.

[jpfamps]

Might be useful to know what amp it is......................

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Oh yeah, sorry! Marshall 6100, the blue tolex EL-34 version.

[tekbow]

and what kind of pickups are you using? also do you have any pedals? i've found if you have them too close to the amp they can start to hum real bad.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I don't stand too close to the amp, and I can certainly tell when I do! It starts to feedback alot (not a bad thing, I love it!)

I use the RY's, and the only pedal I run with my dirty channel is a Way Huge Green Rhino, but I don't use it for gain and volume so much as the bass and mid controls on it, I love the thump they add to the amp.

[Alex]

Try it first with only guitar in, no effects connected anywhere in the signal chain (not even turned off). That way you can pinpoint the problem better.

[tekbow]

I don't stand too close to the amp, and I can certainly tell when I do! It starts to feedback alot (not a bad thing, I love it!)

How close is the actual pedal to the amp though? regardless of where you stand. I have a couple of pedals that, even just when boosting, hate being anywhere near my amp.

Also the usual as the guys are saying, 6o cycle hum etc etc.

with nothingbut the buitar, find the sweet spot to stand in your room (most rooms have em, a place where there's zero interference) then start bringing volumes up, and adding in your pedal if there's no hum, then it was just interference. Also try swapping cables out, eliminate all components in the chain one at a time

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Alright, will try all these things. Someone also mentioned cleaning tube sockets, would this help?