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Post by plexed on May 12, 2008 15:27:51 GMT -7
Hey all,
I was ready to pick up a GT recently and heard quite a bit of hum and buzz coming from the amp. This was the 2nd GT I have played and I did not remember the first one having this additional noise floor. Curious with folks experience, is the GT a noisey amp in terms of buzz, hum, RF noise etc.? I own a Carmen Ghia it is dead quiet, so for a Z, it seemed to have a lot of extra noise, which concerned me enough to hold off on the purchase. I love the tone of the GT, just want to get a bit familiar with what the background noise level should be on this amp? Perhaps the one I played had some issues? Thanks!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on May 12, 2008 15:56:32 GMT -7
Well how far up did you have the volume? The GT is a really high gain amp, so when you crank the volume way over to the right you do start getting some hiss, but it is way below the sound level. If you're hearing a hum though, that's not right. That would seem to indicate maybe power tubes that aren't matched.
No RF noise on my Mazarati GT, no buzzes, no hum, just a little "shhhhh" when I crank it way up. That would be normal for a high gain amp, but it is somewhat dependent on the preamp tubes. Better tubes are going to be quieter.
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Post by plexed on May 12, 2008 16:54:20 GMT -7
Thanks for the response. No I am talking some serious ground hum. I have some high gain amps, even a Trainwreck Clone which can sound a lot like the GT, so I know what you mean about normal hiss and shhhh, this was different. Anyway, still very psyched on the GT and will probably pull the trigger very soon. I am going to go with my gut and say the amp I played had some bad tubes, or something else not right going on. Great clips by the way!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on May 12, 2008 20:30:47 GMT -7
Thanks!
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Post by dizeased on May 13, 2008 7:14:31 GMT -7
I recently picked up a used Mazerati GT and am having a problem with hum which I felt was unreasonably loud. This is without any guitar plugged into the amp. I swapped out power tubes for a new set. I did change preamp tubes as well to no avail. It's in the shop now with Dr. Z and the gang giving it a check. I'll let you know what happens.
Addendum 5/13/08: They said there is nothing wrong with the amp and that because of the high gain nature of the GT the noise floor is higher and hum/white noise will be louder. Nature of the beast, I guess...
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Post by plexed on May 13, 2008 12:16:17 GMT -7
Well, this is my concern, I don't know if it is the nature of the beast. I think it is the nature of a beast not set up right IMHO. When I played the first GT I did not hear anything that I would call an issue. The 2nd time I played another GT at another dealer the noise floor was so loud the salesperson thought there was something wrong and changed some tubes,which did not resolve the issue. The saleperson called me back a day later and said this was the "nature of the beast." So I'm a bit confused, as I have heard GT's that were fine is this dept. It really is the issue that make me pause on buying one.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on May 13, 2008 13:11:42 GMT -7
Well if they were all doing that kind of thing you'd be seeing a load of complaining here I would think. Mine is relatively quiet considering where I like to set my volume (noon) - and I've never heard any hum or other noises besides the bit of hiss from having the gain way up.
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Post by dock66 on May 13, 2008 13:50:27 GMT -7
Mine has that "shhhhhh" when I cranked up the gain knob,otherwise it is relatively quite.
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