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Post by telejas on Mar 11, 2016 18:42:57 GMT -7
I just noticed this tonight while practicing. There is a ghost note going on, really noticeable on the "G" on the 12th (or same note/octave on other strings), but also on other strings (high B is bad too). I tried different guitars & cables, bypassed my pedalboard, and both "Speed" and "Comfort"....All the same. Still on the stock tubes and my amp is a 2012 (I believe)
I don't really "over play" my amp, maybe 8-12 hours per month.. I never turn it up past about where a 3 1/2 would be (if it were numbered), but usually pretty low "bedroom" levels, unless I'm at a gig. My tone and cut are both in the middle.
Anyone have any idea's of what is going on?
I have some EL84's here, I may try those after it cools off?
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Post by telejas on Mar 11, 2016 19:14:31 GMT -7
[UPDATE]
I swapped out the power tubes for a brand new set of JJ's I've had lying around... I though it fixed it at first, but after about 2 minutes of playing, I noticed them again. Guess I'll put the old tubes back in.
I honestly don't think it'll be heard/noticed in a band mix....So I'm going to use it tomorrow night. I just hope what I'm hearing isn't a filter cap or something?
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Post by simpleton on Mar 11, 2016 19:51:09 GMT -7
I wondered about the filter cap as when my Therapy had one go out it sounded like a ring mod....maybe this is the just before it goes out. Bring a backup amp to the gig
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Post by telejas on Mar 11, 2016 20:30:38 GMT -7
I wondered about the filter cap as when my Therapy had one go out it sounded like a ring mod....maybe this is the just before it goes out. Bring a backup amp to the gig I may take the Mesa instead, ugh?
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Post by doctorice on Mar 11, 2016 20:33:17 GMT -7
I had something similar on my MAZ Jr. Certain notes were followed by a weird "breathy" sound, but only certain notes. A couple culprits came to light: (1) tubes loose in sockets due to loosening of the sleeves in the tube sockets and (2) the metal shields on the tubes were creating a vibration or resonant effect. For (1) I sent the amp back to Z mother ship. For (2) the obvious step of taking off the shields. (I'll put them back on when I need to transport the amp.)
The way I found these was by using an oven mitt to grab a (power) tube while playing a note. (I put a capo on the guitar so I could pluck the offending note with the other hand.) I did try a new tube when I isolated a problem, but the new tube didn't help.
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Post by purpletele on Mar 11, 2016 21:36:34 GMT -7
I wondered about the filter cap as when my Therapy had one go out it sounded like a ring mod....maybe this is the just before it goes out. Bring a backup amp to the gig Simpleton, Do you know if the capacitor in your rig had a visible leak with the brown material coming out? Just curious if you spotted it or if the shop traced it.
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Post by telejas on Mar 11, 2016 22:58:00 GMT -7
Ok......After messing around with it more, I've possibly narrowed down the issue to the Brake-Lite? When I open it up all the way, or bypass it completely, I get no ghost notes. I don't touch the amp volume, just adjust the attenuator. The more I clamp it down (like bedroom volume), the more it ghost notes. The wider I open it up, the less I hear and eventually there are none.
I also tried it through a V30 and it didn't ghost note... Only attenuated and through a gold?
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Post by purpletele on Mar 11, 2016 23:11:22 GMT -7
Ok......After messing around with it more, I've possibly narrowed down the issue to the Brake-Lite? When open it up all the way, or bypass itcompletely, I get no ghost notes. I don't touch the amp volume, just adjust the attenuator. The more I clamp it down (like bedroom volume), the more it ghost notes. The wider I open it up, the less I hear and eventually there are none. I also tried it through a V30 and it didn't ghost note... Only attenuated and through a gold? Now that is strange. I am thinking that the attenuator has beat down one of the tubes and it is failing under a heavy load when heavily attenuated. I am going to look at the tube configuration for giggles.
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Post by purpletele on Mar 11, 2016 23:23:29 GMT -7
Ok......After messing around with it more, I've possibly narrowed down the issue to the Brake-Lite? When I open it up all the way, or bypass it completely, I get no ghost notes. I don't touch the amp volume, just adjust the attenuator. The more I clamp it down (like bedroom volume), the more it ghost notes. The wider I open it up, the less I hear and eventually there are none. I also tried it through a V30 and it didn't ghost note... Only attenuated and through a gold? It looks like you have 4 EL 84's, 3 12AX7's and Rectifier Tube. Some of the sources that I went to indicate Pre-amp tubes as an occasional culprit for that symptom. There is also a possibility of a leaking Capacitor, which happened to Simpleton. I would grab 3 12AX7's and a JJ rectifier tomorrow and replace those one by one. The attenuator volume variation indicate a tube problem in my mind.
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Post by simpleton on Mar 12, 2016 8:26:57 GMT -7
My filter cap actually had a broken lead...no leaking, I could hear it flopping around inside when I picked up the head and set it down. It's the first big cap...broke where it meets the cap.
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Post by simpleton on Mar 12, 2016 8:28:45 GMT -7
Dr Z had it fixed and sent out in one day....maybe the ghost notes are just a result of the extra compression.
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Post by telejas on Mar 12, 2016 12:46:51 GMT -7
I'm also wondering if this isn't just "cone cry"? It did it on the Gold that's in the combo, plus the Gold in my avatar cab... But not the V30 in my Mesa cab?
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Post by telejas on Mar 14, 2016 7:38:33 GMT -7
[UPDATE]
I got a reply from the guys at "Z".....Here's what they said:
Which makes sense..... I've never really used the Wreck for "bedroom" practicing, but used it many times last week to try out new gear before the weekend show. So, playing it by itself (out of a band context), this may be what I'm hearing and makes perfect sense.
I used it over the weekend (took a backup, just in case), and it preformed flawlessly and sounded amazing, as usual.
So, I think my amp is all good and I was hearing a common trait of the Z-Wreck.
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Post by simpleton on Mar 14, 2016 14:52:20 GMT -7
Woah...that's great. I like that he/they left them in, it shows that they are building music making machines instead of a record player.
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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on Jan 1, 2021 8:27:48 GMT -7
My Z-Wreck has them too. They are harmonic,not dissonant. That's a characteristic of a Trainwreck style amp. I've had many really high end Trainwreck clones and they've all had ghost notes. Dr. Z's response above makes perfect sense. Too much filtering in a Wreck would take away the magic.
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Post by cap217 on Jul 4, 2023 6:17:06 GMT -7
What is the standard Z wreck filtering size and what was it changed to when they increased it?
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Post by RickJames on Jul 4, 2023 6:57:01 GMT -7
My no negative feedback amps (including my Jetta) all have some uninitiated harmonics and ghost notes, but for me it’s part of the character and I like it…..when I plug in to my Fender it’s gone and I miss the complexity………my 02 i should add those sounds are generally not prominent in the mix….
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Post by GuitarZ on Jul 4, 2023 7:24:53 GMT -7
I'm also wondering if this isn't just "cone cry"? It did it on the Gold that's in the combo, plus the Gold in my avatar cab... But not the V30 in my Mesa cab? I was going to ask whether you thought it might be 'cone cry'. I have an IsoCab that came with a V30. That thing had major cone cry right up on the strings where you're describing. I've had a Greenback in there for a long time with zero cone cry. In fact, I'm about to swap the V30 back in and I'm curious as to how the cone cry will react. Sounds like you're going over all of the possibilities.
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Post by telejas on Jul 6, 2023 12:21:15 GMT -7
I'm also wondering if this isn't just "cone cry"? It did it on the Gold that's in the combo, plus the Gold in my avatar cab... But not the V30 in my Mesa cab? I was going to ask whether you thought it might be 'cone cry'. I have an IsoCab that came with a V30. That thing had major cone cry right up on the strings where you're describing. I've had a Greenback in there for a long time with zero cone cry. In fact, I'm about to swap the V30 back in and I'm curious as to how the cone cry will react. Sounds like you're going over all of the possibilities. This was about 7 or 8 years ago.... Got it figured out *(see 5 posts above yours). This is "normal" for the Z-Wreck.
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Post by GuitarZ on Jul 6, 2023 19:46:41 GMT -7
7-8 years ago? Dang! My wife is right. I don’t pay attention! That gave me a good laugh at myself tonight. 😎
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