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Post by cvogue on Sept 12, 2019 23:42:43 GMT -5
Haven't played my Streetrod in a few weeks but at band practice tonight I was getting some static sound through it and it would cut out now and then... sometimes not completely but would sound really low in volume and "oomph" and then come back with a vengeance.
When it got good and warmed up it seemed fine, sounded great.
That was after a good 45 minutes though.
Ideas of what it could be? Preamp or power tube(s)? I've had it for about two and a half years and swapped some preamp tubes but the power tubes are original stock.
Thanks for any insight!
Edit: I had a similar problem before and it turned out (I think) to be the footswitch. Hopefully that's the case again... don't have the amp at home but I do have the footswitch, will try contact cleaner again. Hope that's all it is.
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Post by gtrjunior on Sept 13, 2019 4:44:38 GMT -5
Try the contact cleaner first. Clean the loop jacks too.
But my suspicion is that your due for power tubes.
You’re a gigging player. I usually change power tubes every year or so when I gig regularly.
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Post by briman on Sept 13, 2019 6:00:31 GMT -5
Sounds like power tube problem to me. If they are old then that is definitely the issue.
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Post by cvogue on Sept 14, 2019 18:32:55 GMT -5
Picked up my amp this morning because this was bothering me. Took it home and went bare bones, straight into the front and just a cable in the loop. Rock solid, no scratchiness, no static, volume consistent, all good.
Brought in the pedalboard but only used the stuff in front of the amp, still cable in the loop. Static galore! It settled down but it turns out there was a dodgy patch cable early in the chain. Replaced it, all good. Brought in the stuff in the loop, more static! Isolated it to a longer patch cable I was using, replaced it, all good! Jammed for a while (had to, the rig was all set up!) and no problems.
So glad it wasn't the amp itself. I do gig but not that often (every other month at this point) and practice once a week for 2-3 hours with the band so the tubes don't have a ton of wear on them really.
Thanks guys!
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Post by gtrjunior on Sept 15, 2019 1:07:12 GMT -5
Glad it was that easy!!
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Post by gtrjunior on Sept 15, 2019 11:09:58 GMT -5
Even though the tubes weren’t the issue this time, since they are 2 1/2 years old you might want to give a little though to getting a set and keeping them on hand for the inevitable tube swap. Lol
I’m fairly certain that your amp only has 2 power tubes....+\-$25.
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Post by cvogue on Sept 15, 2019 11:48:09 GMT -5
Yup, just the two EL34s. Biasing is needed though. Although I've read that if you use a matched pair that's the same brand you don't need to bias... not sure I buy that. If it comes to that I'll take it to a tech (couple of great ones in town).
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Post by gtrjunior on Sept 15, 2019 13:56:33 GMT -5
Yup, just the two EL34s. Biasing is needed though. Although I've read that if you use a matched pair that's the same brand you don't need to bias... not sure I buy that. If it comes to that I'll take it to a tech (couple of great ones in town). Yeah, you still need to bias regardless. All a matched pair does is get the bias as close as possible between the 2 power tubes. |
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Post by splawndude on Sept 22, 2019 16:49:29 GMT -5
I run power tubes until they either die or start to show those signs of dying.
That said, I don't gig either.
Always have back up tubes.
Always buy matched.
Tell the shop what amp you have and what you are looking for (34 mA) or whatever.
It won't hurt to pop them in and see how they sound out of box.
If it sounds good then chances are you are good to go, but biasing is always recommended.
I check the bias of my amp at least twice a year just to look for bias drift. The bias, at least on my amp, tends to drift downward.
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